RENEWED IRAQI EFFORT ON KUWAITI MISSING A POSITIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000566 SIPDIS NEA/ARP, NEA/I, OSD-DPMO FOR COL D. ELLIS, J. BASHAM E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2019 TAGS: PREL PHUM MARR PGOV IZ KU SUBJECT: RENEWED IRAQI EFFORT ON KUWAITI MISSING A POSITIVE SIGN FOR TRIPARTITE COMMISSION REF: A. KUWAIT 354 ¶B. 2008 KUWAIT 1160 Classified By: Political Counselor Pete O'Donohue for reasons 1.4 b and d Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) In a tone more upbeat than in recent Tripartite Commission (TC) and Technical Subcommittee (TSC) meetings (Refs A, B),the ICRC on June 1 praised delegates from Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, France, UK and the US for their increased efforts -- since the March 31 TSC -- to locate the remains of some 370 Kuwaitis presumed to be in mass graves in Iraq. In particular, ICRC Regional Delegate Jean-Michel Monod noted Iraqi diligence in following-up eyewitness accounts and praised an Embassy initiative to locate potential burial sites in Kuwait of Iraqi soldiers presumed killed in action during the 1991 retreat to Iraq. Though no remains were recovered since the March 31 TSC, Monod suggested that the improved collective efforts showed that the "ship had been righted," auguring hope for future progress. One of the reasons for this renewed optimism was the increased level of commitment shown for this mandate by the presence of representatives from the Iraqi MFA and the Iraqi mission to Kuwait together with the Iraqi MOHR delegation. End summary. More Efforts, but Witnesses Still Playing Cat and Mouse -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) Increased Iraqi dedication to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mandate of finding the missing Kuwaitis believed captured and executed by Saddam's forces was largely attributed to efforts undertaken by the GOI's new Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR) chief delegate to the TSC, Arkan Thamir Saleh. Mr. Saleh explained to the TSC that since the March 31 meeting, he has taken steps to increase GOI buy-in to the ICRC mandate by briefing PM Nouri al-Maliki's Chief of Staff Tariq Abdullah, as well as Human Rights Minister Wijdan Salem -- who has reportedly consented to attend the TC in November. Other actions taken by the GOI since March include: -- The MOHR scheduled a late May appointment with an eyewitness who claimed to have information on the whereabouts of Kuwaitis who were captured during the Iraqi invasion in the city of Jahra, Kuwait. Unfortunately, according to Saleh, the GOI lost contact with the witness just prior to the appointment. -- An April 26 appointment was scheduled in Damascus with a witness who reportedly had information about mass grave sites in Ramadi, Iraq. However, because the meeting took place in Syria, the GOI opted not to attend. ICRC and Kuwaiti delegates met with the witness, but he was not forthcoming with details. (Note: In response to this missed opportunity, the ICRC and the Kuwaiti officials present stressed to the GOI that the onus for extracting information from witnesses was on Iraq and that it must increase the intensity of its measures. End note.) -- Saleh briefed the TSC on its public outreach measures via Iraqi TV calling on potential witnesses to come forth. Responding to TSC recommendations, the MOHR delegation said that it would review methods of expanding its outreach through private TV channels and national religious figures to expatriate Iraqi audiences in Syria and Jordan. -- The MOHR team conducted a field visit to Najaf and interviewed officials at a local school to investigate reports that two Saudi nationals were executed on the school grounds. -- The team also preliminarily investigated a site in Salman Pak to verify the existence of two trenches purported by witnesses to be burial sites. Regrouping after Unsuccessful Digs -------------- ¶3. (U) Per ref A, the sole positive deliverable from the March TSC was the Embassy-initiated effort to search for the remains of Iraqi KIA. Stemming from this initiative, the ICRC, on two separate trips, led TSC delegates to sites marked along the so-called "highway of death" to dig for remains. Though excavations at three of these sites were KUWAIT 00000566 002 OF 002 unsuccessful, the speed with which the GOK assembled teams was commendable and demonstrated to TSC delegates -- an Iraqi Embassy officer included -- GOK commitment to repatriating remains. Not deterred by the thus-far unsuccessful excavations, ICRC requested a June 9 meeting with delegates and relevant forensics specialists to brainstorm the best way forward. Delegates from Iraq, Kuwait, the UK and US are expected to attend, along with ICRC's technical expert in Baghdad. ¶4. (U) The Embassy continues to back this endeavor by providing continued poloff, Defense Attache, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service support -- and will, in the June 9 brainstorming session, add forensic anthropology expertise from the US Armed Forces Medical Examiner System to the search for the Iraqi KIA. The British Embassy in Kuwait has also been engaged. According to British Econoff Nicola Woodget, British Ambassador Michael Aron led a team from Kuwait to Baghdad recently to confer with the office of Prime Minister al-Maliki and the MOHR to urge more progress in the search for missing in Kuwait and Iraq. Tarasov Believes Iraq Can Do More -------------- ¶5. (C) In a June 1 meeting with Ambassador, the UN's High-Level Coordinator for the repatriation of Kuwait's missing persons and archives, Ambassador Gennady Tarasov -- who did not attend the TSC meeting, but was planning to obtain a read-out after its conclusions -- acknowledged a sense of frustration over Iraqi foot-dragging on meeting its obligations under Chapter VII. Tarasov said he had made clear to the Iraqis that until there is tangible progress on a number of issues -- including those pertaining to missing persons and archives -- it will not be possible to say when Chapter VII will end. Concerning missing Kuwaitis, Tarasov said he would urge the GOI to invite Kuwait to send teams to dig in Iraq, a gesture that he believed would give them leverage on debt and other remaining bilateral issues. Ambassador Jones agreed that movement on missing persons and archives is essential, but underscored the urgency for Iraq to satisfy GOK concerns on border demarcation. Tarasov noted that he is due to present an updated report to the UNSYG in October. "If there is nothing positive to report, " he remarked, "I won't be able to invent." Tarasov remarked that he looked forward to a readout from the June 1 meeting. Navy CAPT Speicher's File Remains Open -------------- ¶6. (U) POLOFF reiterated the USG determination to keeping open the file of US Navy Captain Michael S. Speicher and thanked the TSC and Kuwaiti delegates for their continuing commitment to match CAPT Speicher's DNA with that of recovered DNA from exhumation cases. Next TSC -------------- ¶7. (U) The next (61st) TSC is scheduled to take place on August 4. Comment: -------------- ¶8. (C) Though no exhumations took place and no information pertaining to mass grave sites was conveyed, the return to a cooperative atmosphere at the June 1 (60th) TSC was encouraging, especially given the escalating bilateral rhetoric over lifting the Chapter VII mandate from Iraq. It is likely that the Iraqi team's more cooperative spirit reflected, in part, the GOI's desire to appear more forthcoming within the context of that debate. End comment. ********************************************* ********* For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: visit Kuwait's Classified Website at: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it ********************************************* ********* JONES