US embassy cable - 05MANAMA922

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000922 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, BA 
SUBJECT: REFORM IN BAHRAIN: LEADING SHIA EDITOR HIGHLIGHTS 
THE CHALLENGES 
 
REF: A. MANAMA 900 B. MANAMA 885 C. MANAMA 884 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe.  Reason: 1.4 (B)(D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (S) Independent newspaper editor Mansour Al-Jamry, in a 
June 28 discussion with the Ambassador, gave a wide-ranging 
review of the complexities and challenges facing King Hamad 
as he pursues reform in Bahrain.  On the one hand, the King 
faces challenges from his two uncles: Prime Minister Khalifa 
and Shaikh Mohammed.  The King has been quietly trying to 
erode the economic power of the Prime Minister, moving PM 
cronies out of Cabinet positions and granting enhanced powers 
to the Economic Development Board (overseen by Crown Prince 
Salman). The PM, however, has allies sprinkled throughout the 
bureaucracies, and it would be wrong, Al-Jamry cautioned, to 
count him out just yet.  The other uncle, Shaikh Mohammed, 
who is in a coma, has long lived outside the law and his 
financial interests are being protected and advanced by his 
children.  One son, Shaikh Hamad, was at the center of a 
recent controversy over a wall built in a Shia village that 
cut off access to the sea.  Al-Jamry led the charge against 
the uncle, which resulted in a rare retreat by a powerful 
Royal Family member. 
 
2. (C) Another set of challenges highlighted by Al-Jamry 
comes from the oppostion Al-Wifaq and a more extreme group of 
Shia led by activist Abdul-Hadi Al-Khawaja.  Al-Jamry spoke 
positively of the way the King has dealt with recent 
demonstrations on constitutional reform organized by 
Al-Wifaq, and was sympathetic to "the box" the King finds 
himself in dealing with Al-Khawaja's more provocative 
challenges.  He said that Al-Khawaja considers himself 
"untouchable" because of support from the U.S. and the West, 
but is an opportunist who has no interest in democratic 
reform.  Al-Khawaja, he added, also poses a dilemma for 
opposition Shia, including Al-Wifaq and leading clerics like 
Shaikh Issa Qassim.  End summary. 
 
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MANSOR AL-JAMRY: INNOVATIVE JOURNALIST 
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3. (C) The Ambassador met June 28 with Mansour Al-Jamry, 
founder and editor-in-chief of the independent 
Arabic-language newspaper "Al-Wasat," for a discussion of 
Bahrain's reform efforts and the various challenges facing 
King Hamad as he attempts to move Bahrain's reform process 
forward.  Al-Jamry, who comes from one of the most prominent 
Shia families in Bahrain, lived in exile in London for many 
years before returning to Bahrain after the King introduced 
his constitutional reforms in 2001.  Under Al-Jamry's 
leadership, Al-Wasat has provided lively coverage of 
controversial issues, such as the recent confrontation with a 
senior Royal Family over a wall built in the Shia village of 
Malkiya, and has offered innovative features, such as regular 
reporting of Friday sermons by Bahrain's leading clerics and 
text-message instant polls.  He is well respected and liked, 
especially among Shia and well-educated Sunni.  The King and 
Crown Prince have been known to seek his counsel on sensitive 
issues. 
 
