AL WIFAQ BLOC RETURNS TO PARLIAMENT AFTER A

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000468

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL BA POL
SUBJECT: AL WIFAQ BLOC RETURNS TO PARLIAMENT AFTER A
PROTEST WALKOUT OVER CORRUPTION QUESTIONING

Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) A vote on May 15 on the questioning of Minister of
State for Cabinet Affairs Shaikh Ahmed Bin Attiyatallah Al
Khalifa on corruption allegations fell one vote short of the
majority needed in the Council of Representatives (COR). For
his part, Shaikh Ahmed said in a public statement May 9 that
he was innocent of the allegations and was willing to appear
before parliament to clear his name. Al Wifaq, which has
sponsored and supported the questioning, welcomed his
willingness and urged him to appear voluntarily. Deputy
Prime Minister Jawad Al Arrayed told the Ambassador May 17
that the King was counseling patience with Al Wifaq as its
democratic skills develop. Al Wifaq MP Dr. Jasim Hussain
told Pol/Econ Chief that even though Al Wifaq did not expect
the COR to allow the questioning at this time, it was
important for the bloc to push the corruption issue for their
constituents. End summary.

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Failed Vote Results in Walkout
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2. (SBU) Al Wifaq MPs returned to the COR May 15 after
walking out in protest on May 8. The walkout followed a
failed vote to allow the finance committee to question
Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Shaikh Ahmed Bin
Attiyatallah Al Khalifa about corruption allegations. The
vote fell one short of the 21-vote majority of the 40-member
chamber needed for approval, with COR Speaker Khalifa Al
Dhahrani and independent MPs Abdul Aziz Abul and Abdulla Al
Dossary joining the 17-member Al Wifaq bloc in support of the
proposal. Disgusted by the lack of support from fellow MPs,
members of Al Wifaq left the weekly session early. Some of
the MPs voting against the proposal claimed the questioning
was unconstitutional, saying the Bandar report that prompted
Al Wifaq's proposal to question Shaikh Ahmed remains the
subject of an ongoing court case. After the vote, Speaker Al
Dhahrani decided to postpone discussion on the issue until
the fall, following the summer recess.


3. (SBU) Shaikh Ahmed released a statement May 9 affirming
his innocence and his willingness to appear before the
parliament. He said all citizens must obey the law, and
"those who do not adhere to the law should not be entrusted
to carry out executive or legislative duties." He said Al
Wifaq's accusations of his wasting public funds, carrying out
business while a minister, and violating tender regulations,
were all charges for which there was no evidence. "This is
an opportunity for me to unveil the whole truth and
demonstrate my faithfulness to the oath I took to God and the
nation." Al Wifaq welcomed Shaikh Ahmed's apparent
willingness to address parliament and May 10 urged him to
appear voluntarily to clear up the issues in question.

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Insight into Palace, Al Wifaq Perspectives
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4. (C) In a conversation with the Ambassador May 17, Deputy
Prime Minister Jawad Al Arrayed said that in a meeting he had
with the King and the PM, the King had counseled patience
with Al Wifaq in parliament and the Shia in general. "You
have to remember that they have essentially been out of the
system for 30 years. It is going to take time for them to
get used to participating and to develop the skills and the
skilled people to participate effectively." Al Arrayed told
the Ambassador that Al Wifaq's push for the questioning of
Shaikh Ahmed with so little time left in the current
legislative session was not smart tactically.


5. (C) MP Dr. Jasim Hussain told Pol/Econ Chief May 20 that
Al Wifaq had not expected the COR to allow the questioning of
Shaikh Ahmed at this time, but that Al Wifaq had decided it
was important to press the issue anyway. He admitted that
one reason was to show supporters that Al Wifaq was pushing
the government on important issues, including corruption.
This push gives Al Wifaq a talking point to use in meetings
with constituents, many of whom question whether Al Wifaq
accomplished anything by entering parliament. In terms of
the vote itself, Hussain said that, in Al Wifaq's view, the
government had choreographed the voting so that the measure
would not receive the 21 votes it needed. Consequently it
gave the green light to Speaker Al Dhahrani to vote for the
questioning as a token of support for Al Wifaq and the COR's
prerogatives, while the vote went down in defeat.

