KURDS CONTINUE TO PRESS FOR QUICK RESOLUTION OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001348 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ TU SUBJECT: KURDS CONTINUE TO PRESS FOR QUICK RESOLUTION OF KIRKUK Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Robert Gilchrist per 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The approval by the Council of Ministers of the GOI Article 140 Committee's resolutions outlining procedures for the normalization of Kirkuk and other disputed areas has attracted renewed attention to an already hot topic. Publicly and in conversations with Poloff, Kurdish officials, Council of Representatives (CoR) members and columnists are adamant that the referendum occur by the end of the year and claim that failure to hold the referendum on time will spell doom for Barzani and Talabani and could lead to violence. CoR member Saadi Barzinji (KDP) said he told Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani that including a Minorities' Bill of Rights in the KRG Constitution should facilitate the Article 140 process by reassuring the Turks and Turkoman that their rights will be protected. According to some CoR members, the Article 140 resolutions must now go to the CoR for approval, an action that the Kurds reject. END SUMMARY. -------------- Kurds Eager to talk Kirkuk -------------- ¶2. Since the press announced the PM and Council of Minister's approval of the resolutions submitted by the National Article 140 Committee specifying the procedures and entitlements for relocating those displaced under Saddam, Kurdish Council of Representatives (CoR) members and other officials have been eager to share their views on this issue. Kurds have expressed gratitude for U.S. officials' statements that Kirkuk is an internal Iraqi matter. They also expressed understanding at the sensitivities involved in this issue and the need for the Article 140 process to be carried out in a fair and transparent manner. They reiterated, however, that they thought it could be done in time for a referendum this year, with several saying that the potential for violence and internal party upheaval would be very high should the deadline slip. -------------- Kurds Refuse to Delay -------------- ¶3. (C) Saadi Barzinji, a pleasant but hard-line KDP member, refused to budge April 1 on delaying the referendum on Kirkuk and other disputed territories. Usually relatively calm, Barzinji very animatedly discussed Kirkuk. He said that the Kurdish people would under no circumstances accept a delay and expressed confidence that the appropriate steps were being taken to move the process forward. He claimed that the Article 140 Committee was making progress in moving the normalization process forward, and he thought the Ministry of Planning was taking care of preparations for the census. Upon completion of those steps he said the only remaining obstacle is the referendum itself, which could be held in all the disputed areas and include only one question: "do you want to be a part of Kurdistan." (Note: while Article 140 refers specifically to Kirkuk and more generally to "disputed areas," Barzinji said Kirkuk is the most important. The other northern disputed areas in Ninewa, Salah ad-Din, Diyala and At Tamim provinces could be resolved later if need be). ¶4. (C) Barzinji told Poloff that it was in U.S. interests to have a strong and prosperous Kurdistan, so the U.S. should support any effort to expand the most prosperous and safest of regions. He reiterated that Kurdistan is safe and Kirkuk would benefit from Kurdish control. Separately, Kurdish CoR members Dr. Latif Murad and Bukari Khader expressed similar views. ¶5. (C) KAL member Khalid Salam al-Shwany said if Kirkuk is not decided on time and by the process laid out in both Article 140 and Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) 58, then it will de-legitimize the whole government. There can be no delays, he said. Shwany, who represents Kirkuk, said legally the referendum must take place by the end of the year. He said Talabani and Barzani would not be able to hold onto control if they let the referendum slip and predicted violence should there be a delay. ¶6. (C) Minister of State without Portfolio Ali Ahmed (Kurdistan Islamic Union) told Poloff April 4 that there was enough time to finish all the steps by the end of the year. He said that at their next session the Council of Ministers would elect a new committee to focus on implementation of the resolutions just passed. He emphasized the need for an accurate census and for fair and transparent elections in the Kurdish Region (Note: this probably stems from his own perception that the KIU is underrepresented due to dirty BAGHDAD 00001348 002 OF 002 tactics by the PUK and KDP during the last provincial and national elections rather than a desire to see Kirkuk decided fairly. End Note) -------------- Minority Bill of Rights -------------- ¶7. (C) Barzinji said he proposed to KRG President Barzani creating a minorities, bill of rights in the KRG to help alleviate some of the concerns that are leading Turkey to complain about the Article 140 process and to draw the Turkoman into the discussion. He said he understands the plight of the minority after many years under the Saddam regime, and he can appreciate U.S. concerns about Turkey. Murad, Shwany, Khader and others accepted that Turkey was a factor and the best way to deal with it was to have a fair and transparent process and referendum. The Kurds admitted that, while Turkey should have no say in Kirkuk, it was understandable that Turkey would be concerned about its people living there. -------------- Article 140 Resolutions Heading to the CoR? -------------- ¶8. (C) Several Kurdish CoR members have told Poloff that the Article 140 resolutions on normalizing Kirkuk passed by the Council of Ministers must now go to the CoR for approval. CoR Second Deputy Speaker Arif Tayfur asserted on April 16 that the resolutions do not need approval in the CoR because providing for "normalization" is already enshrined in Iraqi Constitutional Article 140 (Note: the constitution gives the Executive the power to "undertake the necessary steps to complete the implementation of...Transitional Administrative Law Article 58, which includes normalization of Kirkuk"). Asked how normalization would be funded, Tayfur could not recall a specific line item in the budget devoted to Article 140 normalization but promised to have the person responsible for Finance issues at the CoR find it when that person returned from vacation in two weeks. He said that Speaker Mashhadani and Deputy Speaker Al-Attiya agreed to send the resolutions back to the CoM if they were sent to the CoR. ¶9. (C) Kurdish Alliance leader Fuad Masum expressed similar views April 10, saying that if the CoM's decision was constitutional it should not need approval in the CoR. Asked if he thought this should apply to resolutions with budget expenditures, he said the CoR should only have the authority to approve sections of the resolutions dealing with actual monetary outlays. ¶10. (C) Comment: Kurdish desire to keep the Article 140 resolutions out of the CoR may stem from the fear of a fight to pass the resolutions. An opportunity for wide-spread discussion on the Article 140 process could reveal practices which other CoR members, specifically Arab members from Ninewa province, view as expansionist. Furthermore, any debate in CoR would further delay implementation and could increase the risk that logistical preparations are not concluded with sufficient time to hold the referendum this year. CROCKER