US embassy cable - 05MANAMA812

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000812 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2015 
TAGS: PREL, EPET, PHUM, PGOV, BA 
SUBJECT: KING DISCUSSES SAUDI-GCC RELATIONS, DOMESTIC 
POLITICS WITH AMBASSADOR 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe.  Reason: 1.4 (B)(D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) King Hamad told the Ambassador June 6 that a key issue 
discussed at last month's GCC Summit in Riyadh was relations 
between Saudi Arabia and its GCC partners.  Kuwait is taking 
the lead on developing a unified position to take to the 
Saudis.  Bahrain recommends that Kuwait focus on three 
issues: the Qatar-Kuwait gas pipeline, the 50,000 b/d Saudi 
oil grant to Bahrain, and disputed UAE islands controlled by 
the Saudis.  Regarding Bahrain-Saudi relations, the King said 
they are much improved officially now that the FTA dispute 
has been resolved, but unofficially they remain cool because 
Saudi Arabia is uncomfortable with Bahrain's steps towards 
democracy.  The King expected more Shia to participate in 
Bahrain's parliamentary elections next year, even if 
opposition society Al-Wifaq does not alter its official 
position to boycott. He also discussed a demonstration led by 
activist Abdul Hadi Al-Khawaja that was dispersed in front of 
the royal court that morning, as well as the visit of an 
Iranian judicial figure that apparently led to a positive 
change of view by a leading Bahrain Shia cleric on proposed 
legislation dealing with women's rights. 
 
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KUWAIT TO TAKE LEAD ON ISSUE OF SAUDI-GCC RELATIONS 
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2. (C) King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, in a June 6 meeting 
with the Ambassador, discussed at length the May 25 GCC 
Summit meeting, which he chaired in Riyadh.  He said that 
Crown Prince Abdullah was clearly delighted with his trip to 
the U.S., but less pleased when the discussion turned to 
relations between Saudi Arabia and its GCC partners.  The 
issue was first broached in a general way by Kuwait's Shaykh 
Sabah.  King Hamad, as Summit Chairman, told his counterparts 
that this was an issue that deserved further study, and it 
was decided that Kuwait would undertake consultations with 
other GCC countries and that Shaykh Sabah would present the 
findings to CP Abdullah in the coming weeks. 
 
3. (C) King Hamad said that he had met the previous evening 
with Kuwait Foreign Minister Dr. Mohammed, who was in Bahrain 
as part of a "reconnaissance" mission on behalf of Shaykh 
Sabah on the issue of GCC-Saudi relations.  The King said he 
told Dr. Mohammed that Shaykh Sabah should focus on three 
issues when he meets with CP Abdullah: the proposed 
Qatar-Kuwait gas pipeline, the 50,000 b/d Saudi oil grant for 
Bahrain that was withdrawn last year, and several disputed 
UAE islands controlled by Saudi Arabia. 
 
4. (C) Noting that the five smaller GCC countries now all 
have good relations among themselves, the King stated that 
the problem invariably was with bilateral relations with the 
Saudis.  Given these difficult times, with instability in 
Iraq and uncertainty in Iran, it was critically important 
that the six GCC countries work together to strengthen their 
unity.   He welcomed U.S. support on this, particularly on 
the three issues he had mentioned. 
 
5.(C) In a subsequent meeting with the Ambassador June 7, 
Foreign Minister Shaykh Mohammed bin Mubarak said that 
Kuwait's actions to address intra-GCC frictions was a good 
initiative.  It is better to address these issues in an open, 
transparent manner so that they can be resolved, he said.  He 
thought Saudi Arabia was receptive to the project, which 
should be viewed as a friendly gesture among GCC countries 
and a sign of the maturity of their relations with each 
other.  After Bahrain, Kuwait's Dr. Mohammed visited Doha and 
the UAE, and would follow on with consultations with Sultan 
Qaboos. 
 
