KARZAI DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM SHIA FAMILY LAW,

S E C R E T KABUL 000919 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2013 TAGS: PREL PGOV AFIN MOPS SUBJECT: KARZAI DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM SHIA FAMILY LAW, DEFENDS PROSECUTION OF NARCOTRAFFICERS TO CODEL KYLE Classified By: Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone for reasons 1.4 (B) an d (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On April 7, Codel Kyl delivered a strong message to President Karzai that while the U.S. respects Afghanistan,s autonomy, international support of the new strategy for Afghanistan is undermined by any perception that Karzai supports the arcane provisions for women included in the controversial Shia Family Law he signed last month. Karzai distanced himself from the law and emphasized that he has called for a multifaceted review of the law that will include religious clerics, legal experts and the U.S. Embassy. Codel Kyl also highlighted the need for free and fair elections and pressed Karzai on his administration,s record on prosecutions of narcotraffickers. Karzai insisted the Codel meet with Minister of Interior Mohammad Hanif Atmar to better understand actions taken against narcotraffickers. Minister Atmar gave the Codel a list of seven big fish who have been prosecuted in the past year. But a review of the list by the Embassy revealed that, of the two clearly high-level traffickers on the list, one has been prosecuted and convicted in the U.S. while another is awaiting prosecution in the U.S. One other, a mid-to-high-level trafficker, was recently arrested and prosecuted by Afghan authorities. The rest were either low-level to mid-level traffickers or else unknown cases. END SUMMARY ¶2. (C) President Karzai, under intense U.S. and other international pressure in the wake of media reports critical of his decision to sign the Shia Family Law, claimed he had signed a different version of the law than the one released to the media. Karzai insisted to the codel that the version he signed did not include the provisions on women that have come under fire. Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Representative Jane Harman (D-CA) stressed that any public perception that Karzai backs such regulations would make it difficult for President Obama to generate international support for the new Afghanistan strategy. Karzai said he understood and assured the codel that he has halted passage of the law and ordered a review by the Ministry of Justice, religious clerics and the cabinet. He also said he would ask for U.S. and other embassies' inputs on the revisions before signing off on the new draft. ¶3. (C) Codel Kyl also emphasized the importance of free and fair elections. Senator Kyl specifically asked Karzai about his ability to use air assets to campaign across the country and how this could possibly give Karzai an advantage. Karzai evaded the point of the question, stating that all candidates have access to the commercial airlines that connect Kabul to all major cities in Afghanistan. He added that real campaigning is done on the road. Karzai reminisced about the difficulties he had with police and intelligence officials when he ran for office in 2004. He stressed that this will not be an issue for candidates in this round of elections. ¶4. (C) The codel asked Karzai about his administration,s efforts to prosecute narcotraffickers, citing INL concerns that not one major trafficker is in prison. Karzai insisted that Afghanistan has arrested 660 traffickers in the last year, 35 percent of whom have been prosecuted and seven of whom are drug lords.'' Karzai dramatically attempted to prove this point, by calling Interior Minister Atmar on his mobile phone in front of the codel. He insisted that the codel meet immediately with Atmar to clear the misunderstanding. ¶5. (C) Codel Kyl met with Minister Atmar after their meeting with Karzai. Atmar presented them with a list of the seven big fish'' traffickers whom he and Karzai both claimed had been prosecuted and were in prison. Atmar highlighted the fact that these seven had been found with two to four hundred kilos of heroin. A review of the list by DEA, INL, and DOJ revealed that, of the two clearly high-level traffickers on the list, one has been prosecuted and convicted in the U.S. while another is awaiting prosecution in the U.S. One other, a mid-to-high-level trafficker, was recently arrested and prosecuted by Afghan authorities. The rest were either low-level to mid-level traffickers or else cases previously unknown to us. Of the cases recognized, some involved seizures of opium rather than heroin and only one involved the quantities of heroin claimed by Atmar. RICCIARDONE