US embassy cable - 04MANAMA403

S E C R E T MANAMA 000403 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA FO/PDAS LAROCCO AND DAS DIBBLE, NEA/RA, 
NEA/ARP, PM, PM/ 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2014 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, PTER, BA, KICC 
SUBJECT: MFA MINSTATE ASKS FOR TIME ON ARTICLE 98 
RATIFICATION 
 
REF: A. MANAMA 368 
     B. MANAMA 200 
 
Classified By: CDA Robert S. Ford for reasons 1.4(b)(d). 
 
1.(C) Bahrain is serious about ratifying the Article 98 
agreement, MFA Minstate Abdulghaffar assured Charge on March 
23.  The GOB is not deliberately delaying progress, he 
stressed repeatedly; the government is divided between those 
who advocate that the agreement does not have to go to 
parliament, and those who believe the National Assembly must 
ratify it.  The MFA, he emphasized, firmly supports bringing 
the agreement into force without submitting it to the 
National Assembly. 
 
2.(C) The government, Abdulghaffar explained, does not want 
this argument or its signature of the agreement to leak a 
currently fractious parliament.  He related that he had faced 
unexpected criticism during the March 22 Shura (appointed) 
Council debate on the ratification of the counter terrorism 
conventions on the suppression of terrorist financing and the 
suppression of terrorist bombings (septel).  Some "Islamist" 
members asked why Bahrainis shouldn't provide charity to the 
orphans of Hamas martyrs, he highlighted.  In the present 
climate, he rhetorically argued, it would be better to take 
the agreement to the National Assembly after the GOSI/Pension 
Fund crisis with the House of Representatives is resolved 
(ref b). 
 
3.(C) Abdulghaffar recalled that he had participated in the 
negotiation of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) and 
reiterated that he did not believe that Bahrain would ever 
turn over an American to the International Criminal Court. 
Responding to POL/ECON Chief's question, Abdulghaffar stated 
definitively that Bahrain has no intention at this time of 
ratifying the Convention on the International Criminal Court. 
 However, he quickly added that some within the GOB have 
argued that Bahrain should ratify the ICC treaty if it 
ratifies the Article 98 agreement. 
 
4.(C) COMMENT:  Abdulghaffar's demarche reflects Bahrain's 
domestic political stress from internal disturbances, an 
increasingly aggressive parliament, the approach of the 
Formula 1 race, and the death of Shaikh Ahmed Yassin.  A 
group of university-educated Sunni Bahrainis blasted the U.S. 
for never joining the ICC during Charge's March 22 call on 
their political salon.  Charge did not raise with the young 
men -- already angry about the killing of Shaikh Yassin -- 
the Article 98 issue.  Their rejection of our bilateral 
agreement would have been certain.  The MFA obviously fears 
losing a vote in parliament on the article 98 agreement 
ratification.  Given the current local political climate, we 
think pushing the Bahrainis to send a U.S. bilateral 
agreement to parliament now would probably produce a 
parliamentary rejection.  END COMMENT. 
FORD