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CURBING THE PM'S POWERS 
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4. (S) Al-Jamry said that, in examining the reform process in 
Bahrain, one had to look at two different dynamics: the 
struggle for the upper hand within the Royal Family, and the 
maneuvering between the Royal Family and opposition Shia. 
The struggle within the Royal Family traces its roots to 
three brothers: the King's father, the late former Amir 
Shaikh Issa, and his two uncles, Shaikh Khalifa (currently 
the Prime Minister) and Shaikh Mohammed (currently in a coma 
on life support, with his sons looking after the family's 
interests).  At independence in 1971, the three brothers in 
effect divided and controlled much of the land in Bahrain. 
This has been an important source of their wealth and power. 
As Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalifa also controlled Bahrain's 
major state-owned enterprises, such as BAPCO (oil) and Alba 
(aluminum).  With ally Minister of Oil Shaikh Isa Bin Ali 
running the state-owned enterprises, the Prime Minister had 
off-the-books access to income from the state-owned 
enterprises (aided in recent years when PM crony Abdullah 
Seif was Minister of Finance).  As for Shaikh Mohammed, after 
a complete falling out with his two brothers he essentially 
considered himself outside the laws of Bahrain, seizing land 
that he wanted, not putting license plates on his cars, and 
intimidating anyone who blocked his ambitions.   He was out 
of government, but amassing a fortune which he has passed on 
to his heirs. 
5. (S) The King, according to Al-Jamry, has been quietly 
seeking to erode the economic power of the Prime Minister. 
This was seen in last January's Cabinet reshuffle, when the 
King succeeded in moving several Prime Minister cronies, 
including Finance Minister Abdullah Seif, out of their 
Cabinet positions.  Significantly, however, he was unable to 
dislodge Minister of Oil Shaikh Ali (confounding widespread 
rumors at the time that Shaikh Ali was on the way out).  On 
the other hand, Al-Jamry stated, the King did succeed in 
blocking an attempt by the PM to gain control of a major plot 
of land being developed for government ministerial buildings. 
 The PM wanted the property in his name; the King put his 
foot down (for the first time) and insisted that it be 
registered in the name of the government.  Meanwhile, the 
National Assembly has suddenly become more aggressive in 
demanding an accounting of profits from such state-owned 
companies as BAPCO and Alba (Ref A). 
 
6. (S) A potentially even more significant development, 
Al-Jamry stated, was the Royal Decree issued in May 
empowering the Economic Development Board (EDB) to enact 
economic-related regulations and to select the board chairmen 
of state-run companies.  Previously, the EDB could only make 
recommendations, and the Prime Minister controlled the 
appointments of chairmen to the state-run companies.  If the 
EDB truly takes on these new powers, Al-Jamry stated, it 
would mark an important shift in powers and resources away 
from the Prime Minister. 
 
7. (S) But Al-Jamry cautioned that it would be wrong to count 
out the Prime Minister just yet.  Although he left the 
country for an extended trip/vacation to New Zealand and the 
Far East this spring, apparently unhappy about attempts to 
limit his powers, he returned energized, active, and engaged. 
 Al-Jamry said that the PM has allies sprinkled throughout 
the bureaucracy -- experienced technocrats who know how to 
get things done.  In contrast, he said, the Crown Prince -- 
who is the driving force behind economic reform in Bahrain 
and is Chairman of the Board of the EDB -- has not had the 
time to develop a strong cadre of supporters.  He has 
surrounded himself with a group of capable, well-educated 
advisors (long-time friend, school mate, and aide Shaikh 
Mohammed bin Issa was recently appointed CEO of the EDB), but 
they are limited in numbers.  A further complication for the 
Crown Prince is that, in taking on the controversial issue of 
labor reform in order to alleviate growing unemployment 
concerns, he risks alienating Bahrain's leading private 
sector families, who fear the reforms will raise costs and 
erode their competitiveness. 
 
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THE OTHER UNCLE: HOLDING HIM ACCOUNTABLE TO THE LAW 
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8. (S) The King also found himself recently confronting the 
family of his other uncle, Shaikh Mohammed, when Shaikh 
Mohammed's son Hamad decided, without a legal permit, to 
build a wall by his residence near the Shia village of 
Malkiya, cutting off the village from the local beach (Ref 
C).  Al-Jamry said that villagers from Malkiya approached him 
and asked what they should do.  While there were plenty of 
other examples of Royal Family members acting above the law, 
particularly among members of Shaikh Mohammed's family, 
Al-Jamry decided to make a public issue of the case.  His 
paper published daily articles (with pictures) about the 
wall, and -- along with the Member of Parliament from Malkiya 
-- made it a national cause and the site of demonstrations. 
The Minister of Municipalities got involved, as did the Royal 
Court, and eventually Shaikh Hamad was forced to take down 
the wall. 
 