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BAHRAIN-SAUDI RELATIONS: OFFICIALLY IMPROVED; UNOFFICIALLY 
COOL 
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6. (C) Amplifying on Bahrain's own relations with Saudi 
Arabia, King Hamad said that the situation had improved now 
that Saudi Arabia had dropped its objections to the free 
trade agreement with the U.S.  "Officially," the only real 
issue is the withdrawn 50,000 b/d oil grant.  "Unofficially," 
however, relations remain cool because the Saudis continue to 
be uncomfortable with Bahrain's steps towards democracy. 
This is a problem Bahrain has with all of its GCC partners, 
he stated.  Bahrain will always try to stay one or two steps 
ahead of its partners, but not more (and not less).  It 
cannot afford to get too far out in front of its neighbors. 
 
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DEMOCRACY: GESTURES TOWARDS SHIA UNLIKELY BEFORE ELECTIONS 
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7. (C) On the question of democracy, the Ambassador reviewed 
for the King the priority placed by the Bush Administration 
on democracy throughout the region during the second term, 
and USG efforts to support democracy through various 
programs, such as the very successful NDI program in Bahrain. 
 The Ambassador noted that Bahrain had been frequently 
praised by the President and senior Administration officials 
for the steps it had taken, but that praise also put a 
spotlight on Bahrain as the democratization process 
continued.  People noticed, for example, if a demonstration 
were not allowed to be held, wondering if this marked a step 
back in freedom of expression.  Also, the USG hoped for 
greater participation in next year's parliamentary elections. 
 
8. (C) Asked how he saw the political situation in Bahrain 
now, the King responded that he saw things moving in a 
positive direction.  He expected more Shias to participate in 
next year's elections unofficially, even if the opposition 
society Al-Wifaq officially did not change its official 
position to boycott.  Asked if he was considering any 
gestures towards the opposition to encourage participation, 
the King expressed skepticism that this would work.   He said 
that he had met personally with opposition leaders before the 
2002 elections, and thought he had secured their agreement to 
participate.  However, when they left the meeting, they went 
out and announced a boycott.  In subsequent negotiations, the 
opposition had said that the underpopulated Southern 
governorate (Sunni) had too many seats and should be reduced 
by at least two.  The King said that he had responded 
positively by reducing the seats by two, but the opposition 
still boycotted.  So this time, he suggested, his gestures 
will come after they participate, not before. 
 
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DEMONSTRATION AT ROYAL COURT DISPERSED 
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9. (C) On the question of demonstrations, the King said that 
a group of Bahrainis (press reports put the number at 30), 
led by activist Abdul Hadi Al-Khawaja, had demonstrated in 
front of the royal court office for three days (as part of a 
protest about unemployment).  He said that they had invited 
the protesters in to the court to discuss their complaints, 
but they had refused, saying they wanted to keep 
demonstrating.  Because the demonstrators were starting to 
disturb access to the royal court, they were dispersed on the 
third day (that morning).  He said that, just as there were 
rules in place to keep demonstrators at a certain distance 
from sensitive buildings like the U.S. Embassy, they would 
probably do something similar for the royal court.  (Note: 
The press reported the next day that the royal court had 
issued a statement saying that the immediate vicinity of the 
royal court had been classified a security area in which 
rallies would not be permitted.  At the same time, the 
statement added, the royal court would keep its doors open 
for the people.  Reportedly, the royal court subsequently 
offered to help find employment for the protesters if they 
suspended the protest in front of the royal court, and 
protesters rushed over to the Ministry of Interior's office 
of employment to apply for jobs.  End note.) 
 
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IRAN PLAYS HELPFUL ROLE ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS LAW 
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10. (C) Finally, the King mentioned that Iranian judicial 
official Ayatollah Sayed Hashemi Shahroodi had visited 
Bahrain last week and met with senior officials and religious 
leaders.  The Crown Prince asked Ayatollah Shahroodi why 
leading Shia clerics in Bahrain were opposed to the proposed 
personal status law, which aims at protecting rights for 
women in such areas as child custody and inheritance. 
Ayatollah Shahroodi, according to the King, said that the 
Shia should support the law and promised to talk to senior 
Shia clerics such as Isa Qassim.  The King said he just had 
just learned that, following his discussion with Ayatollah 
Shahroodi, Isa Qassim now supports the law.  (Note: The law 
had been a key initiative announced by the King in his 
opening address to parliament last fall.  Shia clerical 
leaders opposed the law on the grounds that religious 
leaders, and not secular members of the national assembly, 
should deal with such issues.) 
MONROE