US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1379

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001379 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, BA 
SUBJECT: SEPARATIST MOVEMENT EMERGES WITHIN BAHRAIN'S 
LARGEST OPPOSITION SOCIETY 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C)  Following a period of speculation, Nezar Al Baharna, 
a prominent Shia businessman and former board member of the 
largest Shia opposition political society Al Wifaq, confirmed 
to the press in late August that he planned to establish a 
new political society called the Society of Justice and 
Development.  Soon after, four other prominent Shia, 
businessman Jala Haji Hassan Al A'ali, leading cleric Seyad 
Deya'a Al Mousawi, Al Wifaq founding member Jawad Fairooz, 
and Chairman of the Central Governorates Municipal Council 
Nabeel Sayed, either publicly announced or indicated to 
PolOFF that they also intended to join the new society.  In 
response, members of Al Wifaq staged a sit-in at its 
headquarters on September 1 to protest Al Baharna's move. 
 
2.  (C)  Al Baharna's steps to establish the new society have 
fueled widespread complaints that he is intentionally trying 
to split Al Wifaq. But Al Baharna told PolOFF that his 
departure from Al Wifaq was due to lack of a consolidated 
platform and a clear vision for the future. Al Baharna said 
that Al Wifaq's current leadership insists on boycotting the 
2006 national elections, as it did in 2002.  He said his 
political society will participate in the democratic process 
and did not rule out his own candidacy in the 2006 
parliamentary elections. Al Baharna did not comment whether 
his society would have a strictly Shia membership base, and 
added that increasing the number of political societies was 
beneficial because it brings about competition, resulting in 
more effective, responsive political organizations. 
 
3.  (C)  Jawad Fairooz denied rumors that establishment of 
this new society was a GOB-backed plan to weaken the Shia. 
Fairooz told PolFSN on September 5 that he does not believe 
establishing a new party will split Al Wifaq and that the 
organization is strong enough to withstand the formation of a 
new society.  He pointed to the ongoing struggles between 
hard-liner Hassan Mushaima and more moderate President Shaikh 
Ali Salman as evidence of Al Wifaq's strength and ability to 
withstand differences within the organization.  Fairooz noted 
that Al Wifaq continues to attract the support of most 
Bahraini Shia. 
 
4.  (C)  COMMENT:  Al Wifaq's continued boycott of elections 
and single-minded focus on returning to the (very short) 
"heyday" of democracy in the early 1970's has meant that 
Bahrain's Shia have had little voice in governing or public 
decision-making.  While Al-Wifaq has brought together 
Bahrain's Shia and forced the government to deal with it as a 
legitimate voice for the country's majority sect, the 
creation of Al Baharna's new society has the potential to 
become a significant move toward increased political 
participation in the country.  END COMMENT. 
MONROE