9. (S) While Al-Jamry viewed this as a good news story in 
which a Royal Family member was held accountable to the law, 
he lamented that in fact Shaikh Hamad backed down not in the 
face of the law but because of the personal intervention of 
the Royal Court.  Al-Jamry maintained that Municipalities 
Minister Ali bin Saleh was too intimidated by Shaikh Hamad to 
deliver the court order himself, and that Shaikh Hamad only 
began to dismantle the wall after visited by his brother 
Shaikh Khalid Bin Mohammed, who is serving as Advisor for 
Security Affairs in the Royal Court. 
 
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THE WIFAQ CHALLENGE 
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10. (C) Meanwhile, the King has been dealing with separate 
challenges from the Shia opposition.  One challenge comes 
from the leading Shia opposition society Al-Wifaq, which is 
pressing for constitutional reforms through peaceful 
demonstrations and considering whether to participate in the 
2006 parliamentary elections.  Al-Jamry said that the 
government has handled this challenge well in terms of 
allowing a series of demonstrations to take place without 
incident. 
 
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THE AL-KHAWAJA CHALLENGE 
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11. (C) More difficult for the King has been the challenge 
presented by a group of radical Shia led by activist Abdul 
Hadi Al-Khawaja.  Al-Jamry was highly critical of Al-Khawaja, 
terming him an opportunist who was more interested in 
personal notoriety than genuine reform.  He cited an Arab 
expression about people who exploit a good cause (in this 
case, unemployment among Shia) to create mischief, and said 
that this expression describes Al-Khawaja perfectly. He said 
that Al-Khawaja has absolutely no interest in democratic 
reform, and that if Al-Khawaja ever took over people would 
look back on the days of the Al-Khalifa as paradise. 
 
12. (C) Al-Jamry said that Al-Khawaja's goal is to provoke 
the government into aggressive responses, believing that he 
is "untouchable" because he has the backing of the United 
States, Europeans, and Western human rights groups. He said 
that the King is in a box and doesn't know what to do.  He 
said the Royal Court called him for advice when confronted 
with Al-Khawaja's most recent demonstration in from of the 
Royal Court (Ref B).  In fact, Al-Jamry said, Al-Khawaja is 
creating a dilemma for others as well.  Mainstream Al-Wifaq 
leadership feel he is complicating their maneuverings with 
the government over constitutional reform and election 
participation, and is also drawing away disaffected young 
Shia attracted by Al-Khawaja's more aggressive stance. 
Leading Shia clerics like Shaikh Issa Qassim don't like 
Al-Khawaja because he comes from the radical Kerbala-based 
Shirazi sect of Shias, while Issa Qassim -- 95 percent of 
Bahrainis -- look either to Qom or Najaf.  Even 
representatives of the more radical wing of Al-Wifaq, such as 
spokesman Abdul Jalil Singace and Vice President Hassan 
Mushaima, who have supported Al-Khawaja, are conflicted: they 
do not like Shirazis and disagree with Al-Khawaja on the 
question of election participation (Al-Khawaja apparently is 
weighing running for parliament). 
 
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COMMENT 
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13. (C) Al-Jamry represents much of what is good about 
Bahrain since King Hamad launched his reform effort.  Having 
spent years in London in exile, he returned and set up a 
newspaper that is contributing to the more open discourse 
that one finds in Bahrain these days.  He believes 
passionately in reform, and is willing to take risks (as when 
he took on the Malkiya wall issue).  But he recognizes the 
complexities of moving the reform process forward in Bahrain 
-- both because of the dynamics within the Royal Family and 
within the opposition Shia community.  He acknowledged to the 
Ambassador that at times he gets frustrated and is tempted to 
return to the comfortable life he had in London. If he did, 
it would be a real loss for Bahrain. 
MONROE