US embassy cable - 05MANAMA711

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000711 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, PHUM, ECON, BA 
SUBJECT: CROWN PRINCE AND PDAS CHENEY DISCUSS FORUM FOR THE 
FUTURE, REFORM, TERRORISM, AND FTA 
 
REF: MANAMA 692 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
. 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) NEA PDAS Elizabeth Cheney reviewed plans for the 
November Forum for the Future with Crown Prince Salman in a 
May 10 meeting and praised the role that Bahrain is playing 
as host.  She emphasized U.S. support for Bahrain's reform 
program and stressed that the GOB must continue to move 
forward in this regard.  The CP agreed and affirmed that the 
GOB was actively engaged in promoting reform.  He said that 
he was not worried about Islamists taking power in the 
region, as checks and balances would mitigate potentially 
negative developments.  On the draft counterterrorism law 
currently before the Bahraini parliament, the CP said that 
the GOB should lobby parliamentarians more but was confident 
the law would pass.  The CP's Chief of Staff indicated that 
the Bahraini parliament would try to ratify the FTA before 
its summer break begins June 15.  The CP noted that the GOB 
was very pleased by Qatar's recent agreement to provide 
natural gas to Bahrain.  End Summary. 
 
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Forum for the Future 
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2.  (C) Visiting NEA PDAS Elizabeth Cheney, accompanied by 
NEA DAS Scott Carpenter and the Ambassador, met with Crown 
Prince Salman May 10 and reviewed plans for the November 
Forum for the Future.  Cheney praised the role that Bahrain 
is playing as host of the forum and said that the steering 
committee meeting held that morning (septel) demonstrated 
that the GOB is ready to move forward with preparations. 
Carpenter commented on the involvement of civil society in 
the planning process, noting that there is always some 
tension between civil society and governments but if 
expectations are managed well the result will be positive. 
The CP agreed that civil society should play a prominent role 
in the Forum. 
 
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Human Rights and Democratic Reform 
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3.  (C) Cheney emphasized U.S. support for Bahrain's reform 
program and stressed that the GOB must continue its progress 
in this area.  She mentioned last year's closure of the 
Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) as cause for concern. 
The CP said that the BCHR was perceived as partisan and that 
the majority of its board members were from leading Shi'a 
opposition political society Al Wifaq.  He added that the GOB 
wants to create a human rights center to collect reports and 
address human rights issues. 
 
4.  (C) When asked about the potential impact of Islamists 
taking power in the region by democratic means, the CP 
replied that there are ways to balance the effects of such a 
development.  In Bahrain the King and the appointed Shura 
Council play this balancing role, and other countries have 
different solutions.  He noted that the Al Asala (Salafi) 
bloc in parliament says it is not interested in democracy and 
that it participated in the elections only so that less 
religious people would not take the seats.  (Note:  Al Asala 
is now one of the leading political forces in parliament, 
focusing on moral and ethical issues and adherence to Islamic 
values.  End Note.)  On Al Wifaq, the CP predicted that if it 
enters parliament, it will break into several groups as its 
members represent a wide variety of perspectives. 
 
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Counterterrorism Law 
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5.  (C) Cheney highlighted the need for a counterterrorism 
law and for continued monitoring of terrorist suspects in 
Bahrain.  She noted that the Minister of Interior had told 
her earlier that day that he was meeting with MPs to 
encourage support for the draft counterterrorism law that was 
recently presented to parliament.  The CP said that although 
he had full confidence in the Minister of Interior, he did 
not believe that the GOB was lobbying parliamentarians enough 
on the draft counterterrorism law.  He reported that the Al 
Asala bloc is not on board, but nevertheless believed that 
parliament would support the draft. 
 
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FTA Ratification 
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6.  (C) The CP's Chief of Staff Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa 
commented that the Bahraini parliament will try to ratify the 
FTA before its three-month summer break begins June 15.  He 
noted that the break will be delayed if the budget is not 
passed.  The CP said he hoped that the U.S. Congress would 
also rapidly ratify the FTA. 
 
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Bahrain-Qatar gas line 
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7.  (C)  The Ambassador asked the CP about press reports 
stating that Qatar has agreed to supply Bahrain with natural 
gas via pipeline (reftel).  The CP confirmed the report, but 
said the contract to construct the pipeline had not been 
signed yet.  He expected the pipeline would become 
operational within 2-3 years and said that it would be up to 
the Qataris to decide which company would manage the project. 
 
8.  (U) PDAS Cheney cleared this cable. 
MONROE