TAWAFUQ PUBLICLY ANNOUNCES INTENTION TO RETURN TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002461 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ SUBJECT: TAWAFUQ PUBLICLY ANNOUNCES INTENTION TO RETURN TO LEGISLATURE JULY 12 REF: BAGHDAD 2346 Classified By: Political Counselor Margaret M. Scobey for Reasons 1.4 ( b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Tawafuq members did not participate in the June 11 Council of Representatives (CoR) session although a handful of members sat outside the session room in the cafeteria. A five-person delegation led by Iraqi Islamic Party member Nooraldin al-Hayali made a statement to the media announcing that Tawafuq members would end their boycott (in response to the abduction of CoR member Tayseer al-Mashadani) and attend the July 12 session. Deputy Speaker Khalid al-Attiyah subsequently announced during the CoR session Tawafuq's intention to return and hailed it as a positive development. Separately, Nooraldin confirmed to PolOff that Tawafuq planned to attend the July 12 session, where they would present the CoR with a "list of demands." ¶2. (U) The July 11 session itself began with member statements that were primarily focused on the recent violence in Baghdad and the GOI's responsibility to work toward providing security. Shia Coalition members indirectly criticized Tawafuq's decision to boycott the session as the wrong approach to highlighting security concerns. Leading SCIRI member Jalal al-Din al-Sagheer said that working towards improved security conditions was just as much Tawafuq's responsibility as it was that of the other blocs. Dawa member Ali al-Deeb indirectly accused Tawafuq members of participating only superficially in the CoR, saying "their bodies" were in the assembly, but nothing else. ¶3. (U) The Deputy Speaker announced that the CoR would invite the Ministers of Interior and Defense to its July 13 session to discuss the Baghdad security situation. ¶4. (U) When the session re-convened after lunch, the legal committee completed a second reading of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) law, and the members presented their views and recommendations. Al-Attiyah told the members that a final version would be completed in time for a vote on Saturday, July 15. Amidst the grumblings about a rare Saturday session, he reconfirmed his intention to hold a session that day. SATTERFIELD