NETHERLANDS/IRAQ: DUTCH SUPPORT FOR IRAQI

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 003291

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPRNET DISTRO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KDEM KPAO MARR MOPS IZ NL PROV
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/IRAQ: DUTCH SUPPORT FOR IRAQI
ELECTIONS

REF: A. STATE 220728


B. STATE 217743


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Dutch are supporting the December 15
Iraqi elections by providing voting facilities in the
Netherlands and will send six election monitors to Iraq. The
Dutch MFA is actively engaged in the training of Iraqi
jurists and diplomats, and will shortly revise its travel
advisory to facilitate commercial exchanges with Iraq,
especially the northern three provinces. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) POLCOUNS delivered ref a points soliciting support
for the upcoming December 15 elections in Iraq to John
Bischop (Head of the Gulf States Office in the Dutch MFA's
bureau of North African and Near Eastern Affairs) and
Willemijn Kallenberg (Iraq Desk Officer) on December 8.
POLCOUNS also took advantage of the meeting to pass copies of
the National Strategy for Victory in Iraq document to Bischop
and Kallenberg. (Note: Per ref b, a copy of the document
was previously shared with Rob Swartbol, Prime Minister
Balkenende's senior foreign policy advisor.) Bischop and
Kallenberg expressed thanks for the information, which they
said would be helpful in answering questions from the press
and parliament.


3. (SBU) Bischop and Kallenberg stressed that the Dutch were
providing direct support to the Iraqi election process. The
Dutch MFA, working with the Independent Electoral Commission
of Iraq (IECI) and local authorities, is setting up a polling
station for expatriate Iraqis at a secure facility in
Utrecht. Kallenberg noted that over 14,000 Iraqis voted in
the Netherlands during the previous election; she expected
turnout to be closer to 20,000 this time. She added that a
team of 190 IECI and Dutch personnel were committed to
ensuring out-of-country voting in the Netherlands proceeds
smoothly. Voters, including Iraqis non-resident in the
Netherlands, will be able to register and vote on December
13, 14, and 15. Kallenberg and Bischop also confirmed that
the Dutch will send 6 election monitors to Iraq for the
December 15 elections.


4. (SBU) According to Bischop and Kallenberg, the Dutch will
remain committed to supporting civil society in Iraq beyond
the upcoming elections. A group of 39 Iraqi judges,
Kallenberg noted, is completing training in the Netherlands
this week, and another class of 40 was expected to begin
training in February. The Dutch Clingendael institute has
also received an MFA contract to train Iraqi diplomats; the
second class of approximately 20 students will start in
January. Bischop added that the MFA was in the process of
revising its "Travel Advisory" for Iraq to make it easier for
Dutch businessmen to travel to the northern three provinces.
This move, he stressed, was being taken on the advice of the
Dutch Ambassador to Baghdad (who had just returned from a
trip to the North),and was intended to facilitate planning
for an upcoming Dutch trade delegation to the region. .
BLAKEMAN