HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER SAMAR LAMENTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001478 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL AF SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER SAMAR LAMENTS UNCOMPETITIVE ELECTION, OPTIMISTIC KARZAI WILL BURY SHIA FAMILY LAW REF: A. KABUL 1335 ¶B. KABUL 1134 ¶C. KABUL 1372 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) Chair Sima Samar and the Ambassador discussed on June 9 a range of political and human rights issues. Samar blamed the opposition, including herself, for not organizing a viable challenge to Karzai's re-election bid. She urged the Embassy to increase contact with civil society leaders who often represent the viewpoint of the Afghan people more closely than government officials. On the Shia Family Law, Samar predicted Karzai would attempt to bury the law and seriously focus on re-drafting with promised progressive changes. While Karzai had reneged on yet another promise to pardon Kambakhsh, she was still hopeful. Finally, Samar predicted that, as Parliament had recessed for the summer, MOJ would promptly gazette a version of the media law taking the confirmation of the head of Radio and Television Afghanistan (RTA) away from Parliament. Politics -------------- ¶2. (SBU) "We should blame ourselves (the opposition and civil society). We were not organized enough to assemble a credible opposition ticket," declared Samar. She characterized Ashraf Ghani as the one opposition candidate with a platform, but suggested that he destroyed any chance of success after he chose weak running mates. She asserted that Karzai would pressure government organs to support his campaign because he likely feared that his poor popular standing would otherwise force him to a second round. She expressed frustration with the candidate vetting process, criticizing the requirement that candidates have a court conviction to be disqualified. She asserted that warlords have never been in a court. ¶3. (SBU) Samar agreed with the Ambassador that governance would improve as more young Afghans completed their education and rejected the former warlords. However, the current capacity was not so low that "we should have Khoram as Minister of Information and Culture." She also insisted that Afghans should not tolerate Ministers who were so corrupt everyone knew how much they charged for certain services. Samar also agreed with the Ambassador's point that support to political parties would be crucial for the formation of a credible opposition. ¶4. (SBU) Samar urged the Ambassador to expand the Embassy's contacts to include more civil society leaders. Only meeting with Ministers limits understanding of issues because most Ministers, as representatives Karzai's government, share the same viewpoints. The Ambassador told Samar that the Embassy was committed to developing broader contacts and welcomed her suggestions. Samar said AIHRC would follow up with the political section. Shia Family Law -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Samar thinks Karzai and Minister of Justice Danish will attempt to bury the Shia Family Law (reftel A). She recounted how Danish had resisted showing her a copy of the then-draft bill while claiming it did not raise constitutional or human rights concerns. Samar claimed it would now be relatively simple for MOJ to modify the law to her and other human rights leaders' satisfaction. AIHRC had presented MOJ with proposed amendments. All MOJ would have to do now is make those changes, which would not be a laborious process, she claimed. ¶6. (SBU) Samar made a plea for more investment in civil society organizations to build a strong opposition to negative influences on Afghan society, such as Iranian-funded television stations and universities, including those supported by Mohammad Asef Ali Ayatollah Mohseni. We should have our own institutions to counter this influence, she urged. Kambakhsh -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Karzai had told Samar he had signed the pardon order for Kambakhsh. (reftel B) The Attorney General's Office then told Samar that Karzai had changed his mind and called off the pardon. Samar speculated some international community efforts were too heavy-handed. She specifically cited plans to whisk Kambakhsh out of the country immediately after the potential pardon, as a contributing factor to Karzai's KABUL 00001478 002 OF 002 alleged change of heart. She was still hopeful, however, that Karzai would relent and issue the pardon. She encouraged continued international attention to the case. Media Law -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Now that Parliament recessed for its summer break, MOJ would likely soon gazette the version of media law that put the appointment of the head of the Radio and Television Afghanistan (RTA) out of Parliament's reach. Samar believed most Afghans viewed RTA as essentially a government propaganda outlet and therefore got their news elsewhere. She agreed that Karzai's failure to recognize Parliament's override of his veto (reftel C) was a serious concern. EIKENBERRY