BARHAM SALIH TELLS SISTANI THAT KURDS OPPOSE JAFARI; SISTANI

C O N F I D E N T I A L HILLAH 000036 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/5/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS KISL PINR IZ SUBJECT: BARHAM SALIH TELLS SISTANI THAT KURDS OPPOSE JAFARI; SISTANI SAYS "LARGE PARTIES" MUST MAKE CONCESSIONS REF: HILLAH 0030 CLASSIFIED BY: AFRED FONTENEAU, REGIONAL COORDINATOR, REO, AL-HILLAH, STATE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (U) This is a SET Najaf cable. ¶2. (C) Summary: Minister of Planning Barham Salih told Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani in a March 5 meeting that Jalal Talabani and his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are opposed to the nomination by the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) of Ibrahim Jafari as Prime Minister in the new Iraqi government. Sistani responded by urging all political parties to avoid creating conflicts that could further burden Iraqis, and said that the largest parties must make concessions to move the political process forward. End summary. ¶3. (C) Minister of Planning Barham Salih met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani March 5 at Sistani's home in Najaf's Old City. SET Najaf local staff attended the meeting. Salih began by offering his condolences to Sistani for the February 22 bombing of the Al-Askariyah Shrine in Samarra, and thanked the cleric and the Hawza for their role in calming Shi'a anger after the blast. ¶4. (C) Salih told Sistani that the PUK was opposed to the nomination of Jafari, and would remain committed to this position. Sistani responded that the political parties must discuss all of the issues, and "avoid any conflict between the parties." Sistani said that such a conflict would add to the already "enormous" burden on Iraq, which he referred to as "this bleeding country." ¶5. (C) Sistani said that political parties must consider the current threats against the Iraqi people, and said that the "largest political parties" must make concessions in order to move the political process forward. The cleric explained to Salih that the Iraqi people had performed their duty by voting in the December 15 election, and now the politicians must do theirs by establishing a new Iraqi government, preserving the hopes and the unity of the Iraqi people. (Note: Sistani delivered an identical message regarding the duty of politicians to Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) in a February 24 meeting. Reftel. End note.) ¶6. (C) Finally, Sistani cautioned Salih that the separation of Kurdistan from the rest of Iraq would divide the country and lead to great anger that the Hawza is working to avoid. FONTENEAU