Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04THEHAGUE787
2004-03-26 05:04:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy The Hague
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR'S MARCH 24 MEETING WITH DUTCH POLITICAL

Tags:  PREL PGOV PTER PARM PHUM IZ AF IR CH NL 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 THE HAGUE 000787 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PARM PHUM IZ AF IR CH NL
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MARCH 24 MEETING WITH DUTCH POLITICAL
DIRECTOR: IRAQ, GME, EU, CHINA

REF: A. THE HAGUE 766 (NOTAL)


B. STATE 62815 (NOTAL)

Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR CLIFFORD M. SOBEL FOR REASONS 1
.5 (B AND D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 THE HAGUE 000787

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PARM PHUM IZ AF IR CH NL
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MARCH 24 MEETING WITH DUTCH POLITICAL
DIRECTOR: IRAQ, GME, EU, CHINA

REF: A. THE HAGUE 766 (NOTAL)


B. STATE 62815 (NOTAL)

Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR CLIFFORD M. SOBEL FOR REASONS 1
.5 (B AND D).


1. (C) Summary: Ambassador Sobel met with Dutch MFA
Political Director Hugo
Siblesz on March 24. They discussed Iraq, Afghanistan, the
Greater Middle
East, the March 22-23 EU GAERC meetings and China human
rights issues. Siblesz
said a new UNSCR would help the government secure broad
support for extending
the Dutch Iraq deployment. The Dutch are also considering a
UN request to help
provide security for its personnel in Iraq. Siblesz will
accompany FM Bot to Israel, Syria and Egypt from March
29-April 2. The Dutch
stress that efforts should proceed simultaneously on reforms
in the
Greater Middle East and the Peace Process. On EU issues,
Siblesz advised that
former Dutch State Secretary for Interior Gijs de Vries will
be named
EU counter-terrorism coordinator at the March 25-26 European
Council meetings.
EU trade discussions with Iran would not resume until the
IAEA gives Iran a
clean bill of health. While the GONL has not taken a
position, Siblesz reacted
positively to the draft human rights resolution on China. He
also said that if
the EU lifts its arms embargo against China it will seek to
strengthen measures
concerning China in its arms transfer code of conduct. End
Summary.

--------------
Iraq, Afghanistan
--------------


2. (C) Concerning renewal of the current Dutch Iraq
deployment, Siblesz said a
new UNSCR was not a "100% requirement," but that it would be
"psychologically
important." In the meantime, the Dutch are continuing with
planning efforts to
extend the deployment. (Note: the Dutch have approximately
1300 troops in Al
Muthanna Province as part of the UK-led Multi-national
division SE. The
deployment is scheduled to end July 15. End note.) Citing

Dutch practice of
seeking broad parliamentary mandates for military
deployments, Siblesz said a
new UNSCR would help the government gain support from the
main opposition Labor
Party. That said, renewal of the Dutch deployment without an
UNSCR would be
"difficult, but not impossible." Siblesz advised that the
Dutch were also
looking at the possibility of providing some protection for
UN personnel in Iraq.
This was in response to a request in a March 15 meeting
between PM Balkenende
and UNSYG Annan in New York. The Dutch might be interested
in undertaking such
a role along with other nations, including possibly outside
of Al Muthanna
Province. This might be done in conjunction with a possible
reduction of Dutch
forces in Al Muthanna, if the situation there permitted. On
Afghanistan,
Siblesz said the initial feedback from a recent MOD-MFA recce
visit to explore
options for a Dutch-led PRT had been positive (see also ref
A). One possible
location may be Baghlan between Konduz and Kabul.

--------------
Greater Middle East, Peace Process
--------------


3. (C) Siblesz will accompany FM Bot on his March 29 - April
2 trip to Israel,
Syria and Egypt. (Bot is scheduled to meet with PM Sharon
and FM Shalom.) He asserted that it would be difficult
following the killing
of Sheik Yassin for Arabs to claim some kind of ownership of
the reform
process. He repeated previous Dutch points that work needed
to be done
simultaneously on both reforms in the Greater Middle East and
the peace
process. He thought any unilateral Israeli withdrawal from
the Gaza strip
should come as part of a drive towards a wider solution, and
suggested the EU
might be willing to engage with funds if the withdrawal was
done "in the proper
context."

--------------
EU March 22-23 GAERC; counter-terrorism, Iran
--------------


4. (C) Siblesz said former Dutch State Secretary for Interior
Gijs de Vries
would be named the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator at the
March 25-26
European Council meetings. De Vries would report to the
Council through EU
CFSP Chief Solana. On Iran, Siblesz said the EU's Trade and
Cooperation
Arrangement (TCA) would not be resumed until Iran receives a
clean bill of
health from the IAEA, which he did not see as likely.
Nevertheless, Siblesz
expressed doubt the utility of the IAEA Board of Governors
referring Iran to
the UNSC following a non-compliance finding. He said there
was no plan for
what would come after such a referral and the matter might
stay stuck in the
UNSC like North Korea. He felt measures taken to date by the
EU3 were "pretty
tough," but was uncertain as to whether it might be possible
to get the
Iranians to relinquish their military program. That said, he
thought the
current pressure on the Iranians was effective "judging from
the complaints
we're getting from the Iranians." (Note: Despite Siblesz's
skepticism as to
the value of referring Iran to the UNSC, MFA sources informed
mission in
February that FM Bot had determined the GONL was obliged by
its November 2003
stance to take a tough line in the IAEA on Iran, should
evidence of new,
serious failures to comply come to light. End note.)

--------------
China
--------------


5. (C) Amb. Sobel raised ref B demarche concerning support
for resolutions at
the UN Human Rights Commission (Amb. Sobel had also conveyed
demarche to FM Bot
on March 23). Siblesz said the GONL had not taken a position
but that he
thought the draft China resolution was one that the
Netherlands could
substantially subscribe to. He noted that the Netherlands
maintains a human
rights dialogue with China which, he contended, delivers
results. He said
though progress to date was not sufficient, there was no
question that the
human rights situation in China was improving as compared to
the situation five
or ten years ago. Amb. Sobel asked whether action on the
EU's China Arms
Embargo might be deferred until the Dutch Presidency starts
in July. Siblesz
said that while consideration had been deferred until after
the Taiwan
elections, he thought Chirac would raise the issue during the
March 25-26
European Council meetings. Siblesz reiterated the Dutch
preference to not be
the only EU nation opposed to an embargo lift. He also
stated that the EU was
looking at ways to strengthen its arms transfer code of
conduct with respect to
China and indicated that he would be open to input from the
U.S. on how to strengthn the code of conduct.
SOBEL
SOBEL