US embassy cable - 05MANAMA584

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000584 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI DBERNS 
STATE PASS USTR JBUNTIN 
COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/ONE LOUSTAUNAU AND HOFFMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2015 
TAGS: ECON, PREL, PGOV, KDEM, BA 
SUBJECT: BUSINESS CHAMBER STEPS ONTO POLITICAL STAGE 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary.  King Hamad approved the Bahrain Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry's (BCCI) request to provide in-kind 
support to political candidates.  BCCI representatives told 
Emboffs they decided to become involved in the political 
process in order to preserve Bahrain's open and 
business-friendly environment, which they perceive was being 
damaged by actions of religiously conservative deputies in 
the Council of Representatives (COR - lower house).  BCCI 
members are also looking to team up with a charitable 
organization to help further its political goals.  These 
recent developments are evidence of further maturation of the 
political system as a formerly apolitical group chooses to 
get involved to defend and promote its members' interests. 
End Summary. 
 
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King Gives Blessing 
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2.  (C) The BCCI met with King Hamad March 13 to discuss the 
BCCI's publicly announced plan to support business-friendly 
candidates in 2006 municipal and parliamentary elections. 
BCCI President Khaled Kanoo was quoted in a March 14 Bahrain 
Tribune article as saying the King and BCCI members "talked 
about the definitive role of businessmen in politics to 
achieve greater goals.  We want to safeguard the interests of 
the private sector in the parliament."  BCCI Second Vice 
Chairman Essam Fakhro told PolEcon Chief April 13 that the 
King agreed to BCCI providing in-kind support to political 
candidates rather than direct financial contributions, which 
is illegal.  He said the King understands the critical role 
of the private sector in national affairs.  The BCCI will 
make itself available as a platform and public relations 
machine for business-friendly candidates to give speeches and 
publish articles in support of their election campaigns. 
 
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Need For Business-Friendly Politicians 
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3.  (C) The BCCI's interest in participating in the political 
process comes as a result of what leading business people 
view as the reactionary policies of many members of the COR, 
which the BCCI considers to be harmful to the business 
climate.  The BCCI issued a statement saying it wanted to 
help "shift the focus of the COR from the less important 
issues to the critical issues of economic freedom and 
business practices that will attract investments and create 
more employment opportunities." 
 
4.  (C) Two of the largest blocs in the COR, the Al Minbar 
(Muslim Brotherhood) and Al Asala (Salafi) blocs, are both 
conservative Sunni groups and often work together on 
initiatives to assert traditional Islamic teachings on 
ethics, morals, and Shari'ah law.  A few of their prominent 
actions have been to force the government to withdraw its 
support for the filming of a reality TV series in Bahrain, 
and to protest the concert of a Lebanese woman singer.  They 
are advocating the banning of alcohol in the Kingdom, and 
complaining of store mannequins clothed in lingerie.  Fakhro 
told the press that "the goal is to promote policies that are 
best for Bahrain's economy to develop.  We are not opposing 
religion or moral values." 
 
5.  (C) The BCCI chose to stay away from politics during the 
2002 parliamentary and municipal council elections.  Board 
member Adel Maskati told P/E chief that the BCCI, at that 
time, was concerned that the public's stereotypic view of 
greedy business people would hurt the chances of 
BCCI-supported candidates.  No business people decided to run 
themselves because they believed that COR and committee 
sessions would interfere with their business 
responsibilities.  After watching the actions of the COR for 
two years, however, the BCCI changed its stance and decided 
to become involved.  According to Maskati, the BCCI wants to 
protect Bahrain's traditional openness and welcoming attitude 
toward foreigners, which serve to promote business and 
investment. 
 
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BCCI Takes Action 
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6.  (C) In early 2005, the BCCI announced the formation of a 
committee to promote business-friendly candidates for the 
COR.  The committee would be funded at BD 1 million ($2.65 
million) by the BCCI.  Committee president Farouq Al Moayyed 
told P/E chief that the committee welcomed USG technical 
assistance on the role business can play in supporting 
political candidates.  During a February visit, U.S. Chamber 
of Commerce regional vice president Daemon Harris gave the 
committee a presentation on how the Chamber promotes its 
interests in the U.S. political system. 
 
7.  (C) The BCCI requested a meeting with King Hamad to 
discuss the organization's plans.  The King, however, would 
not take the meeting until questions involving the legality 
of the Chamber supporting specific candidates were settled. 
Fakhro told us that the final determination was that the BCCI 
cannot directly support candidates financially, though it can 
serve as a forum for candidates to air their views. 
 
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BCCI and Charitable Organizations 
--------------------------------- 
 
8.  (C) Taking a page from the book of religion-based 
political societies, Fakhro noted the BCCI is also 
considering using a charitable organization as "a vehicle to 
achieve political goals."  Instead of forming a new 
organization the BCCI will attempt to work through an 
existing one, and it is in contact with an as-yet unnamed 
charity.  While the activities of the charity would not be 
overtly political, Fakhro said that the BCCI could improve 
the image of the Chamber and business people generally by 
supporting activities such as neighborhood health clinics, 
scholarships, and book donations.  He noted that Islamic 
teachings favor anonymous charitable donations over those 
where the donor is identified, and said this served to put a 
damper on the PR aspects of charitable acts.  He recognized, 
however, that his competitors in Bahraini politics, including 
the religious-based charitable groups, did not feel 
constrained in this regard. 
 
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Parliamentarians Respond 
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9.  (C) Several MPs who spoke with Emboffs expressed their 
support for the BCCI's involvement in politics.  Fareed Ghazi 
of the Economic bloc stated that the BCCI could play a 
positive role because it is a liberal organization and 
promotes economic growth and stability.  The Economic bloc's 
Othman Sharif and the Democratic bloc's Yousif Zainal said 
the BCCI initiative is urgently needed because a number of 
less reform-minded MPs have presented proposals that could 
harm the economy.  Democratic bloc's Abdul Nabi Salman 
welcomed the move, describing it as "a step forward." 
Conservative Salafi group Al Asala's Ghanem Al Boanain, whose 
bloc Sharif and Zainal referred to, also endorsed the BCCI's 
initiative.  Al Boanain asserted that Al Asala is moderate in 
its economic tendencies and supports all economic activity as 
long as it is compatible with Shari'ah law. 
 
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Comment 
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10.  (C) The BCCI's decision to move onto the political stage 
is another step in the maturation of Bahrain's young 
democracy.  The business community traditionally viewed 
itself as apolitical, cooperating and coordinating with 
political leaders in a quiet, low profile manner.  The 
elections of 2002 and actions of members of parliament 
brought about belated recognition that the business community 
had to defend and promote its interests, just as other 
members of society must do.  Laws governing political 
activities in Bahrain prohibit non-political organizations 
from providing financial support to candidates, and the BCCI 
is still in the process of defining the types of activities 
it will undertake to promote business-friendly candidates. 
Maintaining Bahrain's traditional open and welcoming attitude 
toward foreigners and foreign investment promotes economic 
growth and reform, and the example of a large civil society 
organization getting involved in politics helps solidify 
progress in political reform. 
MONROE