MGIZ02: DEMARCHE REQUEST ON IRAQI CONSTITUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 001534 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA, NEA/I, NEA/ARPI E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2015 TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ MU SUBJECT: MGIZ02: DEMARCHE REQUEST ON IRAQI CONSTITUTION COMPROMISE REF: SECSTATE 188987 Classified By: Ambassador Richard L. Baltimore III. Reason: 1.4 (b, d). ¶1. (C) The Ambassador spoke on October 13 with Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi to deliver reftel demarche encouraging Oman's public support for the October 15 Iraqi constitutional referendum and the compromises reached October 12. ¶2. (C) Bin Alawi hailed the compromise as a "good move" that "demonstrates that the Iraqis are moving forward to stability." The Minister opined that the fact that some Sunni leaders agreed to the compromise and others did not is just a tactic to gain leverage and should not deter the onward march of democratic forces. He agreed wholeheartedly that there is a need to encourage all parties to vote on October 15th and undertook to make a public statement along those lines. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶3. (C) The Minister's response was fully consistent with his October 3 remarks to the Arab regional press in which he stated "The Arab states are supporting the Iraqi government in everything leading to its stability," and his call on all Iraqis to work together in building a new Iraq based on democratic principles. In addition, the September 26-27 convening in Muscat of the Oman-Iraq Joint Committee was the first such meeting since the fall of Saddam, and the highest-level Iraqi visit to Oman since late 2003. The Iraqi delegation to those talks, headed by Iraq's Transport Under Secretary Atta Nabeel Ouni, also included a substantial trade SIPDIS delegation led by Iraqi Chamber of Commerce President Aboud Mohammed al-Tufaili. BALTIMORE