MP BIO: ABDUL RASUL SAYYAF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000091 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76 TREASURY FOR LMCDONALD, WBALDRIDGE, APARAMESWARAN, ABAUKOL STATE PLEASE PASS USAID USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KDEM AF SUBJECT: MP BIO: ABDUL RASUL SAYYAF ¶1. (U) This is the second in a series of biographic reporting cables on Afghanistan's newly elected Parliamentarians. Additional reports will be sent as EMBOFFS continue to meet personally with new MPs during the coming weeks. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: Amb and POLOFF met with Abdul Rasul Sayyaf on 3 January to seek his views on the newly-inaugurated Parliament. Dealing with Sayyaf is a trip through the last three decades of Afghan history. At the center of many of the country's major political events, Sayyaf's role has been a controversial one, and he is allegedly the perpetrator of many of the country's worst human rights abuses. The picture he chooses to present today is that of the venerable and wise old politician who wants to continue his service to the nation, even as a simple MP. He believes that Parliament has a vital role to play in the future of the country, and claims that Afghanistan still requires western assistance to ensure its security. End summary. Troubled Political Waters -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Abdul Rasul Sayyaf is one of Afghanistan's more controversial political leaders, with a reputation for excess and brutality throughout many years of conflict against the Soviet occupation and the Taliban. It almost wasn't so, and one can envisage Sayyaf as the statesman and scholar he apparently sees in himself. His education includes two years in Cairo's Al Azar University, and he speaks Arabic fluently. His English is also very good. An accident of timing was all it took to set him on the path of political violence. In 1974 he studied English in order to be able to continue his legal studies in the United States, and was actually en route to the Kabul Airport to start his student life in America when he was arrested by President Daoud's security forces. He stayed in jail for six years, and was actively involved in the conflict in Afghanistan from his release until the departure of the Taliban. He continues to play a central role in today's politics. ¶4. (SBU) In many ways Sayyaf is the perfect example of Afghan warlord against whom there is now so much criticism. At the same time, he has significant popular support. In the Parliamentary elections, he came in as the fifth ranking candidate (out of thirty three winners) from Kabul Province, taking a total of 9806 votes. Many people believed that Sayyaf was Karzai's choice to be Speaker in the Wolesi Jirga (Note: In the political rumor mill Karzai is also reputed to have originally supported Rabbani for the position, and then to have met with Qanooni for a pre-selection talk. It is possible that each of the three thought he had the President's support. End note.) Sayyaf was openly supported in his Speaker bid by Hazara leader Haji Mohammed Mohaqiq, himself a would-be Speaker candidate, surprising many observers who had assumed a political divide between these Shi'ite and Sunni leaders. After all, it was the parties represented by these two men which had been mainly responsible for the destruction of Kabul in the 1990s. In the end, Sayyaf lost to Qanooni by a very slim margin, but may have scored a significant victory by showing that he was willing to court Hazara support for his candidacy. ¶5. (SBU) The Sayyaf residence in Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood near the Embassy was well-guarded but modestly and plainly furnished. It was clear that despite his alleged wealth, Sayyaf does not practice ostentation. He spoke English carefully but with fluency, and expressed pleasure at meeting with the U.S. officials. A note-taker, Noor Mohammed Hassanzai, Political Advisor to the Dawaat-e-Islami, was also present for the meeting. The New Politics of Moderation -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Sayyaf said that the Parliament was getting better day by day, and that he and his supporters had decided to cooperate fully with the Speaker in order to ensure the Parliament's success. He stressed that the Parliament belonged to every member, and that they all shared responsibility for its success. Sayyaf claimed that the Speaker election had been fair, and that "to win or lose is part of the political game." Stressing his full support for Qanooni, he gave the new Speaker a left handed compliment by noting that he himself could accept the results of losing, but he wasn't sure if Qanooni could. (Note: A probable reference to Qanooni's very emotional public reaction to being removed from his position as Interior Minister in 2002 and getting the less-prestigious Education portfolio in its place. End note.) ¶7. (SBU) Sayyaf emphasized his desire to avoid ethnic, party and regional rivalry in the new Parliament, and said that he had already made two speeches extolling unity. He believed that it was premature to try to form political groups in the Parliament, since the MPs still did not know each other well enough, but that eventually there would be 6 or 7 such groupings, each with 24 or so members, in addition to a larger central group. Even with such groups, however, he said that the unity of the Parliament was critical. The Role of Parliament -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Sayyaf saw the MPs as being very important in the country's future, saying that Parliamentary delegations could be used to handle problems in the outlying districts. Twenty MPs were more powerful, he said, than two army divisions. The Parliament would be a bridge between Afghanistan and the rest of the world, and it could help the government's programs by its approval, or by constructive criticism, all "in an atmosphere of consensus and understanding." The Western Presence -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Asked if the Parliament would raise the issue of the coalition forces staying in Afghanistan, Sayyaf noted that there were many other topics which would be treated first, including review of laws, approval of the Cabinet, etc. Even when the topic was broached, it would be "a calm discussion" he said. It was still too early for the coalition to leave Afghanistan. There were outside dangers which threatened the country's security, and neighbors were still hostile. "They moved," he said in reference to Russia, "like water under the grass." Asked if he had met with Russian officials, he said that the only ones he had met were those he had captured. ¶10. (SBU) Sayyaf stressed that Afghanistan still needed assistance in standing on its own feet, and in setting up a proper army and police force. If the coalition left, he said, Afghanistan would have a repetition of the old in-fighting. The last time, he noted, this resulted in the Taliban taking power, and now some other group would seize power. Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Whether he is sincere or not, Sayyaf expressed the same call for unity and cooperation that other prominent politicians are proclaiming. Although one hesitates to refer to guilty consciences, these leaders may realize that it was their ethnic, party and religious differences which resulted in the deaths of many thousands of Afghans in the period of civil strife following the jihad, and the almost total destruction of that section of the city where the Parliament building now stands. Perhaps it is seeing the many wrecked public buildings and the ruins of once bustling neighborhoods as they drive through West Kabul to the Parliament that makes them now call for moderation and unity. If they continue to speak, and to act, in this vein, there is greater hope that the Parliament will be a success. End comment. NEUMANN