US embassy cable - 04MANAMA237

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000237 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP 
CAIRO FOR STEVE BONDY 
LONDON FOR ETHAN GOLDRICH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2034 
TAGS: PHUM, KDEM, PGOV, BA 
SUBJECT: GOB BARS INTERNATIONAL VISITORS FROM ATTENDING A 
CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY OPPOSITION SOCIETIES. 
 
 
Classified By: By Charge D'Affaires Robert S. Ford for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  The GOB stirred a new debate here this 
week, which some local observers say leads to questions on 
how much the government is committed to real political 
liberalization.  The GOB impeded a conference organized by 
the political opposition on the constitution.  The GOB 
claimed that the organizers did not obtain official 
permission to hold the event, justifying the GOB's actions to 
turn away international attendees and order the venue 
provider to cancel its contract with conference organizers. 
It denied entry to fifteen international political activists 
who were invited to participate in the event.  However, laws 
regulating societies do not require that societies obtain 
permission from the GOB.  They only need to notify the GOB, 
and in this case, they did.  In threatening the boycotters 
with legal action, turning away international guests and 
canceling venue providers, the GOB acted in at least a 
high-handed manner and drew unwanted international attention 
to its unbecoming behavior, tarnishing its image of a leader 
of democratic reform in the region.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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BOYCOTTERS LOOK AT FEBRUARY 14 DIFFERENTLY 
------------------------------------------ 
 
2.  (C) The four political societies that boycotted the 
October 2002 parliamentary elections (Al Wifaq National 
Democratic Action Society (NDAS), National Democratic 
Congregation, and National Islamic Action Society), organized 
a two-day conference that began on February 14 to propose 
changes to Bahrain's current constitution.  However, the 
medium of change proposed by the conference was to amend the 
1973 Constitution as stipulated by the National Action 
Charter (a broad statement of political reform objectives 
approved by referendum in 2001.)  Claiming that the 2002 
Constitution was imposed upon the people and not 
contractually adopted, the societies named the conference, 
&Towards a Contractual Constitution for a Constitutional 
Monarchy.8 
 
3.  (U)  Not only was the purpose of the conference 
controversial but also its date. Organizers chose February 14 
as the opening day of the conference because it marked the 
third anniversary of the King,s political contract with the 
people ) the National Action Charter.  Bahrain Center for 
Human Rights President Nabeel Rajab, told Poloff February 16 
the boycotters chose this particular day of national 
celebration to provoke a reaction from the government. 
 
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THE BOYCOTTERS PETITION 
----------------------- 
 
4.  (U)  At the end of the conference, participants voted on 
proposed amendments to the 1973 Constitution, transforming it 
into a public petition to be submitted to the King.  The 
attendees elected a general secretariat to follow-up on the 
proposed changes.  Out of the 400 invitees who indicated that 
they would attend the conference, 217 did. 
 
5.  (U) Al Wifaq President Shaikh Ali Salman insisted that 
the intent of the conference was peaceful and in no way a 
vehicle to undermine the GOB's prestige.  Instead, the 
participants sought to consolidate reform in four major 
areas:  transparency, protection of public funds, true 
parliamentary power, and establishment of political parties. 
Al Wifaq member Adel Al Abassi told Poloff that the public 
petition proposed amendments to the 1973 Constitution, in 
particular, reducing the power of the Shura Council.  Al 
Abassi estimated that conference organizers will release the 
full text of the petition to the press next week. 
 
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THE BOYCOTTERS SUCCEED IN PROVOKING THE GOB 
------------------------------------------- 
 
6.  (U) Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammed Al Mutawa told 
the press on January 10 that each day Bahrain witnesses an 
example of the genuine application of democracy.  The fact 
that the boycotters' constitutional seminar will be held is a 
testament that democracy under the new constitution is 
working, he said. 
 
