LEADING RECONCILIATION COMMISSION MEMBER

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 003372 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ SUBJECT: LEADING RECONCILIATION COMMISSION MEMBER PESSIMISTIC ABOUT PROCESS Classified By: POLCOUNS MARGARET SCOBEY FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) In a September 7 conversation, National Reconciliation Commission member and chairman of the political parties committee Sheikh Ayad Jamaladdin (Iraqiyya, cross-sectarian) admitted to EmbOffs his pessimism about the effectiveness of the Commission. Jamaladdin asserted that political leaders such as Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, Muqtada al-Sadr, and Masoud Barzani were the keys to reconciliation, and not the Commission itself. He said that none of these leaders has any desire for reconciliation and were only interested in the benefits they would be able to gain for their constituencies. He commented sarcastically, "But we will have our four conferences to show the Americans that we believe in reconciliation." ¶2. (C) Jamaladdin stated that reconciliation would not be possible without a high-level commitment to (a) discontinue De-Ba'athification, (b) dismantle militias, and (c) provide amnesty to all Iraqi insurgents. Jamaladdin said members of the political parties committee would travel to neighboring countries in the coming weeks to discourage insurgency activities. Jamaladdin confirmed the dates of two upcoming national reconciliation conferences: the civil society conference on September 16-17 and the political parties conference on September 21-22. Due to the flag controversy, Jamaladdin questioned whether the political party conference would be held in Irbil as originally planned. ¶3. (C) Comment: Jamaladdin is not alone in his pessimistic view of the Commission. Several Commission members, including Dr. Farouq Abdullah Perry (Turkoman) and Imad Muhammad Ali (Tawafoq - Sunni) have told Pol LES unofficially in the past week that they too do not have high hopes for the Commission. Imad Muhammad Ali (septel) openly complained about the poor attendance of Commission members at meetings (he specifically identified Falah Fayeh (Shia Alliance) and Mahmoud Othman (Kurdish Alliance). Yunadam Kena (Assyrian Christian) also wondered how serious the government is if the Minister of State of National Reconciliation Akram al-Hakim (Minister of State for Civil Society Affairs) is in London for the next few weeks and the Ministry allegedly has no budget. ¶4. (C) Bio note: Ayad Jamaladdin was elected to the CoR on Ayad Allawi's Iraqiyya list from Nasiriyyah. Born in 1961, he is originally from Najaf and is considered to be a moderate religious Shia with strong views supporting separation of religion and state and women's rights. He left for Syria in 1979, but later moved to Iran where he studied religion for 8 years. In 1995, he traveled to UAE where he served as an Imam until 2003 when he returned to Iraq. He understands and speaks a very limited amount of English, and during the meeting he politely declined to shake hands with female Emboff. KHALILZAD