KRG CONSTITUTION: KURDS HOPE TO ENTICE MINORITIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000026

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, POLMIL, NCT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/4/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINS PNAT PHUM KDEM KISL IZ TU
SUBJECT: KRG CONSTITUTION: KURDS HOPE TO ENTICE MINORITIES

REF: TURKISH NEWS AGENCY 1/30 INTERVIEW WITH PRES. TALBANI, REPORTED IN "THE NEW ANATOLIAN"

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CLASSIFIED BY: RBELL, PRC, PRC, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) The KNA's Constitutional Committee continues to work on
a KRG Constitution. Members expect further changes. In the
next few weeks, the committee is supposed to send the draft to
party leaders. Once they have blessed it, the committee will
issue it for public comment. KNA Deputy Speaker Kirkuki told
RC(A) he would welcome USG comment on it then. Kurdish leaders
say the KRG constitution will not conflict with the national
constitution. The KDP opposes KIU efforts to increase the role
of Islam. The Kurds intend to spell out minority rights in the
KRG constitution in hopes of enticing minorities' support for
Kurdistan. The head of the KNA's Turcoman bloc dismissed
President Talabani's remarks about granting the Turcomans
"autonomy," though, as fluff; he said the Turcomans were not
asking for autonomy. Both the KNA's Speaker and Deputy Speaker
complained to RC(A) that the Turks were secretly stirring up
problems; they asked for U.S. help. The Kurds want a KRG
constitution to endorse Kirkuk as the KRG capital, so the timing
and method of the constitution's adoption are linked to the
status of Kirkuk. END SUMMARY.



2. (C) The Acting Regional Coordinator (RC(A)) spoke February
2 separately with Kurdistan National Assembly Speaker Adnan
Mufti (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan),Deputy Speaker Kamal
Kirkuki (Kurdistan Democratic Party),and Kirkhi Alti Barmakh,
the leader of the KNA's Turcoman bloc and MP from the Turcoman
Democratic Party, which is close to the KDP. The latter two are
members of the KNA's constitution committee.


NEXT STEPS
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3. (SBU) The KNA's Constitutional Committee continues to work
on a KRG Constitution. Kirkhi expects further changes. In the
next few weeks (according to Mufti),the committee will finish
its work and send the draft to party leaders a second time for
review. Once party leaders have blessed it, the committee will
formally put it out for public comment, including from NGOs.
Kirkuki said he would welcome USG comment then. The KNA
Constitution Committee will then review the public comments and
again work on the draft. After the committee is done, they will
vote it out to the KNA for debate.


HOPING TO CALM MINORITIES
--------------


4. (C) Compatible with National Constitution: All leaders
have said repeatedly the KRG constitution would not conflict
with the national constitution. Kirkuki told the RC(A) the KDP
opposed efforts by the Kurdistan Islamic Union to increase the
role of Islam as a source for legislation. He said it could not
be more than what it was in the national constitution. His
personal preference would be that it should be less.


5. (C) Minority Rights: The Kurds intend to spell out
minority rights in the KRG constitution in hopes of reassuring
minorities that they would have a bright future as part of
Kurdistan. The KRG constitution will at least reaffirm minority
rights given in the national constitution. The constitution
would also guarantee minorities they need not become Kurdish
(i.e., ban the "ethnic correction" of Saddam's Iraq). Kirkuki
said minorities did not want the constitution to distinguish
between ethnic/religious groups for individual rights, but did
want the constitution to reaffirm minority groups' existence.


6. (C) Turcomans: Mufti said the Turcomans needed to be more
realistic, given how the national vote revealed there were only
1-1.5 million Turcomans in Iraq. He implied the Kurdish
leadership would not hesitate politically to point out to
Turcomans they did not have any practical possibility of joining
Turkey. He also pointed to the declining vote totals of the
(pro-Turkish) Iraqi Turkman Front. When asked about President
Talabani's remarks to the press that the KRG was granting
Turcomans "autonomy" (ref),Turcoman Kirkhi dismissed them as
comforting words for Turkey and the region; they were not based
on anything real. Kirkhi said Turcomans were not asking for
autonomy. PUK Deputy GenSec Nochirwan Mustapha told the British
Consul General the remark was to recognize the Turcomans as the

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second nationality in Kurdistan. He envisaged greater
representation in local civil society organizations, better
representation in municipal bodies (e.g., governor or mayor),
greater control for local schooling and more TV and radio
stations.


7. (C) Turkey "Causing Problems": The PUK's Mufti said the
KRG would seek good relations with Turkey, partly to assuage the
Turcomans. (COMMENT: The PUK, based in the eastern part of
Iraq, historically has been less hostile to Turkey than the KDP,
whose territory abuts Turkey. END COMMENT.) Both he and
Kirkuki complained that recently the Turks were secretly
stirring up problems for the Kurds. They asked for U.S. help.


8. (C) Minority Issue: Kirkhi complained that the current
constitutional draft's preface said "Kurdistan consists of the
Kurdish people and other minorities...." He wanted it to say
instead that "Kurdistan consists of the Kurdish people,
Turcomans" etc. with no mention of minorities. By contrast,
Kirkuki said the Kurds had reached an agreement with the
Turcomans. Kirkuki said the Christians continued to argue among
themselves about how to characterize themselves, but the Kurds
had no problem with them. He said most of the Christians were
satisfied with the national constitution's separate naming of
the Assyrians and Chaldeans. The Syriacs now were looking to be
named. (COMMENT: Kirkuki's message was that the Kurds would
adopt whatever way minorities wanted to describe themselves.
Some Christians want Christians named as one community; others
want them listed as separate communities. END COMMENT.)


PREPARING FOR KIRKUK TO JOIN KRG
--------------


9. (C) The KNA will need to decide whether to adopt the KRG
constitution by KNA vote, or submit it to a public referendum.
Kurdish parties want a constitution to endorse Kirkuk as the KRG
capital, so adoption is linked to the city's status. Kirkhi
thought the KRG would wait to vote on the constitution until
after a referendum on Kirkuk's status; in a separate
conversation, Kirkuki favored going "slowly." Speaking
personally, Mufti told RC(A) he thought the KNA should initially
adopt the constitution without a referendum. When Kirkuk joined
the KRG at the end of 2007, the constitution would have to be
amended (read: to add Kirkuk provisions etc.). He thought the
KNA could then put the constitutional amendments to a
referendum, then winning public approval for the constitution by
those additional areas of the province (along with those now in
the KRG).


10. (C) Kurdish Settlement in Kirkuk: Both Mufti and Kirkuki
raised the status of Kirkuk. Mufti said many Kurds from Kirkuk
remained in the north, too worried about the security situation
to return to Kirkuk. He insisted that the Kurds settling in
Kirkuk city were those originally from rural parts of the
province (e.g., destroyed villages),not originally from
elsewhere as other ethnicities charge. He said that most
Turcomans expelled from Kirkuk in Saddam's time had fled the
country, now had better lives in Turkey and therefore were
unwilling to return. He argued it was not the Kurds' fault if
Kurds were returning to Kirkuk because they were still in Iraq
while Turcomans were not returning because they lived happily in
other countries.


11. (C) U.S. Bases: All three mentioned they hoped the U.S.
would establish bases or stay permanently in the Kurdish region.
RC(A) repeated that the U.S. was not interested in permanent
bases in Iraq, but would stay the course to help the country.
DEAN