TAWAFUQ ANNOUNCES GOVERNMENT WALK OUT ULTIMATUM

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002468 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2017 TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ SUBJECT: TAWAFUQ ANNOUNCES GOVERNMENT WALK OUT ULTIMATUM Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Vice President Tarik Hashimi on July 25 announced at a press conference that the six Tawafuq ministers would resign their positions in seven days if Sunni security and partnership demands were not met. The Maliki government needs a shock to force a turning point, said Hashimi. Earlier in the day, Hashimi told the Ambassador that Tawafuq needed to restore its credibility with its political base which sees little tangible benefit from the Sunni Arab participation in government for the last eighteen months. The situation was intolerable and Tawafuq needed to send a message to Maliki and the U.S. government. VP Hashimi dismissed Ambassador Crocker's forceful attempts to argue that such a move contradicts the good progress being made in leadership meetings and would not help the Sunni cause. Without goodwill from PM Maliki, the leadership meeting effort was a waste of time, replied Hashimi. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Vice President Tarik Hashimi on July 25 announced at a press conference that the six Tawafuq ministers would resign their positions in seven days if Sunni security and partnership demands were not met. A dejected Hashimi told Ambassador Crocker earlier that day that Tawafuq needed to restore its credibility with its political base which saw few tangible benefits from the Sunni Arab participation in government for the last eighteen months. The Maliki government needed a shock to force a turning point, said Hashimi. The situation was intolerable, and Tawafuq needed to send a message to Maliki and the U.S. government. ¶3. (C) The Sunni ministers had previously suspended their participation in Cabinet meetings following the July 26 attempt to arrest Sunni Culture Minister Asad Kamal al-Hashimi after he was reportedly identified as the mastermind of a 2005 ambush against secular Sunni politician Mithal al-Alusi that left two of al-Alusi's sons dead. The attempt to arrest Asad al-Hashimi enraged Sunni Arab politicians who considered this a political act to force Sunni Arabs out of the government. ¶4. (C) Despite efforts to calm the situation to allow for the Ministers to return to the Cabinet, there have been further incidents considered provocative to the Sunni community. These incidents included Iraqi Security Force harassment of Sunni residents near the Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters and the Coalition raid on the headquarters of the Sunni Endowment (and arrest of the son of the Endowment head). The events led Tawafuq to up the ante and demand more than just resolution of the Culture Minister issue to return to the Cabinet. VP President Hashimi said he gave the Prime Minister a list of eleven security and power sharing demands (septel). The Prime Minister refused to even discuss the demands at the July 22 meeting of the Presidency Council and, to the shock of President Talabani and VP Mahdi, stormed out of the session, said Hashimi. ¶5. (C) In proceeding with the press conference, VP Hashimi dismissed Ambassador Crocker's forceful arguments that such a move contradicted the good progress being made in leadership meetings and would not help the Sunni cause. To the contrary, it would only serve to further isolate the Sunnis. "Give the new 3 1 leadership structure a chance" said the Ambassador, since Tawafuq's interests were best served by working with other blocs in the government, some of which are also unhappy with PM Maliki's performance. Meghan O'Sullivan also questioned the timing of the announcement in light of the good progress reported in the leadership advisors meetings that began on July 24. A withdrawal from government was inconsistent with the efforts to address these concerns through the leadership meeting process, she added. Without goodwill from PM Maliki, the effort was a waste of time, replied Hashimi. ¶6. (C) The Maliki government was delaying benchmark legislation because it wanted the September report to Congress to be negative, charged Hashimi. They want Coalition troop withdrawal because they now control the government resources and security forces. Unless Maliki made a substantial effort to meet the demands (septel),the Tawafuq ministers would resign, followed shortly thereafter by the resignation of VP Hashimi and the Tawafuq Council of Representatives members, he added. CROCKER