THE AFGHAN PARLIAMENT AFTER ONE YEAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 KABUL 005964 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A, S/CRS, SA/PB, S/CT, EUR/RPM STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG NSC PASS TO AHARRIMAN OSD FOR KIMMITT CENTCOM FOR CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD, JICCENT E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/28/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PINS PREL AF SUBJECT: THE AFGHAN PARLIAMENT AFTER ONE YEAR REF: KABUL 5930 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i., Richard Norland for reasons 1.4( b) and (d). ¶1. (U) BEGIN SUMMARY: Celebrating it's first anniversary on December 19, the Afghan Parliament has established a strong foothold as a powerful force in Afghan politics. With members representing the last many decades of diverse philosophies and all sides of the various conflicts and coups which tore Afghanistan apart, the Parliament has nevertheless achieved remarkable success in its first year. Many challenges remain, but for the first time in modern Afghan history, there is a representative, deliberative body which is asking sensitive questions, addressing complicated legal issues and serving as a forum where past conflicts can be put aside and the future of the country be publicly addressed. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) For those Afghans who expected immediate results and quick changes in governance, the Afghan Parliament may be seen as unsuccessful and too slow, a body that has deliberated only a few pieces of legislation and has done too little to change the way Afghanistan is governed. If one contrasts the present political scene with that of the past several decades (including the first four years of post-Taliban government),however, there has been a drastic shift in political participation and awareness. Up until mid-December of 2005, the Parliament complex was still in the throes of being renovated and furnished to host the 19 December inauguration. Paint on the walls was still damp on the day that the Parliament was convened, and many offices were still unfurnished. Within a very short time, the complex of buildings took on the air of a full scale legislative institution as Secretariat staff and MPs assumed their new duties. It has been a year of challenges, in-house rivalries, argument and untoward demands for service and privileges by both support staff and members, but it has also been a year of growth, adjustment and resolution of conflict at the same time. PEACEFUL DIVERSITY ¶3. (U) In early 2002, an elderly man near Kunduz apologized to Poloff for the seeming chaos of the selection process for local representatives to the future Emergency Loya Jirga. He explained that since the accession to power by President Daoud in 1973, Afghans had not been able to assemble peacefully in large groups, because the security organizations of the successive regimes all forbade it. "We don't know how to talk to each other in a group like this", he said. With two Loya Jirgas and two national elections, Afghan politics has come a long way since 2002. The general election held in September 2005 chose 249 members of the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House) and 102 members of the Meshrano Jirga (Upper house). Of this number, 91 members are women. These MPs represent a vast disparity in ethnic, educational, economic and regional backgrounds. They range from people who have second citizenship, are extremely well-educated and well-traveled to those who are ultra-conservative, at best semi-literate and had never left their home provinces. Questions that seemed almost insurmountable in the beginning because of Afghan tradition were resolved almost immediately. Should men and women sit together? Seating was arranged alphabetically and the issue disappeared. In today's Parliament, there is easy social exchange, with men and women sharing debate, sitting at ease, and eating together in the Parliament cafeteria and at social events. Should women be allowed to travel without a male family escort? This too was answered with the first trip abroad by a female MP and is no longer even discussed. ¶4. (U) Could old enemies, people who had fought bloody wars against each other, looted or seized each others' property, and killed each others' families and friends, sit together KABUL 00005964 002 OF 006 in the same room? Whatever grudges and emotion they may still feel, the pro-monarchists, former Communists (of every stripe),mujaheddin who fought the Communists, supporters of the Taliban, pro-and anti-Karzai groups, Sunnis and Shi'ites, and representatives of every ethnic and regional rivalry all sit together without recourse to weapons in the sessions and committee meetings. Do these various groups have unsettled issues and lingering hopes of retribution? Could real violence erupt? Undoubtedly yes, but thus far they have limited their emotion and historic feuds to debate, albeit with occasional barbs and insults. BUILDING THE INSTITUTION: A WORK IN PROGRESS ¶5. (U) The Parliament's first duty was to elect Speakers, Deputy Speakers, Secretaries and deputy Secretaries for both houses. The two Speakers, Yunus Qanooni (who subsequently adopted the title "President") in the Wolesi Jirga and Sebghatullah Mojadeddi in the Meshrano Jirga, are elected for the entire duration of this Parliament, while all their deputies were chosen for one year terms and