KRG UNIFICATION: PLOTTING A PATH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000073

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, ORA, POLMIL, NCT, ECON, ROL COORDINATOR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/31/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PINS PHUM MCAP KCOR IZ
SUBJECT: KRG UNIFICATION: PLOTTING A PATH

REF: (A) KIRKUK 57, (B) KIRKUK 39

CLASSIFIED BY: Scott Dean, Acting Regional Coordinator, , REO
Kirkuk, DoS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) SUMMARY. KRG PM Barzani told RC(A) March 29 that that
each of the dual Erbil and Sulaymaniyah KRG ministries would
form a committee to consider who should get the top jobs in the
unified ministry and to find new jobs for redundant incumbents.
No one would suffer a pay cut. The PUK has agreed to the KDP's
method for choosing deputy ministers; Barzani said the KDP
wanted technocrats. He and KRG Deputy PM-elect Omar Fattah
(PUK) would have the final say on nominations. Matching
ministries would also form committees to iron out
statutory/regulatory differences between them. Barzani said
they would remove unqualified (read PUK) political appointees
from the bench. Barzani said merging the two Asayish would
prove more difficult than merging the Peshmerga. He would
reduce the number of Peshmerga. They would retire or transfer
some Asayish, but keep them on the government's payroll.
Despite the public deadline, he did not expect the two KRG's to
finish a joint capital budget by the end of 2006. END SUMMARY.


KURDISTAN REGIONAL GOVERNMENT CABINET FORMATION
-------------- --


2. (C) Cabinet Formation. KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan
Barzani told RC(A) March 29 that the Kurdistan Democratic Party,
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the smaller parties they
selected for the new, unified KRG Cabinet would meet March 30 to
plot a roadmap for creating a cabinet. (Barzani has since
announced publicly they hope to form a cabinet by mid April.)
PM Barzani predicted to RC(A) that each of the dual ministries
(e.g., Erbil KRG Education Ministry and its Sulaymaniyah KRG
counterpart) would form a committee of the two ministers, deputy
ministers and top staffs down to the Chiefs of Staff to consider
who should get the top jobs in the unified ministry and to find
new jobs for redundant incumbents. Whether officials such as
Directors General were retired or moved to a different
appointment, no one would suffer a pay cut (see ref A).


3. (C) Barzani said they wanted technocrat deputy ministers.
Parties would each would submit 3-4 nominations and the
committee would select the best candidate. (NOTE: As reported
ref A, the PUK had resisted this method because it could allow
the KDP to choose PUK nominees from different PUK factions,
while the KDP is more united. END NOTE.) Barzani said that
Iraqi President Talabani had pledged PUK's "full support" for
this method.


4. (C) Barzani said both the KDP and PUK could veto committee
nominees. The March 30 meeting would set deadlines for party
nominations. He and KRG Deputy PM-elect Omar Fattah (PUK) would
have the final say on nominations.


MERGING MINISTRIES
--------------


5. (C) Justice Ministries. Barzani said matching ministries
would also form committees to iron out statutory/regulatory
differences between the two KRG's over KRG-Sulaymaniyah
regulations predating the Kurdistan National Assembly. The two
KRG's felt so strongly about this that they had already worked
on two such bills: the foreign investment law and the
anti-terrorism law. Barzani said the KRG-S Justice Minister had
admitted that some of his judges were not qualified. Barzani
said they would remove these political appointees to improve the
judiciary. This was why the KDP and PUK had agreed it would
take longer to merge the justice ministries. (COMMENT: Some
smaller parties have complained about the anti-terrorism bill.
The KRG-E requires 10 years of legal experience for appointment
to the bench; the KRG-S requires 8-9. The KDP's stance may be
more a matter of forcing out PUK appointees. Judges must bow to
political pressures in both KRG judicial systems, no matter how
technically well qualified. Ref C. END COMMENT.)


6. (C) Asayish. Barzani said the two Asayish (internal
security forces) would be the most difficult forces to merge.
The KRG planned to create initially a new 500-man force under a
unified command and then expand it. He said merging the two
Peshmerga (regional defense forces) was easier since they stayed
in units, were used to following orders from a central point,
and could be retired to the "Forest Peshmerga." (NOTE: His own
minister told RC(A) less than 3 hours earlier (septel) that

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there were no plans to merge Peshmerga. END NOTE.) Barzani
said they would reduce the number of Peshmerga. They would
retire Asayish with good salaries or transfer them to public
service ministries. Because they had no prospects for private
sector work, most Asayish wanted to stay on the government's
payroll.


7. (C) Finance. Barzani said merging the finance ministries
faced two major hurdles: equalizing government salaries and
creating a joint capital budget. Despite the public deadline,
he did not expect them to finish a joint capital budget even by
the 2006 fiscal/calendar year.
ORESTE