This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000049 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ASEC BA REFORM POL
SUBJECT: POLICE, SHIA YOUTH CLASH DURING WEEKEND PROTESTS 
 
REF: A. MANAMA 0013 
     ¶B. 05 MANAMA 1916 
     ¶C. 05 MANAMA 1910 
 
Classified by Charge d'Affaires Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C) Police clashed January 5 near the Ministry of 
Interior with a group of protesters that broke away from a 
larger rally in the downtown Manama souk area organized to 
protest the arrest of 17 youth for their involvement in a 
December 25 riot at Bahrain airport.  Organizers claim the 
police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the 
group near MOI; a Ministry source told RSO that police used 
tear gas but not/not rubber bullets.  In a January 6 speech, 
activist Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja threatened the government with 
a new "Intifada," the term Bahraini Shia use to refer to 
violence between the government and Shia youth in the 
mid-1990s.  The continuing clashes represent a challenge by 
Al Khawaja and other like-minded rejectionists to both the 
government and leading Shia political society Al Wifaq, which 
has eschewed political demonstrations of late as it completed 
its registration with the government as a legal entity.  End 
Summary. 
 
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Youth Confront Police Outside Interior Ministry 
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¶2.  (SBU) A small faction of the some 150 participants in a 
January 5 protest organized by the newly-formed "Committee 
for Solidarity with Activists and Prisoners of Conscience in 
Bahrain" clashed with riot police near the Ministry of 
Interior following a march through the downtown souk district 
of Manama.  The rally was held to demand the release of 17 
youth arrested for their participation in a December 25 riot 
at the Bahrain International Airport following the brief 
detention of Shia cleric Shaikh Mohammed Al Sanad (Refs B/C). 
 Protesters and activists have begun referring to the 17, who 
broke windows and destroyed furniture inside the airport 
arrivals hall, as "prisoners of conscience." 
 
¶3.  (C) The press reports that while the bulk of protesters 
were peaceful, a small group broke off and approached the 
Ministry of Interior compound, where they encountered riot 
police.  Although reports vary on the sequence of events, it 
is clear that protesters threw stones at the police and 
police fired tear gas to disperse the group.  Protest 
organizers claim police also fired rubber bullets.  An MOI 
source told RSO that police launched tear gas at the 
protesters but did not/not fire rubber bullets.  (Comment: 
There have been no credible reports of police use of rubber 
bullets since 2003.)  Following the confrontation near MOI, 
youth in several Shia villages in and around Manama burned 
tires and hurled Molotov cocktails at police patrols 
responding to the fires.  The press reports that some 12 
people were injured in the earlier and later incidents, and 
the police made some arrests. 
 
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Al Khawaja Promises "New Intifada" 
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¶4.  (SBU) The following day, January 6, Shia political 
activist Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, who has had numerous 
confrontations with security forces over the past 18 months, 
gave a provocative speech threatening the government with a 
"new Intifada," the term Bahraini Shia use to refer to 
long-running violence between the government and Shia youth 
during the mid-1990s.  He said, "What happened to the 
demonstrators should not go without punishment.  Everyone 
should do his duty in order to reach the truth, document it, 
and take a side.  Informing international organizations about 
what happened should not be done by only a few activists, but 
all should participate."  He continued, "Over the last two 
years we warned the government that the poor and unemployed 
people would go out on the street if their living conditions 
were not improved and sectarian and corruption issues were 
not resolved, but the government did not listen to us, which 
caused the latest confrontations.  We now warn the government 
that the latest detentions of activists will lead to another 
Intifada.  If protecting our constitutional rights requires a 
new Intifada, then we would like to tell you that it is 
coming soon." 
¶5.  (SBU) Leading Shia cleric Shaikh Issa Qassem, in his 
January 6 Friday prayer sermon, called on protesters to halt 
their activities.  He also urged the government to engage in 
a real dialogue with representatives of the Shia community 
about their grievances. 
 
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Comment 
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¶6.  (C) The recurring clashes between Shia protesters and 
security forces represent a challenge by Al Khawaja and a few 
other rejectionist leaders to both the government and to 
leading political society Al Wifaq, which joined the system 
by registering as a political society with the Ministry of 
Justice late last year.  These hardliners are trying to 
mobilize "the street" and gain attention through their 
confrontational tactics while the government avoids arresting 
Al Khawaja as they try to tamp down opposition.  Al Khawaja's 
threat of another Intifada can be seen as an attempt to rally 
his supporters and rile the government.  Al Wifaq, meanwhile, 
has been engaged in negotiating its charter with the Ministry 
of Justice and holding internal elections.  Wittingly or not, 
Al Khawaja explicitly revealed a major plank in his strategy 
to pressure the GOB during his January 6 speech -- appealing 
to international organizations to intervene on the side of 
protesters.  As Al-Wifaq regularizes its status and more 
strongly signals its intent to participate in the upcoming 
elections, we anticipate that those insisting on protesting 
outside of the system will continue trying to raise the 
stakes. 
 
ZIADEH