will face re-election after the Parliament reconvenes in late January. In the Wolesi Jirga, a woman member was elected as the second Deputy Speaker. Oversight committees (AKA "Commissions") were selected in both houses, and every member serves on a committee. Rules of procedure were debated and adopted to allow the MPs to begin functioning as a body, and advisory boards were establish to deal with day-to-day questions. ¶6. (SBU) The Parliament secretariat had come into existence well before the inauguration, at a time when no MPs had yet been elected, and problems arose after the Speakers assumed office. Political rivalries saw the dismissal of Secretary General Azzizullah Ludin (a Karzai appointee) and Hamed Akram (also a Karzai appointee) as head of International Relations. Originally envisioned as a single office serving both houses, the Secretary General's functions were split and each house now has its own Secretary General with his own support staff. Assadullah Falah, the former Governor of Farah and close friend of Meshrano Jirga Speaker Mojadeddi, took over as Secretary General of the Meshrano Jirga, and Ghulam Hassan Gran is now acting Secretary General of the Wolesi Jirga. The office of International Relations and Protocol was also split, presently headed by Sayed Zaman Hashiminejad in the Wolesi Jirga and Mulkhi Khan Shinwari in the Meshrano Jirga. Many other support offices still serve both houses at the same time. No organizational chart is ever static. Various staffers left the Parliament for more lucrative jobs, and the bureaucracy of Parliament continues to be shaken and stirred as the friends (and friends of friends) of various MPs and Parliamentary leaders vie for employment and enhanced positions. THE LEARNING CURVE ¶7. (U) Thanks in large part to the international community, the Parliament secretariat has made great strides towards becoming a competent support staff for the MPs, and the MPs themselves have acquired many skills. Training courses began well before the 2005 inauguration and continue to date. Many staffers speak languages other than Dari and Pashtu. Offices are equipped with computers, and staffers (and many MPs) communicate by email. Simultaneous interpretation (Pashtu-Dari) in the plenary sessions, a full-scale printing service, the beginnings of a research library, and closed-circuit, wide-screen television screens to allow MPs to follow floor debate even when they are out of the main assembly room are all now taken for granted. Training and providing resources to the members and staff is an ongoing process, and ranges from basic office skills, establishment of a computer training center, establishing a Women Parliamentarians' Resource Center, to English language KABUL 00005964 003 OF 006 instruction. Training sessions have included topics as wide-ranging as human rights, the legislative process, budget development and approval, gender programs, etc. Establishment of a Parliamentary Institute, which will permit MPs to attend Kabul University on a degree program, is approved and in the pipeline. (Note: Many believe a University degree will be required for candidates in the next election.) ¶8. (U) In a more important sense, the learning curve for both MPs and Secretariat staff has been enhanced by exposure to international organizations, foreign officials and parliaments, and trips outside of Afghanistan. A wide range of foreign dignitaries, commissions and delegations have visited Parliament, and the MPs and staff in turn have visited more than 20 parliaments in other countries. This includes more than 60 such MP and staff visits to the United States. These exchanges have had a palpable effect on the Afghan Parliament, many of whose members had had little or no exposure to the international world, and many of whom had never even boarded an airplane. ACCOMPLISHMENTS ¶9. (U) Confirmation to High Office - The most telling sign that Parliament took its responsibilities seriously was the confirmation process for Presidential nominees for ministerial, Supreme Court and other high government positions. Each nominee had to appear personally before the Wolesi Jirga, and the nationally televised question/answer sessions were excellent political theater. The whole country watched as the MPs questioned the nominees about their qualifications, backgrounds and plans, and the ensuing debate was the first public event of its type in Afghan memory. The process was not a mere formality. Questions touching the core of Afghan governance and identity were raised, and in the first round, five ministerial candidates and the Chief Justice nominee were rejected. Ministers who had never had to answer to anyone besides the head of state learned their lesson. Assuming at first that their selection by the President somehow guaranteed confirmation, they came in for a rude awakening during the long questioning sessions, and the more savvy ministers and top officials now have active relations with the Parliament. They also understand that they have no real choice, because in this first year there have been thirty Minister-level questioning and hearing sessions (eight in the plenary and twenty two in committees),fourteen at the Deputy Minister level, and seventy two at the level of Department heads. ¶10. (U) The National Budget - According to the Constitution, the national budget must be presented for review and approval to the Parliament well before the Afghan new year starts in March. Because Parliament