US embassy cable - 05MANAMA952

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000952 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KDEM, PHUM, ELAB, ECON, BA 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH MINISTER OF LABOR 
 
REF: MANAMA 885 
 
Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) The Ambassador discussed unemployment, demonstrations 
in support of the unemployed, and Shia politics with Minister 
of Labor Majeed Al Alawi July 4.  Al Alawi said that the 
Ministry had found and offered private sector jobs to the 
eleven unemployed people who participated in the June 19 
unemployment demonstration, but only one accepted the offer. 
The Ministry is working cooperatively with state-owned 
companies Bapco and Alba to reserve jobs for unskilled 
Bahraini workers to allow them to get training and develop 
their abilities, and so more easily find better work in the 
private sector.  Al Alawi complained that activists 
advocating on behalf of the unemployed, including Abdul Hadi 
Al Khawaja, were more interested in promoting their political 
agendas than in improving citizens' livelihoods.  The 
Minister supports taking a firm line in dealing with Al 
Khawaja and his provocative actions, saying that leniency 
could encourage Al Khawaja to become even bolder.  Al Alawi 
said that expanding freedom of expression coupled with 
government inertia in addressing corruption allowed regime 
opponents to launch attacks on the Al Khalifas under the 
guise of fighting corruption.  Sunnis are worried that Shia 
activism could turn into a power grab, and have threatened to 
stop Al Khawaja if the government does not.  End Summary. 
 
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Al Khawaja Politicizing Unemployment 
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2.  (C) The Ambassador met with Minister of Labor Majeed Al 
Alawi July 4 and discussed with him unemployment, 
demonstrations in support of the unemployed, and Shia 
politics in Bahrain, among other issues.  Al Alawi, a former 
Shia exile in London, criticized the actions of the Committee 
for the Unemployed, headed by activist Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja 
and Shia opposition society Al Wifaq Vice President Hassan 
Mushaima, saying they were politicizing a serious economic 
issue.  Of the 11 participants in the June 19 demonstration 
outside the Royal Court who were unemployed (reftel), only 
one accepted a private sector job offer that was coordinated 
by the Ministry of Labor.  Al Alawi said that when he visits 
Shia villages, he carries lists of the names of unemployed 
residents, compiled by local mosques and assembly halls.  He 
routinely discovers that 90 percent of those on the lists are 
employed but want higher salaries.  The other 10 percent 
refuse to accept jobs other than those with the government, 
which are more secure and better paying. 
 
3.  (C) Al Alawi said he had met with Mushaima and requested 
his assistance in gathering names of unemployed people 
looking for work.  Mushaima said that Al Khawaja wanted to be 
a part of any committee working on this issue, but Al Alawi 
said that he had refused this request.  The Minister stated 
that he wants to focus on assisting the poor people who need 
jobs, not Al Khawaja's politics. 
 
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Effective Skills Development Program 
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4.  (C) He explained that the Ministry had developed a 
relationship with some state-owned companies to find work for 
unskilled Bahrainis.  Bapco and Alba (the state-owned 
petroleum and aluminum companies) had reserved a certain 
number of positions for Bahrainis - Alba held 830 jobs 
related to the company's expansion project, and Bapco 
reserved 600 jobs.  These positions paid BD 180 per month 
($477) and the companies committed to provide training to the 
workers, with the possibility of a permanent follow-on 
position.  These workers had seized an opportunity to develop 
themselves and improve their marketability, and many had 
successfully found permanent jobs in the private sector.  He 
thought that the Crown Prince's labor reform initiative, 
which will likely result in increased wages for Bahrainis, 
would help entice more citizens to work in the private sector. 
 
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No Leniency for Al Khawaja 
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5.  (C) Turning directly to the challenge posed by Al 
Khawaja, Al Alawi said that he counsels the King and Prime 
Minister to be scrupulous in applying the law in response to 
Al Khawaja's actions.  The government should not do any more 
or less than what the law requires in dealing with him.  Al 
Alawi worries that if the GOB displays any leniency, Al 
Khawaja will take advantage of it.  The government should be 
firm with him, even if the government's actions make Al 
Khawaja popular in the street.  If the government was 
lenient, "the whole notion of the state is discredited," Al 
Alawi said.  In response to the Ambassador's question, Al 
Alawi said that Al Khawaja derives his core of support from 
"the Shirazis," followers of the (Shia) Shirazi school of 
thought from Kerbala, who are considered to be more radical 
and confrontational than other Shia groups in Bahrain.  Most 
Shia don't like Al Khawaja, Al Alawi stated. 
 
6.  (C) Al Alawi said that, as the country continues to 
democratize, people find they can express their views more 
freely.  But because the government was not addressing 
corruption as quickly as it should, those who oppose the Al 
Khalifas were able to exploit their new freedoms to launch 
attacks on the family under the guise of fighting corruption. 
 He commented that repeated challenges to the government's 
authority had caused police to become an object of derision 
in many Shia villages, saying this was troubling. 
 
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Sunnis Threaten to Step In 
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7.  (C) Al Alawi said that Sunnis in Bahrain regard Shia 
agitation as an attempt to grab power.  Powerful people in 
the government, army, and police force are greatly concerned 
about what is happening.  He said that during the recent 
demonstration at the Royal Court, a delegation of Sunnis from 
Riffa, home to the Royal Family, told the government that if 
the security forces did not step in to stop Al Khawaja, they 
would take matters into their own hands. 
 
MONROE