US embassy cable - 03AMMAN6221

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 006221 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, SOCI, JO 
SUBJECT: IRAQI "EMBASSY" IN AMMAN SERVES TEA WHILE WAITING 
FOR INSTRUCTIONS FROM BAGHDAD 
 
Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b)(d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) By their own admission, Iraqi Interests Section staff 
(six diplomats and six admin. staff) have been mostly idle 
since the end of the war.  They while away the time by 
fielding -- but not being able to do anything about -- Iraqi 
citizens' consular questions by phone and in person. 
Activity picked up in August and September with staff 
assisting Iraqi dignitaries traveling through Amman on their 
way to other destinations.  The Interests Section is ready to 
reopen for limited consular services.  End Summary. 
 
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CHARGE D'AFFAIRE'S TOP PRIORITY: OFFERING CONSULAR SERVICES 
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2. (C) PolOff met with Iraqi Interests Section Charge 
d'Affaires, Maan Barakat, on September 25.  Barakat confided 
that a typical day in the office for him and his staff was 
uneventful.  He said the staff of 12 does not have much to 
do, other than "assist" Iraqi citizens visiting the mission. 
He staffs an "information" booth at the mission with a 
cultural and consular officer.  He said they receive on a 
daily basis between 15-20 Iraqis seeking help.  When asked 
what such "assistance" consisted of, Barakat explained that 
Jordan is home to between 350,000 - 400,000 Iraqi citizens 
who have not had access to any consular services since the 
end of the war.  Iraqi citizens in Jordan seek the mission's 
help with residency problems, notarial services (many wish to 
sell properties in Iraq and are unable to without certified 
documents), and reporting and registering births and deaths. 
Barakat and the Interests Section staff, are increasingly 
frustrated that they have not yet received authorization from 
the MFA in Baghdad to provide any consular services.  He 
asked us when his mission will be authorized to provide 
consular services. 
 
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RECENT UPSWING IN ACTIVITY 
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3. (C) Barakat was happy to report that the mission has been 
kept "busy" during September providing assistance to Iraqi 
ministers and other dignitaries transiting Amman on their way 
to other destinations.  They assist with meeting and greeting 
at the airport, transportation, hotel reservations, flight 
tickets and sometimes line up appointments with Jordanian 
government counterparts.  He confided the last task can be 
daunting since sometimes he only receives one day's notice 
and has difficulty securing such last minute appointments 
with GOJ officials. 
 
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MISCELLANEOUS DUTIES 
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4. (C) Barakat added that his staff has been instrumental in 
collecting and forwarding to the MFA in Baghdad Iraqi 
passports received from different Iraqi missions throughout 
the world.  His staff, in conjunction with Embassy Amman 
officers, inventories the supply of Iraqi diplomatic, service 
and regular passports received from the different missions, 
and coordinates the forwarding of the passports to the MFA in 
Baghdad. 
 
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RELATIONS WITH GOJ 
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5. (C) Barakat described his limited relations with the GOJ 
as positive.  He reiterated that his only interaction with 
GOJ officials has been to schedule appointments for Iraqi 
ministers visiting Jordan, or when desperate Iraqis denied 
entry to Jordan call him from the Iraq-Jordan border.  He 
stated that all he is usually able to do in these cases is 
plead with a Jordanian border guard to try to secure passage 
for his countryman into Jordan.  More often than not, he 
fails. 
 
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Diplomatic List 
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6. (SBU) The following are the names of diplomatic personnel 
currently assigned to the Iraqi Interests Section: 
 
Name                         Title 
----                         ----- 
Maan Barakat                 Charge d'Affaires 
Abdul K.F. Aaouz             Consul 
Ahmed Jarallah               2nd Secretary 
Hussein Ameer                2nd Secretary, Protocol 
Tariq Kadhim                 Attache, Consular 
Ahmed Affan                  Attache, Consular 
Salih I. Khamas              Finance 
Mohammad Zaki                Typist 
Dhia I. MusliM               Admin. 
Khalil M. Hilal              Telex and Faxes 
Fadhil R. Hussein            Driver 
Salih K. Naji                Maintenance 
 
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COMMENT 
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7. (C) The Iraqi Interests Section has been very cooperative 
in working with Embassy Amman to meet requests from CPA 
Baghdad.  The Interests Section supported the visit of Iraqi 
MFA Senior Advisor Susan Johnson and Iraqi Governing Council 
members to Amman in August and September, and assisted 
Embassy Amman staff in the collection, accounting, and 
transfer to Baghdad of cash from the Section and passports 
sent here from other posts in the region and Europe. 
 
8. (C) Prior to the appointment of the interim Iraqi FM, the 
Jordanian MFA tells us it agreed in principle to reopening 
the Iraqi Embassy in Amman as an Interests Section to perform 
consular services.  We believe this would be a positive step, 
and look forward to assisting the GOJ and CPA Baghdad make 
this happen, if needed. 
 
9. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site 
through the State Department's SIPRNET home page. 
GNEHM