ONE LESS KREKAR HURDLE: NORWEGIAN AMBO TO IRAQ

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 000420 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR, DSERCC, DS/1P/ITA, DS/IP/EUR COPENHAGEN FOR LEGATT OVP FOR JIM MARRS JUSTICE FOR SWARTZ E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2016 TAGS: PREL PTER ASEC IZ NO SUBJECT: ONE LESS KREKAR HURDLE: NORWEGIAN AMBO TO IRAQ REF: OSLO 316 Classified By: P/E Counselor Mike Hammer, reason 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Norway now has an accredited Ambassador to Iraq. Ambassador Sverre Stub (resident in Amman) presented his credentials to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on April ¶3. This important step in formalizing relations between Norway and Iraq has been laying in abeyance for some time (over a year) and, now that it is done, may help facilitate the Norwegian efforts to come into dialogue with Iraq on the conditions for the return to Iraq of former Ansar al-Islam leader Faraj Ahmed Najmuddin (Mullah Krekar). ¶2. (C) MFA desk officer for Iraq Anita Krokan (protect) told us that she had been fighting a bureaucratic battle within the MFA to get Ambassador Stub to schedule his presentation of credentials. For reasons she did not specify, Krokan said that Ambassador Stub had been reluctant to do so. However, Krokan indicated that the way is now open for Norway to begin discussions with Iraqi central government authorities about the conditions for Mullah Krekar's return. Krokan did not have a specific timeline for approaching Baghdad on the question of Krekar's return, but Norway will wait for the formation of a new Iraqi government. ¶3. (C) Comment. Public opinion against Krekar continues to bubble, as many see his case as a prime example of severe problems in the Norwegian immigration system. On April 4, Norwegian daily Verdens Gang announced the immigration "scandal" that the Norwegian Directorate for Immigration granted Krekar's Iraqi mother-in-law permanent residence status in Norway in the fall of 2005, even as Norway seeks Krekar's expulsion on the grounds of national security. Getting rid of Krekar will certainly remove one thorn from Norwegian government's side, and Labor and Integration Minister Bjarne Haakan Hansen has made clear that he hopes to expel Krekar as soon as possible (reftel). That said, while the accreditation of Ambassador Stub is a welcome step forward in normalizing Norway's relations with Iraq that may facilitate Norway formally approaching Iraq on the question of Krekar's return, we still doubt that Krekar's expulsion from Norway is imminent. Visit Oslo's Classified website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/oslo/index.cf m WHITNEY