was in its infancy, and because the process itself was not well-understood by either the Ministry of Finance or the Parliament, this did not happen in a timely fashion. The budget (presentation of which the MOF may have thought was only a formality) for the Afghan year of 1385 was only presented as the new year was about to begin. Once again, serious public debate ensued before it was slightly modified and approved. The establishment of committees inside the Parliament, the learning curve of the committee membership (many MPs had no concept of what a budget was),more review throughout the year, and timely presentation to the Parliament by the MOF should improve the process for the coming fiscal year. ¶11. (U) Oversight and Constituent Services - Parliamentary committees have handled a large number of complaints and petitions from the public, and serve as a conduit to deliver constituent concerns to government offices. In its first year, the Wolesi Jirga registered 852 different petitions, 492 of which were on legal issues, 207 on criminal issues and 153 on civil issues. Poloffs from the embassy are frequently approached by individual MPs to assist with constituent KABUL 00005964 004 OF 006 questions, ranging from land-ownership issues to compensation for expropriated land to requests for liaison with coalition military forces and Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) to locating detainees. Delegations from the provinces are a constant in MPs' homes in Kabul, and both the MPs and the visitors take this function seriously. ¶12. (U) Legislation - The Parliament has the constitutional responsibility to review all decrees and laws signed since the establishment of the Interim Government (and in theory, all laws established by preceding regimes). Initially, a 30 day time frame was allotted for this process, but it quickly became clear that this was not feasible. In practice, all such decrees and laws remain in effect unless and until Parliament reviews and changes them. Review priorities are determined through consultation with the government and among the members. To date, 100 presidential decrees have been placed in the pipeline for review, and 31 decrees have been under active consideration by the relevant Committees. Five laws have been approved. These include the Law of Provincial Councils, the Law of the Independent Commission on Monitoring the Implementation of the Constitution, the Environment Law, the Law of Investigation into Juvenile Violations, and the Law of Prisons and Detention Centers. These five have already been submitted to the President for signing, but thus far only the Environment Law has been signed by President Karzai. ¶13. (U) The slow pace of the legislative review process has come in for public criticism, but the parliamentary leadership justifiably points out that they faced challenges because of the lack of trained support staff, lack of MP expertise in the committees, and a huge backlog of decrees and laws dealing with a wide range of topics. CHALLENGES ¶14. (C) Voting Discipline and Decision Making - Because the 2005 elections were not contested on the basis of political parties, distinct parliamentary parties and efficient political groups have not emerged. Various leaders (e.g. ex-President Rabbani, former jihad leader Sayyaf, etc.) command considerable respect and political followers. There are also a number of individual MPs who stand out for their oratory, common sense, education and experience, but who do not have identifiable followings. The alignment of pro and anti-government formations inside the Parliament is still unclear, and would not be consistent or stable. Three "political groups" within the Wolesi Jirga have been formed, but discipline is a sometime thing, because the MPs' decisions are also affected by regionalism, political philosophy, ethnic considerations, old feuds, and of course, the endemic problem of bribery. Because corruption is so prevalent in Afghanistan, and the concept of "conflict of interest" is almost unknown, it is safe to assume that many MPs use their new-found access to government ministries for personal profit. MPs delight in privately pointing out their colleagues who take bribes or trade political favors, and claim that selection of members or staff for perks (including international travel) is often based on favoritism by the leadership. ¶15. (C) Relationships with the Executive Branch - There is significant feeling among many MPs that the Executive branch and President Karzai have not fully recognized the independence of the Parliament. Some complain that their concerns are not taken seriously by the ministries, and note that they have difficulty in communicating and meeting with Palace officials. Although the President established a State Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs under Farooq Wardak to initially attempt to impose discipline and coherence on relations between the Parliament and Executive branch, Wardak has been stretched thin because of his other duties. MPs often rely on personal relationships with ministry officials, Ministers and the President to deal directly with the KABUL 00005964 005 OF 006 executive branch. Regional and ethnic-based groups of MPs very often meet with Ministries and the Palace without the knowledge or approval of Parliamentary leadership, with horse-trading and personal benefits taking priority over the formal relationship between the two branches. ¶16. (U) Relationships