US embassy cable - 05MANAMA884

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000884 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, BA 
SUBJECT: ROYAL FAMILY MEMBER TESTS RULE OF LAW 
 
REF: A. MANAMA 871 
     B. MANAMA 859 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
. 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) A senior member of the royal family is facing intense 
pressure for building a wall around his property that blocks 
public access to the beach near a small Shi'a fishing 
village.  Prominent political, human rights, and religious 
leaders have joined Malkiya residents in demanding that the 
wall be torn down, and the King has intervened to help find a 
solution to the problem.  The government ordered the owner to 
demolish the illegal portions of the wall as soon as 
possible, but it is still standing.  Though this case will 
likely be resolved soon, it coincides with a rise in protests 
and tension in the kingdom and some are worried that violent 
confrontation is becoming a real possibility.  On the upside, 
the likely demolition of the wall will signal that in the new 
area of political reforms, even high level members of the 
royal family are not above the law. 
 
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Villagers Denied Public Access to the Sea 
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2.  (SBU) Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, the King's 
first cousin, recently completed construction of a four meter 
high wall that blocks public access to the beach near 
Malkiya, a small Shi'a fishing village.  (Note: Bahraini law 
is unclear, but coastal areas near villages and towns have 
traditionally been considered public property. End Note.) 
Sheikh Hamad claims that the wall, which surrounds his home 
and extends 300 meters into the sea, is necessary to prevent 
thieves and trespassers from entering his property.  Local 
residents, who depend on the sea as a main source of income 
and recreation, say that the wall is illegal and have 
organized a committee to demand that the wall be torn down. 
They began protesting and attracting public attention to the 
issue in late May, when it became clear that construction of 
the wall would extend beyond Sheikh Hamad's private land and 
into a public area.  MP Jasim Abdul A'Al, whose constituency 
includes the Malkiya residents, emerged as the leading 
spokesman for the group.  The cause was championed by 
independent Al Wasat newspaper, which put articles and 
photographs of the wall on the front page for several weeks. 
 
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Protesters Damage Police Vehicles 
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3.  (C) On June 1, the Council of Representatives (COR) 
announced that it wanted to formally investigate the 
incident, but would give the Royal Court a chance to resolve 
the issue first.  On June 4, Minister of Municipalities and 
Agriculture Ali Saleh Al Saleh, on instructions from the 
King, visited Malkiya and announced that Sheikh Hamad had two 
weeks to prove his legal right to the wall or tear it down. 
Several days later, a ministry representative said publicly 
that sections of Sheikh Hamad's wall were illegal and that 
action would be taken against him unless he removed the 
illegal parts.  Sheikh Hamad refused, however, and on June 10 
hundreds of protesters marched in Malkiya. Approximately 
twenty protesters, allegedly including Bahrain Center for 
Human Rights board member Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, broke 
sections of the wall, destroyed a watch tower, and damaged 
police vehicles.  Prominent leaders who attended the rally 
condemned the violent actions taken by some protesters. 
 
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Wall Still Standing 
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4.  (C) On instructions from the King, Sheikh Hamad met with 
villagers on June 13 and discussed their concerns.  The next 
day, Sheikh Hamad announced that he had filed a case against 
MP Abdul A'Al and others for damaging his property during the 
June 10 protest.  The press reported June 15 that Sheikh 
Hamad had suspended further construction of the wall, but had 
not started demolition of the illegal sections of the wall. 
Abdul A'Al told PolOff June 19 that a representative of the 
King told him to wait for two more weeks while the family 
convinced Sheikh Hamad to take down the wall.  Abdul A'Al 
recognized that it was hard for Sheikh Hamad to admit that he 
was not above the law, but he did not know how long villagers 
would wait while many of them are cut off from their main 
source of income. 
 
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Increased Interest in Protecting the Public Beaches 
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5.  (SBU) The Malkiya villagers' campaign has received public 
support from a diverse group of leaders including MPs, Shura 
Council members, human rights activists, leading Shi'a 
clerics, government ministers, and boycotting oppositionists. 
 The Northern Municipal Council that represents Malkiya 
residents voted May 30 to freeze any new proposals for 
coastal development, and the Shura Council recently discussed 
legislation that would increase restrictions on acquiring 
coastal land and would require public access to beaches. 
People from all backgrounds frequently complain both publicly 
and privately that although Bahrain is a small island, there 
is very little access to the water. 
 
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Comment 
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6.  (C) The Malkiya wall situation is a microcosm for many of 
the current trends in Bahraini society:  a member of the 
Royal Family trying to grab what he thinks is his, Shi'a 
demanding their rights, an independent newspaper championing 
a social cause and freedom of expression, parliamentary 
deputies as watchdogs, and the King stepping in to restore 
order.  It appears that in this case, the villagers have won 
a victory over a senior royal, a situation that would have 
been inconceivable just a few years ago.  But reliance on the 
King to resolve problems from outside the system can slow the 
growth of, and the people's faith in, government 
institutions.  Understanding this perception, the King told 
Centcom Commander General Abizaid that he is trying to 
channel complaints of all kinds (including the constitutional 
debate) through the system in order to build and strengthen 
it (Ref A). 
MONROE