KRG CONSTITUTION CHAIRMAN - PESHMERGA NEEDS ARMY WEAPONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004059

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2016
TAGS: PPREL PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: KRG CONSTITUTION CHAIRMAN - PESHMERGA NEEDS ARMY
WEAPONS

REF: BAGHDAD 3980

Classified By: Political Counselor Margaret Scobey for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (U) This is a PRT Erbil cable.


2. (C) SUMMARY: Peshmerga with tanks and aircraft are
necessary for KRG security,
Farsat Ahmed (Secretary of the Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) Kurdistan
National Assembly (KNA),member of the Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP),and
Chair of the KNA Constitution Committee) told Erbil IPAO at
his office
October 18, 2006. Farsat accused Baghdad of belittling the
historical role of the
Peshmerga among Kurds and attempting to retain Arab control
of Kurdistan, and he
contended that Peshmerga status is the core constitutional
issue, dealing with territory,
security and defense, Kurdish national rights, and primacy of
the Kurdish constitution.
END SUMMARY

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National and regional forces in the constitutions
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3. (C) Farsat Ahmed, KNA Secretary and constitution committee
head, spoke more
about arming the KRG's Peshmerga than about constitutional
democracy with Erbil
IPAO October 18, 2006. Farsat participated in the MNF-I
sponsored meeting at
Khanzad Hotel (Erbil) October 8 - 10, 2006, held to reach
agreement on a
Memorandum of Understanding allowing transition to Provincial
Iraqi Control (PIC)
in the KRG, as a constitutional expert. The primary
unresolved constitutional
issue in that meeting was reconciling the Iraqi national
constitution (ratified
by the KRG) and the KRG draft constitution coverage of
regional rights to
armed forces. Farsat remained focused on this issue rather
than larger legal,
philosophical, and political constitutional questions.


4. (C). The Peshmerga armed force, whether called a 'regional
guard' as in Iraq's
national constitution or Peshmerga security forces as the KRG
prefers, must protect
the Kurdistan region against all 'evil and danger', Farsat
said. Therefore, he
continued, "the weaponry for protection of the region should
be different than for
protection of a building" - referring to KRG complaints that
the central government
seeks to reduce the Peshmerga function to mere policing.
Farsat commented that
Baghdad wants 'Peshmerga police' because central authorities
fear Peshmerga control
over extensive areas outside the Green Line (defining the
current area of the KRG),
including Kirkuk, to which the draft KRG constitution lays
claim.

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KNA approval for NIA deployment in KRG
-------------- --------------


5. (C) The KRG's insistence, enshrined in the draft
constitution, on KRG president
Massoud Barzani and KNA approval of any deployment of New
Iraqi Army troops in
the KRG derives from a history of oppression of the Kurdish
people, Farsat said. The
KNA must know which troops are entering, how many, and the
purpose of the
movement before the KRG will approve deployment. Responding
to Erbil IPAO's
comment that the NIA is not Baathist and Shia Arabs had not
attacked the Kurdistan
region, Farsat said attacks in previous decades continued
despite changes in the army
and there is no proof this will be different. He confirmed
that the NIA has carried out
no attacks on Kurds but said the fear continues.

BAGHDAD 00004059 002 OF 002



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Trust versus arms
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6. (C) Farsat said the central Iraqi government is afraid of
future conflict with, and
among, regions in Iraq; however, he stressed, the role of
Peshmerga forces has always
been clear and they will not attack others. He commented
that if there were no fear
among Kurds, there would be no need of protection -
indicating that the Peshmerga's
protective role is considered as much against Baghdad as
against possible Iranian or
Turkish incursions. Farsat said there are 'sensitivities' in
both the KRG and in
Baghdad concerning potential for armed conflict, and a lack
of trust on both sides that
will take time to heal.

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COMMENT
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7. (C) Farsat Ahmed is serving a second term in the
assembly, after
a first term of twelve years. He is engaging and open, but
takes a hard line and talks
more about political issues in the constitution than larger
or longer-term concerns. He
is dedicated to independence, and his red lines on the
constitution are based on
creating the legal basis for separation at the expense of
coordinating a constitutional
framework with the federal government. END COMMENT
KHALILZAD