MODERATE PARLIAMENTARIANS VOICE THEIR CONCERNS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BASRAH 000044 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/3/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KDEM KISL IZ SUBJECT: MODERATE PARLIAMENTARIANS VOICE THEIR CONCERNS CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (SBU) On March 30, four newly elected members of parliament from Basrah met with the Regional Coordinator (RC) for the Basrah Regional Embassy Office (REO),British Consul General (CG) Tansley and British Brigadier Marriott to discuss current issues of concern. The members of parliament -- all of whom are moderate in their outlooks -- were Layla Thamir Fakher (independent),Dr. Abdul Hadi Al-Hassani (independent),Janan Abdul Jabbar Yaseen (Da'wa) and Mohamed Husain Saleh (SCIRI - elected to a national seat). The purpose of the meeting was to open lines of communication between our offices and the parliamentarians. ¶2. (C) A common theme the parliamentarians voiced was the coalition forces' failure to provide adequate security. Tied into this topic were allegations that U.S. soldiers had without provocation killed innocent worshipers at the Al Mustafa Husayniyah in Baghdad on March 26. The parliamentarians asserted that coalition forces were not doing enough to defeat the insurgents and terrorists. The RC countered the version of the incident in Baghdad with the sequence of events as related by coalition forces, and the British CG and brigadier reviewed our efforts to improve security generally. ¶3. (C) The four members of the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) also made it clear that they believed there was outside interference in the selection process for the prime minister and stressed that democracy to them meant majority rule. Since the UIA won the most seats in the council of representatives, its decision to retain Prime Minister Jafari in office should be final. Both the RC and the CG refuted the idea that the coalition was interfering in the selection process for the prime ministership and said that the coalition's concern is that the new government be representative of all the Iraqi people and be formed as soon as possible. ¶4. (C) Comment: The meeting with the parliamentarians was an opportunity to have a frank exchange of views and to set the stage for continued dialogue. Neither group convinced the other that its views were correct, but what was important is that the new members of parliament were willing to sit down and discuss our differences. The four parliamentarians indicated a willingness to work with the coalition, and this meeting is the first step in establishing a good working relationship with them. GROSS