IRAQI "EMBASSY" IN AMMAN SERVES TEA WHILE WAITING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 006221

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2013
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI JO
SUBJECT: IRAQI "EMBASSY" IN AMMAN SERVES TEA WHILE WAITING
FOR INSTRUCTIONS FROM BAGHDAD

Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b)(d)

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) By their own admission, Iraqi Interests Section staff
(six diplomats and six admin. staff) have been mostly idle
since the end of the war. They while away the time by
fielding -- but not being able to do anything about -- Iraqi
citizens' consular questions by phone and in person.
Activity picked up in August and September with staff
assisting Iraqi dignitaries traveling through Amman on their
way to other destinations. The Interests Section is ready to
reopen for limited consular services. End Summary.

-------------- --------------
CHARGE D'AFFAIRE'S TOP PRIORITY: OFFERING CONSULAR SERVICES
-------------- --------------


2. (C) POLOFF met with Iraqi Interests Section Charge
d'Affaires, Maan Barakat, on September 25. Barakat confided
that a typical day in the office for him and his staff was
uneventful. He said the staff of 12 does not have much to
do, other than "assist" Iraqi citizens visiting the mission.
He staffs an "information" booth at the mission with a
cultural and consular officer. He said they receive on a
daily basis between 15-20 Iraqis seeking help. When asked
what such "assistance" consisted of, Barakat explained that
Jordan is home to between 350,000 - 400,000 Iraqi citizens
who have not had access to any consular services since the
end of the war. Iraqi citizens in Jordan seek the mission's
help with residency problems, notarial services (many wish to
sell properties in Iraq and are unable to without certified
documents),and reporting and registering births and deaths.
Barakat and the Interests Section staff, are increasingly
frustrated that they have not yet received authorization from
the MFA in Baghdad to provide any consular services. He
asked us when his mission will be authorized to provide
consular services.

--------------
RECENT UPSWING IN ACTIVITY
--------------


3. (C) Barakat was happy to report that the mission has been
kept "busy" during September providing assistance to Iraqi
ministers and other dignitaries transiting Amman on their way
to other destinations. They assist with meeting and greeting
at the airport, transportation, hotel reservations, flight
tickets and sometimes line up appointments with Jordanian
government counterparts. He confided the last task can be
daunting since sometimes he only receives one day's notice
and has difficulty securing such last minute appointments
with GOJ officials.

--------------
MISCELLANEOUS DUTIES
--------------


4. (C) Barakat added that his staff has been instrumental in
collecting and forwarding to the MFA in Baghdad Iraqi
passports received from different Iraqi missions throughout
the world. His staff, in conjunction with Embassy Amman
officers, inventories the supply of Iraqi diplomatic, service
and regular passports received from the different missions,
and coordinates the forwarding of the passports to the MFA in
Baghdad.

--------------
RELATIONS WITH GOJ
--------------


5. (C) Barakat described his limited relations with the GOJ
as positive. He reiterated that his only interaction with
GOJ officials has been to schedule appointments for Iraqi
ministers visiting Jordan, or when desperate Iraqis denied
entry to Jordan call him from the Iraq-Jordan border. He
stated that all he is usually able to do in these cases is
plead with a Jordanian border guard to try to secure passage
for his countryman into Jordan. More often than not, he
fails.

--------------
Diplomatic List
--------------


6. (SBU) The following are the names of diplomatic personnel
currently assigned to the Iraqi Interests Section:

Name Title
-------------- --------------
Maan Barakat Charge d'Affaires
Abdul K.F. Aaouz Consul
Ahmed Jarallah 2nd Secretary
Hussein Ameer 2nd Secretary, Protocol
Tariq Kadhim Attache, Consular
Ahmed Affan Attache, Consular
Salih I. Khamas Finance
Mohammad Zaki Typist
Dhia I. MusliM Admin.
Khalil M. Hilal Telex and Faxes
Fadhil R. Hussein Driver
Salih K. Naji Maintenance

--------------
COMMENT
--------------

7. (C) The Iraqi Interests Section has been very cooperative
in working with Embassy Amman to meet requests from CPA
Baghdad. The Interests Section supported the visit of Iraqi
MFA Senior Advisor Susan Johnson and Iraqi Governing Council
members to Amman in August and September, and assisted
Embassy Amman staff in the collection, accounting, and
transfer to Baghdad of cash from the Section and passports
sent here from other posts in the region and Europe.


8. (C) Prior to the appointment of the interim Iraqi FM, the
Jordanian MFA tells us it agreed in principle to reopening
the Iraqi Embassy in Amman as an Interests Section to perform
consular services. We believe this would be a positive step,
and look forward to assisting the GOJ and CPA Baghdad make
this happen, if needed.


9. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.

Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site
through the State Department's SIPRNET home page.
GNEHM