GOVERNMENT VIEWS ARRESTS AS SENDING A SIGNAL TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000113

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/07/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ASEC BA POL
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT VIEWS ARRESTS AS SENDING A SIGNAL TO
ACTIVISTS

REF: MANAMA 0096

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.

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Summary
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1. (C) In separate discussions, Foreign Minister Shaikh
Khalid and Industry and Commerce Minister Fakhro both told
the Ambassador that the government arrested Shia activists
Mushaima and Al Khawaja to rein in their unlawful activities,
which the government believes have become increasingly
defiant. Shaikh Khalid stressed the arrests had nothing to
do with the government's relations with the broader Shia
community and cited the helpful role Shia political society
Al Wifaq has played. A journalist told the Ambassador that
elements within the ruling Al Khalifa family are furious at
the activists for their continuing to "carry on," and are
angry at the King for allowing this to happen and for his
previous leniency with Shia hardliners. In a press
conference, Mushaima and Al Khawaja shifted the focus from
their alleged crimes to their right of freedom of speech and
calls for an investigation of accusations against government
figures contained in the September 2006 Al Bandar report.
With battle lines hardening on this case, and an already
difficult regional environment, relations between Bahrain's
Sunni and Shia communities could become increasingly tense.
End Summary.

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No Broad Move Against Shias
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2. (C) In separate encounters over the past few days,
Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and
Minister of Industry and Commerce (and King confidant) Hassan
Fakhro told the Ambassador that the government had to take
steps to rein in prominent opposition activists Hassan
Mushaima and Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, who were arrested,
interrogated, charged, and released on their own recognizance
on February 2. In a February 6 meeting, Shaikh Khalid said
the arrests had nothing to do with the broader Shia
community. The government's actions should be seen only as a
move against Mushaima, who is Secretary General of the
(unregistered) Haq Movement, Al Khawaja, former president of
the now dissolved Bahrain Center for Human Rights, and Shaker
Abdul Hussein, an activist in the (unregistered) Committee
for the Unemployed.


3. (C) Leading Shia opposition political society Al Wifaq,
Shaikh Khalid said, had nothing to do with Mushaima and Al
Khawaja and is not being held responsible for them. In fact,
Al Wifaq and its leader (and MP) Shaikh Ali Salman have
played a useful role by serving as an intermediary between
the government and the larger Shia community on the case. He
mentioned that Salman had been in a meeting with Minister of
Interior Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa at the time of
the activists' release from detention. He said that he,
Shaikh Rashid, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (and
former Al Wifaq member) Nizar Al Baharna had all been in
touch with Salman as the case developed.

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Rule of Law, or Rule of the Street
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4. (C) Shaikh Khalid said that Mushaima and Al Khawaja were
responsible for provoking the incident by their incitement.
The government had been faced with a choice - abiding by the
rule of law, which encompasses everyone, or accepting the
rule of the street. Mushaima, Shaikh Khalid claimed, had
said that he did not accept the legitimacy of Bahrain's
courts or laws; rather he recognizes the "power of young men
on the streets." Bahrain is committed to political reform
and democratic participation, Shaikh Khalid said, "and we're
not going back." But Mushaima and Al Khawaja were trying to
undermine the government and even more so Al Wifaq, now that
its representatives have been elected to parliament. The
King has said that he wants a good parliament and "not a

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waste of time," and by the actions of a few extremists, Al
Wifaq is now distracted from it focus on working in
parliament and reviewing laws, Shaikh Khalid complained.

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Drawing a Line in the Sand
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5. (C) In a February 5 encounter on the margins of a meeting
with visiting Deputy Secretary of Commerce Sampson, Minister
of Industry and Commerce Fakhro, who is among the most
liberal and cosmopolitan of Bahrain's leaders, told the
Ambassador that the government had been compelled to act
against Mushaima and Al Khawaja because they continued to
push the limit of lawfully acceptable public speech. The
King had acted with leniency in previous cases involving Al
Khawaja and Haq Movement activists, and they likely felt they
could get away with yet more escalation of anti-regime
rhetoric. Fakhro said the government had to act to draw a
line in the sand and send a clear signal that it would not
tolerate further provocations.