with the Media - Many MPs see the Afghan media as hostile, while others are quick to give interviews and make media personal appearances that are critical of other branches of the government as well as of the Parliament itself. Television coverage showing parliamentarians asleep in sessions provoked MPs to publicly criticize the media as irresponsible, and even led to a temporary ban on media coverage of public proceedings. Freedom of the press is a new concept in Afghanistan, and some MPs, who are affronted by criticism in the press, blame the media for a lack of responsibility in coverage. The media relationship is a complicated one, and will take great effort to shape in a positive manner. ¶17. (C) Relationships Between the Two Houses of Parliament - Inside the Parliament, there is a distinct feeling that the Wolesi Jirga is somehow "more important" than the Meshrano Jirga. This has been exacerbated by the personalities of the leadership. Sebghatullah Mojaddedi, Speaker of the Meshrano Jirga, is an elderly man who seems to prefer his role as Chief of the Commission on Peace and Reconciliation (PTS) to that of his Meshrano Jirga role. An ex-President,and a respected religious and jihad leader who is considered close to President Karzai, he often seems to dwell on his personal past rather than look to the future of the Upper House. In contrast, Yunus Qanooni is a dynamic leader of the Wolesi Jirga, with clear presidential ambitions and an almost Machiavellian approach to the Lower House's administration and priorities. Regarded as a rival to President Karzai (despite lip service to the concept of support for the Executive),he has methodically side-lined Karzai-appointees to the Parliament Secretariat and clearly tries to control Parliamentary relations with foreign donors. The most recent example of his unwillingness to coordinate activities with the Meshrano Jirga was the Wolesi Jirga-sponsored celebration with the international community to commemorate the Parliament's First Anniversary. This was a "Wolesi Jirga-only" event, with no Meshrano Jirga inclusion despite the anniversary's significance for the Parliament as a whole, and his attitude towards the Meshrano Jirga is reflected by the Wolesi Jirga's secretariat staff on even the most mundane matters. ¶18. (U) Constituent Services - Constituent services are especially problematic because MPs have neither personal offices nor budgets for personal staffs. While this is matter of much concern and may be addressed in the future, at present the MPs must receive constituents in their own homes and at their own expense. Many MPs have complained about the financial burden of having to provide hospitality to visiting provincial guests and delegations, and of the difficulties they have in following up constituent requests without a support staff. Financial constraints, travel problems and the overall security situation in parts of Afghanistan mean that many MPs are unable to travel freely and unable to undertake a full range of constituency based outreach activities. ¶19. (U) Training and Education - Development of a fully modern, well-trained Secretariat to provide services to the Parliamentarians will be a never-ending process, requiring a long term commitment by the international community as well as allocation of budget resources by the Afghan government. The MPs themselves have a long way to go, since many have had little or no experience or training relevant to their new duties, although in this regard many truly represent the education and experience level of their constituencies. Continued exposure in Kabul to international organizations and visitors, and travel abroad will enhance their awareness KABUL 00005964 006 OF 006 of Afghanistan's role in the world, but on-site education and training programs are a requisite for many MPs to enable them to address their duties. This will be a difficult, long term and expensive process, and many of the MPs may not have the ability to meet required standards. COMMENT ¶20. (U) Despite criticism and challenges, the Afghan Parliament has been a significant and in many ways surprising success story in its first year. Its membership reflects the troublesome history of modern Afghanistan, but the first twelve months of its existence shows that rival political forces, and the remnants (and perpetrators) of years of violence and brutality can indeed sit together and peacefully discuss the issues and problems that the country faces. In ways that were never quite envisioned, the MPs indeed reflect the population and seem to deal with it in an easy manner. When Kabul was shaken by riots earlier this year and many buildings were being damaged and looted, an angry mob approached the Parliament. The crowd of demonstrators was met by a small group of MPs (including three women) and staff who walked out on the street to face them. By calming the crowd down, sending in to the Parliament for water to be given the demonstrators, and asking the mob to choose representatives to discuss their concerns, the Parliamentary delegation defused the dangerous situation and prevented violence and damage, showing that there was a peaceful alternative to dealing with political emergencies. ¶21. (U) Institution building is never easy, but the Parliament shows that it can be done. If the maturation process continues in the coming year, it will provide a good omen for the future stability of Afghanistan as a whole. END COMMENT NORLAND