SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FARAH PANDITH'S VISIT TO IRAQ,

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002919 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SCUL KPAO KISL PHUM EINT IZ SUBJECT: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FARAH PANDITH'S VISIT TO IRAQ, OCTOBER 28-30, 2009 ¶1. Summary: On her first visit to Iraq, the Secretary's Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith reached out to a broad cross-section of Baghdad's civil society. She emphasized President Obama's promise (as enunciated in his June 2009 Cairo speech) of a renewed U.S. dialogue based on mutual respect and mutual understanding as well as the Secretary's vision to engage on a people to people level. Her meetings with Iraqi NGO activists, officials, youth, women and entrepreneurs were constructive, as she urged Iraqis to look beyond their daily political and security challenges and to "begin building networks of like-minded people." Her willingness to listen, her confident insistence on Iraqi self-reliance, and her upbeat, progressive message resonated well with our contacts. She was interviewed on three Arabic-language channels. End Summary ¶2. Meetings with Civil Society: Ms. Pandith's first program day in Baghdad (October 28) consisted of a series of back-to-back meetings at the Al-Rasheed Hotel, chosen by post for its location within the International Zone, secure environment and relative accessibility to guests arriving from outside the zone. Teaming up with PRT Baghdad and the political section, public diplomacy officers were able to bring together a diverse, distinguished and vocal line-up of civil society representatives and local leaders. Pandith's opening 90-minute session with a dozen women entrepreneurs and civil society (facilitated by Arabic interpreters) and a second lengthy session with Iraqi war widows provided a useful glimpse into the resilience and determination of Iraqi women (including Christians and other minorities) to rebuild their lives and overcome suffering. The last session at the Al-Rasheed, moderated by the DRL-funded NGO Mercy Corps and featuring several locally elected officials focused squarely on peaceful conflict resolution, the problem of Iraqi sectarianism, and the need to build tolerance and acceptance across political and ethnic lines. Again, Pandith showed empathy and understanding, and urged her interlocutors to network and problem-solve together. The final meeting with these leaders was particularly important for they all wanted to do more to help the Office of the Special Representative to Muslim Communities (SRMC) achieve greater dialogue and understanding. ¶3. Meeting with Youth: Although a planned talk at the Women's College at Baghdad University had to be cancelled at the last minute due to security concerns, Pandith was able to meet (for over two hours) with a handful of students from Mustansariya University (who were bused in to the Embassy) along with their professor and some young alumni who recently traveled to the U.S. under the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) program. The group was especially excited to meet with Pandith having already interacted with her during Ramadan via an Embassy digital video-conference (DVC). Pandith challenged the Iraqi students and young professionals to avoid pessimism, to think big but start small, recognizing that recovery and progress come incrementally. She also urged them to network beyond their own limited circles, to reach out via social media and Internet to Americans and youth in the region and across the globe, and to give serious thought to community service and mentoring junior students. ¶4. Meeting with Information Technology Professionals: Post arranged a lunch for Pandith with young IT professionals and entrepreneurs that helped shed light on Iraq's technological capabilities and Qthat helped shed light on Iraq's technological capabilities and challenges vis-a-vis connectivity. Members of the Iraq Technology Task Force (ITTF) and other invitees briefed Pandith on difficulties experienced in working with the GOI on new technology, the state of fiber optic backbone, the electricity grid, the promise of satellite-based communications and the recent Baghdad visit by a team from Google. Post and SRMC will follow up with the respective attendees on the concepts discussed. ¶5. Other Meetings: On her first day, Pandith joined DCM Ford for dinner at the home of the Minister of Human Rights where she was able to join in on policy discussions relating to the rights of women and minorities. The following day, Pandith had dinner at the Embassy with 10 women activists, including a former Minister of Displacement and Migration, the founder of a women's empowerment NGO, a Fulbright alumnus involved in public health, and the department head of an engineering college. Pandith also visited the headquarters of the Iraq Educational Initiative (IEI) and met with a member of the Prime Minister's Board of Advisers. The discussion focused on the importance of youth and cultural exchange between the U.S. and Iraq, and how best to complement and support the PM's recently launched project that will send up to 10,000 Iraqi students overseas each year in the next five years (primarily to the U.S. and U.K.) for Bachelor's, Master's and PhD degrees. ¶6. Media Coverage: Pandith was interviewed on three Iraqi TV channels: Al-Hurriya, Al-Hurra and Rasheed Television. Coverage of her meeting with women entrepreneurs (with footage) was aired on the October 29 newscast of Al-Hurriya. All three channels are expected to air their exclusive interviews of Pandith later this week. ¶7. Comment: Despite the short amount of time available and the difficult security situation which restricted her movements to within a close radius of the Embassy, Pandith succeeded in achieving her primary goal, of establishing contacts and working relationships with youth and civil society members who can be progressive partners for the U.S. and strong, secular advocates for change, progress and mutual respect. ¶8. Farah Pandith cleared on this cable prior to her return to the U.S. Hill