US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD2846

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002846 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/PPD, NEA/PPA, NEA/AGS, INR/IZ, 
INR/P 
E.0. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, KPAO, IZ, Media Reaction 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ, GUNMEN, DIALOGUE, TAL, 
CONSTITUTION; BAGHDAD 
 
 
1. SUMMARY: The major themes in the daily newspapers on 
July. 7 were Talabani's and Al-Jafari's meeting with a U.S. 
congressional delegation, the Minister of Defense's visit 
to Tehran, the constitutional committee's preparations for 
drafting the constitution, and the latest developments of 
the security situation. END SUMMARY. 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
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A. "Dialogue with armed groups" (As-Sabah, 7/7) 
B. "Will Article 9 of the TAL be ignored?" (Al-Ittihad, 
7/7) 
 
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SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
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A. "Dialogue with armed groups" (As-Sabah, 7/7) 
 
As-Sabah (independent) published a third-page editorial 
about the recent reports on dialogue with Iraqi gunmen: 
 
"The recent reports of a dialogue with gunmen, or those who 
refer to themselves as the 'resistance,' represents a 
worrisome obsession. Some observers believe that the 
importance of a dialogue lies in defeating terrorism and 
ending the insurgency in Iraq. Others argue that such a 
dialogue merely represents tactical measures by the parties 
involved. They also point out that this dialogue is not a 
new development because the British Times reported last 
February that secret negotiations were being conducted 
between the U.S. and armed groups in Iraq. 
 
Last week, President Talabani declared that the 
negotiations with armed groups is an American affair and 
the Iraqi government has no involvement in this matter. On 
the other hand, the National Assembly has begun discussing 
the latest demands that call for negotiations with armed 
Iraqi groups. However, the National Assembly insists that 
it is necessary to first identify these groups and their 
objectives. 
 
It is important to note that the vast majority of Iraqi 
society opposes dialogue with the terrorists. The Iraqi 
street realizes that these groups seek to hinder the new 
Iraqi political project, which is established according to 
peaceful dialogues that will strengthen our democratic 
state. It is impossible to distinguish between resisting 
the multi-national forces and killing Iraqi policemen and 
government employees. The increased number of terrorist 
operations that randomly target innocent civilians has led 
Iraqis to realize that these groups have only one goal. 
They want to retaliate against those individuals who 
stepped on the dictator's statues, buried the dictatorship, 
and chose the experiment of democracy and freedom. 
Therefore, whoever wants to begin a dialogue with these 
groups must first take into account the bloodshed of 
innocent Iraqis and think twice about the real objectives 
of such dialogues." 
 
B. "Will Article 9 of the TAL be ignored?" (Al-Ittihad, 
7/7) 
 
Al-Ittihad (affiliated with PUK led by Jalal Talabani) 
published a third-page column by Abdul Hadi Mahdi about the 
constitution: 
 
"Without a doubt, the constitutional stage represents an 
extremely important period in the history of the new Iraq. 
If the Iraqi people choose to ratify the new constitution, 
it will become the document that represents all sects and 
guides the country's future. All Iraqi political groups 
agreed previously that the TAL would provide the foundation 
for the new constitution. However, there are still articles 
of the TAL that have yet to be implemented. The stated 
purpose of the TAL was to administer the transitional 
period until an elected government would be established 
that would draft a permanent constitution. Therefore, the 
former interim and current governments hold responsibility 
for applying these articles of the TAL. Unfortunately, this 
has not happened. 
 
Article 58 has not yet been implemented and was postponed 
without any justifiable reason. Additionally, Article 9 of 
the TAL has been ignored. This article states that Arabic 
and Kurdish are the two official languages of Iraq and that 
all Iraqi citizens have the right to teach their children 
their mother language, including Turkmen and Armenian. 
Article 9 also requires that the official Iraqi newspaper 
be published in both Arabic and Kurdish. Speeches and 
addresses during official meetings of the National 
Assembly, the cabinet, and the courts must be presented in 
Arabic and Kurdish. Other official business, such as 
currency, passports, and stamps, must be printed in both 
languages. The federal institutions in Kurdistan must also 
use Arabic and Kurdish. These are the requirements as 
specified by Article 9. 
 
Have these above-mentioned paragraphs been implemented? The 
article calls for a law to be issued that would require the 
implementation of these paragraphs, but no such law has 
been issued thus far. As a result, Article 9 is 
inapplicable because there is no enforcement mechanism. In 
addition, many government offices do not accept Kurdish- 
written statements. These offices return such statements to 
their place of origin in order to be translated. Passports 
and currencies are also being issued only in Arabic. We 
believe that it is the National Assembly's duty to raise 
this issue for inclusive discussion. The Assembly must 
specify why Article 9 has not been implemented. We hope 
that the constitutional committee members will not 
disregard this article because it is necessary for the 
future of Iraq." 
 
SATTERFIELD