6. (C) In a February 4 conversation, well-informed
journalist Habib Toumi told the Ambassador that elements
within the Al Khalifa family are furious at Shia extremists
for "carrying on like this" and are mad at the King for
allowing this to happen and for his previous leniency. He
provided additional details on Al Khawaja's January 29
speech, which led to his arrest. According to this account,
Al Khawaja wanted to hold a meeting at a matam (Shia
religious community center),but prominent cleric Shaikh Isa
Qassem refused his request. So he set up a booth at a busy
intersection next to the matam during the crowded Ashoura
processions and held it there. An unidentified Saudi Shia
gave a fiery speech critical of the King. Al Khawaja
followed him and, in contrast with the 2004 speech for which
he was arrested and convicted for criticizing the Prime
Minister, allegedly went directly after the King, hurling
Arabic insults like, "his arms should be paralyzed" and other
colorful language.

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Police Frustration
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7. (C) A mid-level security official told A/RSO immediately
following the February 2 clashes with Shia youth that some
police officers (all of whom are Sunni) feel frustrated that
after they confront, control, and sometimes arrest rioters,
the government often releases them. He expressed his sense
of futility with the way the government deals with these
types of situations.

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Activists Believe in Rights, Not Laws
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8. (SBU) Mushaima and Al Khawaja held a press conference
February 4 during which they said their release from
detention came as a result of pressure from protesters in the
street and the support of opposition groups, including Al
Wifaq. Mushaima said, "Al Wifaq's response surprised the
authorities and affirmed the solidarity of the opposition."
Mushaima also said that the Haq Movement believes that
legislation covering the registration of political societies
is unconstitutional and the Movement believes in its right
("haq") and not laws. Al Khawaja echoed this sentiment,
saying, "Mushaima and I have discussed and agreed that we
should not respond to the legal measures to be taken by the
Bahraini government because the penal code is
unconstitutional and is not consistent with international
standards." He accuses the public prosecution and judiciary
of not being independent or fair and cites the U.S.
Department of State as agreeing with this characterization.
(Note: Presumably a reference to the Human Rights Report,
which states, "the judiciary is not independent, and courts
were subject to government pressure regarding verdicts,
sentencing, and appeals.")


9. (SBU) In the press conference, the two activists
attempted to shift the focus from the government's charges

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against them to other issues. Mushaima said that his
speeches during Ashoura had nothing to do with the crimes he
allegedly committed. To him, the issue is freedom of speech,
which is guaranteed by the Bahraini constitution and is
recognized by Islam. Both Mushaima and Al Khawaja said their
arrests were prompted by their continued demands for an
investigation into the accusations made in the September 2006
report by Salah Al Bandar, which claimed that members of the
ruling family tried to manipulate the political system.

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Columnists Condemn Activists
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10. (SBU) In her February 6 article, columnist Sawsan Al
Shaer asks, "which state are we living in - Mushaima and Al
Khawaja's state or the state of the rule of law?" She faults
Mushaima for rejecting Bahrain's laws and claiming that he
was released from detention because of the streets actions of
protesters. Columnist Hafedh Al Shaikh calls on the
government to enforce the law and take the three activists to
court. "Even if there is violence and demonstrations
afterwards, the government must not pardon the vulgar and
barbaric forces that instigate the street," he writes.

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Comment
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11. (C) With battle lines developing between hardline Shia
activists and elements within the ruling family, an
inevitable victim is cordial relations between the sects. As
discussed reftel, Al Wifaq felt compelled to align itself
more closely with its extremist rivals in order to maintain
credibility in the eyes of Shia Bahrainis. With some in the
government defining the case in terms of drawing a line in
the sand and sending a clear signal to hardline Shias, many
moderate Sunnis will likely come to view Mushaima and Al
Khawaja's actions as defiance of governmental authority, as
the insightful columnist Al Shaer already does. With a
difficult regional environment already in place, relations
between Bahrain's Sunni and Shia communities could become
increasingly tense.


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