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6. (C) In a conversation with PolFSN May 16, Al Wifaq MP
Sayed Haider Al Sitri said that he could not understand how
(Sunni Salafi) Al Asala head and first deputy speaker Ghanim
Al Buainain and (Sunni Muslim Brotherhood) Al Minbar head and
second deputy speaker Salah Ali could vote in favor of the
questioning of Shaikh Ahmed in the COR Executive Council
meeting and then change their vote in the full session of the
COR. He complained that each of the three other
parliamentary blocs have ignored the evidence Al Wifaq has
presented to them that the minister was involved in
corruption. Al Wifaq MP Abduljalil Khalil told PolFSN in a
separate conversation, "We know that the parliament has
limited authority to generate and pass legislation. At least
the COR can use its leverage to combat corruption and monitor
the executive branch. This is what Al Wifaq is attempting,
but other MPs are not helping."

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Public Seminar Organized by Al Wifaq
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7. (SBU) At a May 13 Al Wifaq open meeting with supporters
to discuss the questioning of Shaikh Ahmed, MP Khalil Al
Marzooq pointed out that in September 2006, in the wake of
the release of the Bandar report, Shaikh Ahmed did not deny
that he had personally written checks to individuals, but
claimed they were for personal business purposes. Al Marzooq
said that this in itself is against Article 48, part b, of
the constitution, which states that "a Minister may not
assume any other public office, nor may he even indirectly
practice a profession or conduct industrial, commercial or
financial business." Al Marzooq called on all government
ministers to combat corruption in their respective ministries
so that COR questioning of them would not be necessary.


8. (SBU) Wa'ad political society president Ibrahim Sharif
also addressed the audience, saying that the COR votes showed
that Al Asala and Al Minbar were not serious about combating
corruption. In the five years they have spoken about
corruption in the COR, they have never requested to question
a government official on this issue, Sharif said. He pointed
out that Islamists in Kuwait's parliament question ministers
almost weekly and Bahrain's Sunni Islamist blocs have never
described this practice as irresponsible. Sharif urged Al
Wifaq to discontinue its efforts at avoiding hot-button
issues to build trust with other blocs. Al Wifaq should
continue to push hard on the issue of questioning Shaikh
Ahmed, in his view.

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Columnists and Bloggers Weigh In
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9. (SBU) Arabic daily Al Wasat Editor-in-Chief Mansour Al
Jamri wrote May 15 that this episode has shown that the
parliament is a toy to play with and not meant for serious
work, and blocs opposing the questioning of Shaikh Ahmed are
only concerned about not upsetting the government. Bahraini
blogger Mahmoud Al Yousif wrote May 10 that it appears Shaikh
Ahmed has "not only secured himself immunity against
punishment, but has the full backing of the government in
addition to more than half our elected parliament fighting
tooth and nail to allay him the discomfort of facing
questions about financial irregularities." He called on
Shaikh Ahmed to present himself voluntarily to committee
questioning to clear up not only questions about financial
impropriety, but also his alleged role in Bandar
report-related matters.

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Comment
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10. (C) The opposition's efforts to pin down Shaikh Ahmed
for questioning about alleged business operations is the tip
of the iceberg regarding what it would like to find out about
Shaikh Ahmed's involvement in activities described in the
Bandar report. Although it is too little, too late for the
current legislative session, Al Wifaq hopes this action will
eventually lead to results, and Al Wifaq has been clear about
its intention to pursue corruption allegations about Shaikh
Ahmed. Earlier Al Wifaq cooperation with other blocs in
parliament had been fruitful on issues of common interest,
and the blocs were able to build some trust. The issue of
questioning a minister from the royal family about corruption
allegations, however, has highlighted the
pro-government/opposition divide, which will not be easily
overcome.


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