IRAQI SHIITE PARLIAMENTARIAN ON EFFORTS TO EASE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003863

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQI SHIITE PARLIAMENTARIAN ON EFFORTS TO EASE
SUNNI CONCERNS

Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Humam Hamoudi, one of the leading Council
of Representatives members from the Shiite Supreme Council
for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI),told the Ambassador
that Sunni Arab leaders in neighboring countries are
beginning to understand that the Iraqi Shi'a did not want to
divide Iraq. He reiterated SCIRI's stance that oil revenues
should be shared by all Iraqis, citing this stance as an
example of SCIRI's commitment to a unified Iraq and agreeing
with the Ambassador on the importance of moving forward
quickly on a national oil law. While predicting that the
constitutional review process would not lead to significant
changes of a political nature, Hamoudi said he would seek to
reaffirm and even annex to the constitution the unifying
principles that formed the basis for the constitutional
drafting process. END SUMMARY.

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ARAB CONCERNS, FEDERALISM AND OIL
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2. (C) In an October 10 meeting with the Ambassador, Humam
Hamoudi acknowledged that the leaders of neighboring Sunni
Arab states are concerned that federalism would lead to a
division of Iraq, adding that he had talked about this
concern directly with Saud al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's Foreign
Minister. Hamoudi said that Iraqi Shi'a do not want a Shi'a
state, but rather a unified Iraqi state with Sunnis playing
an important role. "If we wanted to divide Iraq," he
continued, "then we would have accepted the Kurdish proposal
on oil during the constitutional negotiations, whereby the
majority of the oil revenue would go to the source region."
Instead, Hamoudi said, the Shi'a had followed Sistani's lead
and insisted that Iraq's oil was for all Iraqi people and
that oil revenues should accrue to the federal government.
Hamoudi told the Ambassador that "this message has reached
King Abdullah himself" and he that the Saudi leadership was
becoming increasingly convinced that the Iraqi Shi'a want a
unified Iraq.


3. (C) The Ambassador urged Hamoudi to develop a public
message to convey the positive aspects of federalism so that
the regions formation law did not appear divisive. Hamoudi
agreed, saying that SCIRI would issue a statement saying that
federalism was meant to support the unity of Iraq. He noted
that many Sunnis do not want a strong central government
presence in Sunni-dominated regions and that some even
support "an extreme form of decentralization." Hamoudi
commented that "the real debate" on federalism would not take
place for two years and that politicians who want a region
would first have to educate the population and convince them
that a region would benefit them. The first phase in this
process, Hamoudi continued, would be developing and
implementing provisions for decentralization, i.e. defining
through legislation the relationship between the federal
government and the governorates in accordance with Article
123 of the constitution. He said the Committee on Regions
and Governorate Affairs would begin working on this
legislation.


4. (C) The Ambassador noted that accelerating work on a
strong oil law would also help counter the perception that
federalism would lead to the division of Iraq. Hamoudi
agreed and related his efforts to address the issue of oil
resources during the constitution drafting process. He said
that drafters had agreed that oil should be owned by all,
that distribution of oil revenues should be based on
population, and that administrative procedures should be
developed jointly by the federal and regional governments.
While last-minute political negotiations had diluted the
clarity of these principles in the constitution, Hamoudi
continued, they should be reaffirmed in the oil law. The
Ambassador noted that Secretary Rice had pressed the Kurds to
use the oil law to support the unity of Iraq and that he
would continue to push for a joint federal-regional
decision-making process on administration and contracting in
the oil sector during Nechirvan Barzani's upcoming visit to
Baghdad.

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Constitutional Review: Limited Expectations
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5. (C) Hamoudi, a member of the newly formed Constitutional
Review Committee and one of the leading drafters of the
constitution, told the Ambassador that the presidency of the
committee was not yet determined although the membership was.
The Sunni Tawafuq bloc, he said, wanted Ayad Sammarai to be

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the president, but SCIRI wanted there to be an elected
presidency council of a president (e.g., Hamoudi) and two
vice-presidents that would make decisions by consensus.
Hamoudi commented that he supported completing the
committee's work in an even shorter period than the four
months allocated for it and that he hoped the major political
leaders would get involved in the process early on, rather
than waiting to the last few days to discuss the most
difficult issues as had happened in the constitution drafting
process. The Ambassador stressed to Hamoudi the importance
of broadening support for Iraq's "national compact" through
the constitutional review process. Hamoudi noted that he did
not foresee significant changes to the constitution of a
political nature given the stringent process for
ratification. In order that the process promote unity, he
said he would seek to reaffirm and annex to the constitution
the 14 general principles, one of which was the unity of
Iraq, agreed upon before the constitution drafting process
started.
KHALILZAD