US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1133

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001133 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP 
LONDON FOR ETHAN GOLDRICH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2029 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, BA 
SUBJECT: ELBOWS EXTENDED, PARLIAMENT CATCHES EYES DURING 
ITS SECOND SESSION 
 
REF: A. MANAMA 801 
     B. MANAMA 200 
     C. MANAMA 138 
     D. 03 MANAMA 2873 
     E. 03 MANAMA 2871 
     F. 03 MANAMA 2686 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Molly Williamson for reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY.  June 9 marked the end of Parliament's 
second session with well-earned successes in both houses. 
Hampered by constitutional limitations, the elected Council 
of Representatives (COR) gravitated away from drafting 
legislation and exercised its oversight authority to its 
fullest extent, surprising its constituencies and forcing the 
GOB to rectify its mistakes.  Contrary to popular 
expectation, the appointed Shura Council drafted several new 
laws proving it was not just the King's rubber stamp but a 
progressive reform-minded legislative power. The COR must 
amend the 2002 Constitution to expand its legislative 
authority and become a real legislature.  Amending the 
constitution co-opts the rejectionists' argument that there 
is a constitutional crisis.  In addition, if the COR delivers 
on issues of unemployment, discrimination and illegal 
naturalization, it will further erode the importance of the 
rejectionists.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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PARLIAMENT OVERSIGHT GOUGES THE GOVERNMENT 
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2. (U) The Council of Representatives (COR) members, daunted 
by constitutional limitations on their powers to legislate, 
quickly chose to exercise more clearly defined government 
oversight powers.  In doing so, the COR forced the GOB to 
react, respond and reform.  Parliament's aggressiveness 
surprised the people and hurt the GOB.  The press avidly 
covered investigations and questioning of ministers related 
to alleged pension fund mismanagement and illegal 
naturalization.  The process undeniably produced the 
Parliament's crowning achievement for this session, the 
government's complete overhaul of the management of the 
pension fund system and its complete recapitalization at the 
GOB's expense.  At one point the COR seemed poised to vote 
the Finance Minister out of office, but it recoiled at the 
last instant.  This success has given the MPs confidence to 
summon other ministers for questioning on subjects ranging 
from variable completion times on road repair projects to 
allegations that the Finance Ministry is awarding contracts 
outside the established government procurement process. 
 
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SHURA COUNCIL - NOT NECESSARILY THE KING'S MEN 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
3.  (C)  Having no oversight authority, the more experienced 
Shura Council (many members served in the pre-2002 Shura 
Council) decided to try to stretch its authority vis-a-vis 
the government by drafting reform legislation.  The Shura 
drafted nine recommended laws, one of which was its long 
awaited Press Law.  The draft included 86 new articles and 
differed radically from the 2002 law currently in force 
(although allegedly frozen).  The Shura Council's law is 
considered by many in Bahrain to be the most liberal press 
law in the Middle East.  Instead of accepting this landmark 
legislation, the government sent its own much more regressive 
draft bill to the COR, whose leading members have quietly 
told us that the COR will reject the government bill early in 
the next session after raking Cabinet Affairs Minister Al 
Muttawa over the coals in an open questioning session.  The 
Shura Council also drafted a Societies Law that governs 
extra-national NGO registrations and establishes regulations 
for their oversight.  In January, the Shura drafted a law to 
establish an Administrative Oversight Bureau that would fall 
directly under the authority of the King and oversees the 
activities of the ministries, official institutions, 
independent government bureaus and directorates.  The 
Ministries of Defense, Interior and the National Guard are 
excluded from the new bureau's purview.  This proposed law 
would dissolve the Financial Oversight Bureau that is 
currently under the Prime Minister's jurisdiction. 
 
