THE DE-BAATH LAW GETS ITS FIRST READING WITH VOCAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 003843

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ
SUBJECT: THE DE-BAATH LAW GETS ITS FIRST READING WITH VOCAL
REACTIONS

Classified By: PolCouns Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: On November 25 the Justice and
Accountability law (i.e., the "de-Ba'ath law") received its
first reading in the Iraqi Council of Representatives (COR).
The reading was repeatedly disrupted by the Sadr Bloc and a
handful of Kurdish and Shi'a MPs protesting that the law
contradicted the constitution and therefore should not
receive its first reading. Further action from the COR will
depend on the report from the COR's Legal Committee. End
Summary.

Pandemonium in the Parliament
--------------


2. (SBU) On November 25 the de-Ba'ath law received its first
reading in the Iraqi parliament. Although the draft law was
the sixth item on the agenda, the COR took it up almost
immediately, as there were not enough members present to deal
with the preceding three items on the agenda. As soon as COR
Speaker Mahmoud Mashadani introduced the topic, several
members, including the entire Sadrist Bloc and some other
Kurdish and Shi'a MPs, objected to the reading on the grounds
that the draft law contradicted the constitution. Mashhadani
explained that the purpose of the first reading was merely to
introduce the law to parliament, after which MPs could debate
its merits. As the reading progressed, the Sadrist Bloc grew
louder in its protests. The Sadrist MPs repeatedly banged
their desks and led chants to "Remember the Martyrs" and
"Eliminate all Ba'athist militias." At one point MP Adil
Tawfeeq Barwani (KDP) flung papers at the Presidency Council
dias and shouted "Shame on you!" to Mashhadani. The Legal
Committee Chair, Baha al-Araji (himself a Sadrist),urged his
"brothers and sisters" to stop their protests, without
success. The uproar died down only after completion of the
first reading.


3. (SBU) Once the bill was read, a pained-looking Mashhadani
stood at the lecturn and paternalistically chided the MPs for
their protests, stressing that the Council of Ministers (COM)
had legally and transparently transmitted the draft to the
COR. He urged the MPs to respect the COR's by-laws. Then,
saying "I'm not a Ba'athi, I'm not afraid," he read a report
from the COR's de-Ba'athification Committee on the draft law.
The report concluded that Article 28 of the draft ("The High
National Commission for de-Ba'athification shall be dissolved
six months after the entry of this law into force")
contradicted Article 135 of the Iraqi Constitution, which
outlines the relationship between the COR and the High
Commission for de-Ba'athification. Mashhadani concluded that
the COR's Legal Committee needed to study the matter and
submit a report, adding that if there was a contradiction the
COR could choose to either amend the law or return it to the
COM.


4. (C) Comment: The day's atmospherics emphasize the
continuing tensions over the draft legislation and the
ability of a vocal minority to all but paralyze Iraq's
parliament. The next steps for the law will depend on the
verdict of the Legal Committee. If the committee rules the
law does indeed contradict the constitution, then the COR can
either amend it or return it to the COM. Opponents will
rally around the latter option, which in all likelihood would
delay the draft's passage until the Spring of 2008. We will
weigh in with the committee leadership and key political bloc
leaders this week to urge that any changes to the bill be
made in the COR, and that the bill not/not be returned to the
COM.
CROCKER