7.  (C) In the days preceding the conference, the GOB turned 
Al Mutawa's words on their head, by systematically seeking to 
prevent the convening of the conference and to diminish 
conference attendance.  The GOB turned away 15 speakers and 
participants from Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, France, and England 
at ports of entry.  One of the international visitors slated 
to attend the conference was prominent MP and former Chairman 
of Kuwait,s Parliament (Majlis Al Umma) Ahmed Al Sadoon, who 
drove to Bahrain but only to be turned away on the Saudi 
causeway.  The international press carried the barring of 
foreign participants, highlighting the GOB's illegal actions. 
 Regionally, the GOB went as far as to contact their Kuwaiti 
and Egyptian counterparts to pressure their citizens not to 
attend.  Locally, the GOB also lobbied foreign diplomats not 
to attend.  (The MFA called the CDA three times to strongly 
urge officers not to attend.)  MFA MinState told CDA that the 
conference was illegal. MFA also contacted the British, 
French, and German ambassadors, those diplomats told us 
February 17. 
 
8.  (U) On February 12, the Minister of Labor and Social 
Affairs (MOLSA) Majeed Al Alawi sent a letter to the four 
societies notifying them of their need to obtain permission 
before holding the conference.  He stated: &there is no 
problem with holding the event as long as a license and 
permission are obtained from MOLSA according to regulations 
set by the law.8  Organizers responded to Al Alawi,s 
statement reporting that Al Alawi notified them that they 
were in violation of the law but did not mention which law 
had been violated, adding that no law requires them to obtain 
permission, nor do they want to set the precedence for the 
Ministry to control societies, activities.  In a statement 
to &Al Wasat8, the country's only independent newspaper, 
Minister of Information Nabeel Al Hamer warned that the GOB 
will take matters to the courts if the societies fail to 
obtain permission to hold the conference. (NOTE:  We know of 
no law that requires societies to obtain permission to hold 
an event; Decree 73 for societies only requires them to 
notify the Ministry of Interior at least three days prior to 
an event taking place. END NOTE) 
 
9.  (C) When the societies did not respond to the threats by 
canceling their event, the GOB, on January 13, ordered the 
Radisson hotel to cancel the contract with organizers just 
hours before the start of the conference.  Hotel Manager Mark 
Phillips told PolOff that he received a letter  urgently 
requesting, he cancel the contract and informing him that no 
one should be allowed to enter the conference without a 
 letter of permission, issued by MOLSA.  Phillips relayed 
this information to preparatory committee member Jalila Al 
Sayed, and withdrew the Radisson as a venue. 
 
10.  (U) Anticipating this might happen, conference 
organizers made previous arrangements to contract with two 
contingent venues.  Even though the General Organization for 
Youth and Sports (GOYS) sent a letter warning the Al-Ouruba 
Club management of the possibility of losing its operation 
license, Al-Ouruba club management agreed to hold the 
conference on its premises. 
 
11.  (U) In an attempt to explain GOB's actions, on February 
14, Minister of Information Nabeel Al Hammer issued a public 
statement, "We will not allow foreigners to interfere in our 
affairs."  The Gulf Daily News (GDN) published from the Royal 
Court Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa a statement 
from the King.  It said, "With all due respect to foreign 
experts, it is important that the debate over the kingdom's 
internal affairs remains restricted to its citizens and that 
no-one else take part in it.8 
 
12.  (C) COMMENT. Overall, the conference would have largely 
been a non-event had the GOB ignored it.  The GOB's impeding 
movement of foreign political activists seeking to attend 
generated unwanted international publicity.  Pan Arab media 
channel al-Jazeera and widely read Arabic newspaper al-Hayat 
reported extensively on the conference.  The King's remark 
that foreigners should stay out of debates about internal 
Bahraini politics is a vivid reminder of government 
sensitivities.  The GOB acted in a high-handed manner at 
least, tarnishing its image of a regional leader of 
democratic reforms and respect for human rights. 
FORD