4. (U)  Disappointingly, the COR allowed several of its 
legislative initiatives to languish.  For example, the COR 
did not finalize a draft amendment to change 26 clauses of 
the penal code, to ensure that punishment would match the 
magnitude of the crime. The inadequacy of the code was 
highlighted in May when 14 youths were arrested for 
soliciting signatures for a petition and charged with a crime 
that carried a life imprisonment sentence. (see ref a)  In 
June, MPs postponed passing a draft union law allowing 
government employees the right to form trade unions within 
ministries and government institutions.  This brought outrage 
from the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) 
whose members attempted to stage a sit-in at Parliament. 
5. (U)   Even more surprising was the COR's rejection of 
draft laws that the public apparently supports.  In November 
2003, the King gave his blessing to COR members to draft a 
political parties law, allowing societies with political 
agendas to operate legally in Bahrain.  However six months 
later the COR voted down its own draft. This left several 
societies that engage in political activities in limbo. 
Instead the COR decided to draft a political societies law 
which will not be ready until next session.  MPs also 
rejected the long awaited draft Personal Status Law which 
sent expectations of women's rights activists plummeting.  In 
May, MPs rejected a call to make discrimination a crime 
punishable under Bahrain's penal code.  Human rights 
activists were very disappointed by this rejection.  Shi'a 
embassy contacts have told EmbOFFs that any credibility gains 
in their community made by MPs during the pension fund 
investigation were lost with the rejection of this law. 
 
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THE COR's GAFFS 
--------------- 
 
6. (U) Largely due to inexperience, some of the MPs' 
initiatives and behavior were viewed as farcical.  These less 
stellar moments were highly publicized in the press. 
Damaging the COR's credibility the most was its attempt to 
push through its own lifelong monthly retirement benefit of 
BD3,250 (USD8,645) for serving one four-year term.  This 
initiative comes one year after the public already raised its 
eyebrows after the GOB gave each member a luxury car and 
BD10,000 (USD26,600) for winning a parliamentary seat.  In 
October 2003 MP Sameer Abdulla Al Shuwaikh was found guilty 
of passing BD1.2 million (USD3.2 million) in a series of bad 
checks to businessmen.  After paying a paltry BD500 
(USD1,330) fine, Al Shuwaikh returned to his parliamentary 
duties and was quickly named to the investigative committee 
on corrupt financial practices. At Parliament's last session 
before summer break, MP Sunni Islamist Jassim Al Saeedi spent 
15 minutes extolling Bahrain's progress in democratic reform 
and modernization and urged Bahrainis to fully support the 
Free Trade Agreement.  This same MP spent the majority of the 
year advocating a ban for 'alien' ceremonies like Halloween 
and Christmas and the amputation of both hands for thievery. 
 
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MORE CONFRONTATION WITH GOVERNMENT IN NEXT SESSION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
7.  (C)  COR members are already planning their next session. 
 Major COR members already plan to call ministers to account. 
 First Deputy Chairman Abdulhadi Marhoon told PolOff on June 
9 that during the summer recess MPs will need to come up with 
a vision and strategic plan for the next two years.  Member 
of the Finance Committee Jehad Hassan Bukamal told PolOff on 
June 14 that ways to maximize the US-Bahrain Free Trade 
Agreement will need to be on every COR agenda. Most MPs agree 
with Egyptian parliamentary consultant Amro Barakat that 
before MPs can delve headstrong into drafting new 
legislation, they must seek amendment of Article 92 of the 
Constitution that allows the Cabinet to review draft 
legislation for up to two sessions, effectively stopping 
legislators from legislating. President of the Service 
Committee Dr. Ali Ahmed Abdulla told PolOff on June 8 that in 
order to gain credibility with the public, the COR will need 
to draft legislation that tackles important issues like 
illegal naturalization, economic development and 
unemployment.  The COR, he continued, will also need to push 
through amendments to the criminal code, and the personal 
status, political societies and labor laws. 
 
8.  (C)  COMMENT.   The successes of the National Assembly 
have demonstrated that the current structure of government 
based on the 2002 Constitution can work.  This weakens the 
rejectionists argument that a constitutional crisis exists in 
Bahrain.  However, the National Assembly has also amply 
demonstrated the 2002 Constitution's weaknesses. If the COR 
decides to pursue amendments to the constitution to increase 
legislative authority, it will end up co-opting the 
rejectionists' platform further retaking their standing.  If 
the COR can deliver to its constituencies' on the issues of 
unemployment, discrimination and illegal naturalization, the 
rejectionists will be rendered obsolete. END COMMENT. 
WILLIAMSON