IRAQI SUNNI BLOC MEMBERS DISCUSS PROGRESS, POINTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000877

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM OZ
SUBJECT: IRAQI SUNNI BLOC MEMBERS DISCUSS PROGRESS, POINTS
OF CONTENTION IN CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW COMMITTEE

Classified by Deputy Political Counselor Charles O. Blaha per
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Sunni Tawafuq bloc members Salim al-Jabbouri
(Iraqi Islamic Party, IIP) and Hussein al-Falluji (Iraqi
People's Conference, IPC) discussed their impressions of the
Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) with Poloffs on March 7
and 11, respectively. Jabbouri traveled with a
cross-sectarian CRC delegation on a UN-sponsored trip to
Spain, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates, while Falluji
traveled with a CRC delegation on a UN-sponsored trip to
Malaysia, which later joined the first delegation in Dubai.


2. (C) SUMMARY CONTINUED: Both men thought the trips had
brought Shiite Itilaf bloc and Tawafuq members closer to
agreement on a number of issues. Jabbouri said the areas of
conflict include the powers of the regions (articles
114-115),the identity of the state (article 3),and oil and
gas revenue distribution (article 112). Falluji also said
the powers of the regions and oil wealth distribution are
areas of contention. Falluji and senior IIP member Ayad
Samarraie (who was a member of the same delegation as
Jabbouri) cited the future status of Kirkuk and other
disputed territories (article 140) as another major area of
contention (septel). Falluji worried that the CRC would not
work seriously on the issues until the last minute, resulting
in a draft that committee members would be asked to agree to
at the last minute. He urged the USG to pressure the
committee to work. END SUMMARY.

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Jabbouri Fears Areas of Contention Will Halt Whole Process
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3. (C) Jabbouri said he visited Germany, Spain, and Dubai as
part of the CRC delegation. He said the Kurdish members of
the delegation did not attend the meetings in Dubai.
Jabbouri claimed that Itilaf and Tawafuq members are in 70
percent agreement on the issues. For example, he said,
Tawafuq agrees that federalism is acceptable, as long as it
is the "proper kind." He noted that he liked the German
model of federalism and asked for an Arabic version of the
German law. He said Tawafuq and Itilaf agree that the
judicial structure and Federation Council need to be more
precisely defined.


4. (C) Jabbouri said he feared the 30 percent of the issues
where there is disagreement will prevent the CRC from getting
anything done. He said the areas of conflict include the
powers of the regions (articles 114-115),the identity of the
state (article 3),and oil and gas revenue distribution
(article 112).

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Falluji Fears that CRC Will Repeat Past Mistakes
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5. (C) Falluji said his delegation had a productive 11-day
trip to Malaysia. He said Malaysia is similar to Iraq in
that it has a diverse population with an uneven distribution
of natural resources, and he thought its model of federalism
and resource-sharing was a good example for Iraq. Falluji
opined that the trip helped show Itilaf members that Tawafuq
is not trying to be difficult in its objections to the
constitution. He said that the members on his trip, to
include Humam Hammoudi (Shia, SCIRI) and Abbas al-Bayati
(Shia Independent),agreed that a federalist model where a
governorate was the largest region allowed, with the
exception of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG),was a
good model. The KRG would be given special status to be a
region, but otherwise, other governorates in Iraq would not
be permitted to join together. However, governorates could be
divided into smaller administrative units if their
constituents desired.


6. (C) Falluji said he thought the relationship of the
governorates to the central government, the distribution of
oil wealth, and Kirkuk would be the controversial issues.
Senior IIP leader Ayad Samarraie, who was with the delegation
that went to Germany and Spain, told the Ambassador on March
9 that he thought the status of Kirkuk would be the major
sticking point in the CRC (septel).


7. (C) Discussing the CRC's dynamics, Falluji believes
Hammoudi is able to speak with authority and can convince
SCIRI leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim to support his decisions.
Falluji thought Bayati is seeking a bigger role in the
committee and could be a useful interlocutor on dealing with
Kirkuk. He said that Patriotic Union of Kurdistan members,
including bloc leader Fuad Masum, needed President Jalal
Talabani's approval before they could make decisions.
Falluji commented that Samarraie can be an exceptional

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negotiator, but said Samarraie needs U.S. pressure to engage
because he does not listen to more junior members of his
bloc.


8. (C) Falluji said the CRC will resume work when the Council
of Representatives goes back in session. Nevertheless, he is
worried that the Kurds and Itilaf are going to delay working
in earnest in order to force Tawafuq members into last-minute
decisions. Falluji also is worried that the decisions about
the controversial issues will be referred to the party
leaders, negating the CRC,s work.


9. (C) Falluji complained that the party leaders made last
minute decisions when the constitutional review committee
worked in 2005. He stressed that the USG needed to pressure
the CRC to start working seriously on its review now. He
also said bloc leaders need to give decision-making authority
to their representatives on the committee. Falluji commented
that he thought last year,s public input into proposed
amendments would be irrelevant. He said he would be happy to
publicly support the draft when it is time for the
referendum, if the amendments are drafted in earnest and not
in the last few days before the deadline.
SPECKHARD