IRAQ: TURKISH MFA ALLEGES KURDISH MISCONDUCT ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001037 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV TU IZ SUBJECT: IRAQ: TURKISH MFA ALLEGES KURDISH MISCONDUCT ON KIRKUK PROCESS Classified By: POLCouns Janice G. Weiner for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) After a spell of relative public silence on the Kirkuk issue, the Turkish MFA released a statement May 2 complaining that a key decision on implementing the Article 140 process -- namely compensation for relocation of "new Arab" families who were moved to Kirkuk under Saddam Hussein's regime -- was taken precipitously in Baghdad in the absence of PM Maliki. The statement (full text in para. 4) urges that decisions about the future status of Kirkuk be by consensus, and emphasizes that Turkey's position is grounded in its concern for regional security and Iraq's territorial integrity. ¶2. (C) In the absence of MFA's senior Iraq team (who are all in Sharm el-Sheikh),we asked MFA Iraq Head of Section Aydin Selcen what prompted Turkey to make a public statement now on Kirkuk, given that lately (in large part on our advice) the GOT had chosen to make its concerns known in a private way. Selcen responded that the GOT is angry about reports from Baghdad that the following allegedly occurred: --PM Maliki sent regulations on Kirkuk regarding compensation for "new Arabs" to the Council of Representatives (COR) for consultation/consideration. --While Maliki was out of the country in late April, DPM Salih, as acting PM, unilaterally took the issue back from the COR and signed off on it. --Many members of the cabinet and the COR, including the speaker, are furious with Salih for doing this. ¶3. (C) We cautioned Selcen that there may be a negative Iraqi reaction to MFA's statement, and not only from the Iraqi Kurds. Selcen understood, adding that the Turkish delegation at Sharm will discuss the matter with the Iraqis and emphasize that the statement is not intended as a broadside against the Maliki government. ¶4. (U) Text of MFA statement (MFA's unofficial translation) BEGIN TEXT 2 May 2007 STATEMENT OF THE SPOKESMAN OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF TURKEY IN RESPONSE TO A QUESTION (Unofficial Translation) Press reports suggesting that an Iraqi Council of Ministers High Commission decision concerning the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, pertaining to the determination of the final status of Kirkuk as well as other 
disputed territories was approved while Prime Minister Maliki was out of the country and that forms are being distributed to Arab families willing to leave Kirkuk in exchange of financial reimbursement have also came to our attention. It is deemed necessary to remind the public opinion once again our points of view and expectations on these issues. Amendment of the Iraqi constitution, and within this context amendment of Article 140 and postponement of the implementation of or determining the means of implementation of the said Article, are issues that should be resolved by the Iraqi National Assembly on a consensus basis. As these issues concern the common future of all Iraqis, settlement of such matters through consensus among all Iraqi groups is a necessity that commonsense and regional stability calls for. However, we witness with regret neither a common understanding nor a consensus emerging from the deliberations of the Iraqi National Assembly regarding this subject. It is obvious that rushing these issues or attempting to solve them by one-sided approaches based on pushing near-sighted maximalist agendas of certain groups which ANKARA 00001037 002 OF 002 entail fait accomplis will have negative repercussions on Iraq's territorial integrity, national unity and internal peace. We expect that Turkey's legitimate concerns be taken into consideration. Turkey has always given high priority to the well-being of Iraq. In fact, numerous recently published reports, including International Crisis Group's Kirkuk Report and Baker-Hamilton Report, prove that our country's concerns on regional stability are widely shared by the international community. In this respect, we preserve our conviction that all challenges that concern Iraq should be resolved through consensus-based solutions, involving active participation of all Iraqi groups. Furthermore, decisions on the implementation of Article 140 must not be based on fait accomplis or coercion. Rather, as with all other challenges in Iraq, this issue should be resolved through the common will of all the groups represented at the Iraqi National Assembly taking into consideration the common future and interests of all the components of the Iraqi nation. Disruptive situations emanating from Iraq affect not only Iraq and Iraqi citizens, but also its neighbours and our region. As such, Turkey's sensitivities stem from the importance it attaches to regional security and stability, and they should by no means be interpreted as interference in Iraq's domestic affairs. END TEXT Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON