TAWAFUQ ON GOVERNMENT BOYCOTT, COR SPEAKER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002181

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: TAWAFUQ ON GOVERNMENT BOYCOTT, COR SPEAKER

(U) Classified by Deputy Political Counselor Charles O.
Blaha, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. Sunni Tawafuq leader Ayad al-Samarrai termed
the Tawafuq boycott of Council of Ministers meetings a proper
response to the political provocation by PM Maliki of
attempting to arrest the Sunni Minister of Culture.
According to al-Samarrai an objective investigative committee
should evaluate the charges while suspending the arrest
warrant. Al-Samarrai believes the crisis with the Council of
Representatives (CoR) Speaker Mashadani could be resolved
with his quick retirement, but it will be difficult to find a
replacement. End Summary

Tawafuq,s Council of Ministers Boycott
--------------


2. (C) In a meeting with Poloffs on June 30, al-Samarrai
strongly objected to the recent arrest warrant issued for
Minister of Culture Al-Hashimi, saying that PM Maliki
personally approved the arrest warrant despite evidence
witnesses were coerced into making statements. Al-Samarrai
believes an independent "trustworthy" legal committee should
reexamine the evidence and witnesses, and allow the Minister
to make his case. He pledged Tawafuq,s support for an
indictment if the committee still found the case credible.
Al-Samarrai said Tawafuq made this request to PM Maliki but
received no response. Al-Samarrai claimed influential Shia
ISCI parliamentarian Human Hammudi termed this request fair.


3. (C) Until this crisis was resolved, the Tawafuq ministers
would continue to go to work but would not take part in
Council of Ministers meetings.

Mashadani: Departure Easier than Replacement
--------------


4. (C) Al-Samarrai thought removing Council of
Representatives (COR) Speaker Mashadani can be resolved
quickly. The Speaker would be allowed to return for one day
to preside. At the end of the day, the Speaker would
announce his desire to retire and his departure would be
accomplished with the appropriate dignity. Tawafuq opposed
the retirement law proposed by Mashadani because it would
make it too easy to remove future Speakers.


5. (C) With Mashadani gone, Tawafuq would want to name a
replacement Speaker as quickly as possible, making compromise
within the bloc easier, said al-Samarrai. He suggested that
he or fellow Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) parliamentarian Osama
Al-Tikriti could be suitable replacements but conceded that
it was unlikely that Iraqi National Dialogue Council party
leader Sheykh Khalaf Allyan would agree to an IIP nomination.
(Note: Under the Tawafuq party leader agreement, each of the
three Sunni parties in Tawafuq has an equal voice even though
the IIP has 27 of its 44 parliamentarians. The IIP nominated
Vice President Tariq Al-Hashimi, Adnan Dulaymi,s Iraqi
People,s Conference nominated Deputy Prime Minister Salam
Al-Zubai, and INDC nominated Speaker Mahmoud Mashadani and
would likely demand the right to name his eventual
replacement. End Note.)


6. (C) Al-Samarrai agreed that it would difficult for the
other political blocs to agree to any other candidate from
the remaining INDC parliamentarians and conceded that it
would also be difficult to get Allyan to cede the decision to
another Tawafuq party. Perhaps a non Tawafuq Sunni candidate
would have to be found, he speculated.


7. (C) Poloff met on July 1 with Krikor Der-hagopian, VP
Hashimi,s Foreign Relations Director, who said that the
Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) was considering CoR member Dhafer
Nadhem Salman al-Ani as a possible replacement for Speaker
Mashadani. Dhafer is from Adnan Dulaimi,s Iraqi People,s
Conference. Proposing a name from outside VP Hashimi,s
IIIP may make it easier for the Tawafuq leaders to agree.
However, Dhafer is unlikely to meet with Shia support, since
he was one of the Sunni COR leaders charged by the government
for having links to terrorists. The Higher Judicial Council
allegedly included his name along with 10 others with a
recommendation that their prosecutorial immunity be lifted.
Dhafer,s home was raided in March 2007 by the ISF and a
sniper rifle was found along with other weapons. Seven of
his guards were arrested and later released.


8. (C) Comment: It is not likely that the removal of Speaker
Mashadani will be as easy as al-Samarrai suggested,
especially if the Tawafuq opposes his retirement law which
includes a generous 30,000 USD per month pension. (Note:
Under current rules, Mashadani is entitled to an 8,000 USD
monthly pension. End note.) Mashadani wants salary and
retirement parity for the Speaker,s position with that of
the President. Agreement on a new Speaker will also be

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difficult, both within Tawafuq and with the other political
blocs. Tawafuq leader VP Tariq Hashimi has in the past been
unwilling to confront his coalition partners with tough
choices. Barring the emergence of a good compromise
candidate acceptable to Khalaf Allyan, the replacement of
Speaker Mashadani may be long and difficult. End Comment.
CROCKER