ARAB PARLIAMENTARY SUMMIT FLAUNTS KURDS'

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000784

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS PINR IZ
SUBJECT: ARAB PARLIAMENTARY SUMMIT FLAUNTS KURDS'
DEVELOPMENT, LOYALTY TO IRAQ

Classified By: Political Counselor Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Arab Parliamentary Union (APU)'s
semi-annual conference convened March 11-13 in Erbil.
Kurdistan Regional Government officals called the event
immensely important for the Kurdish region for three
reasons: it advertised Erbil as an investment haven,
demonstrated the KRG's commitment to a unified Iraq, and
positioned the Kurdish region on the leading edge of Iraq's
emergence from international isolation. Iraqi CoR Speaker
Mahmoud Mashadani was elected APU President for the next two
years. While the event produced little of substance in terms
of Arab parliamentary politics, its Kurdish hosts were
delighted at having gained international exposure and
positive feedback from their Arab guests. End summary.


2. (C) The APU held its 13th meeting over three days at
Erbil's new convention center. Over 200 delegates from 19
Arab countries attended, in addition to Ambassador Crocker
and other members of the diplomatic corps. Iraqi President
Talabani, KRG President Barzani, and Iraqi Council of
Representatives (COR) Speaker Mahmoud Mashadani chaired the
opening and closing sessions, alongside APU Secretary General
Nour Eddin Bouchkouj and APU President (and Jordanian
Parliament Speaker) Abd al-Hadi al-Majali. The conference's
Kurdish organizers hailed it as an important step for Iraq
out of international isolation, saying Iraq had been due to
host this event since 1995, and stressed the symbolic
importance of making such a statement in the Kurdish capital.


3. (C) KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani told our PRT
leader that advertising Erbil's recent development was a
major reason for hosting the conference. Erbil has grown
rapidly since 2003, and Barzani said the lavish convention
center was built specifically for this event. The KRG Prime
Minister was especially pleased at high-level representation
from the wealthy Gulf countries, citing them as potentially
invaluable sources of investment for Erbil,s future
development. Both Barzanis have made recent visits to the
small Gulf countries to promote investment in Northern Iraq,
and Nechirvan Barzani has told us several times that he keeps
Doha and Dubai in mind as models for developing Erbil.


4. (C) Barzani said the conference also helped counter
Arab suspicions of Kurdish separatism. In his view, by
hosting the conference the Kurds demonstrated that the KRG
remains a loyal part of Iraq ) a point many of the speakers
reinforced ) and Barzani said he expects widespread coverage
on the Arab satellite networks to blunt the common criticism
that Iraqi Kurds seek independence. Speeches by KRG
President Massoud Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani
both implicitly refuted suspicions of Kurdish separatism by
highlighting Iraqi Kurds, fraternity with Arabs and
commitment to a unified Iraq. Perhaps most importantly, the
new Iraqi flag was on prominent display throughout the
convention center and on the road from the airport; Iraq,s
parliament in January approved the new flag specifically
because the Kurds had refused to fly the Saddam-era flag over
this event.


5. (C) Fuad Hussein, Barzani,s chief of staff, said the
impression of Arab delegates was overwhelmingly
positive. Hussein claimed one delegate said no previous Arab
Parliamentarians, Conference had gone so well, and
that &we were wrong about you (the Kurds) in every way. We
were wrong about your history, about your situation here.8
A member of the Bahrain Council of Representatives (COR)
reportedly joked ) no doubt to Hussein,s delight ) that
&Iraq would be better if the Kurds ruled it!8 Hussein
concluded that the conference was hugely important because
&the Arab world now knows who the Kurds are.8


6. (C) The conference itself dealt with familiar themes
for pan-Arab convocations, but avoided condemning
the U.S. ) probably a sign of Kurdish intervention. An Arab
League rep obliquely slighted the U.S. by referring to
&occupied8 Iraq, but the term prompted highly-publicized
objections from Iraqi Deputy Speaker Khaled Attiya and
Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Jassem al-Khorafi. Other
speeches lamented instability in the Palestinian
territories, Lebanon, Sudan, and Somalia, lambasted Israel,
invoked Iraqi unity and national reconciliation, decried
terrorism for slandering Islam, called the Arab nation to
unite to solve these problems, and pondered how Arab
parliaments can help. The delegates passed unanimous
resolutions on these and other issues, though none were
particularly actionable. At the closing ceremony, Mashadani
was elected APU President for the next two years.
CROCKER