US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI2984

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 002984 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/NGA AND NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/13 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, IZ, TC 
SUBJECT:  UAEG SEEKS CONFIRMATION ON IRAQI MFA 
FAX AUTHORIZING DISTRIBUTION OF TRAVEL 
FUNDS FOR FORMER IRAQI DIPLOMATS 
 
REF:  ABU DHABI 2896 
 
1. (U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba 
for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
2. (U) This is an action request; see para 5. 
 
3. (C) UAE MFA Assistant U/S for Political Affairs 
Abdullah Rashid Al-Nuaimi contacted the Ambassador 
June 21 seeking confirmation on a fax sent to the 
Iraqi "embassy" in Abu Dhabi from the MFA Steering 
Committee in Baghdad.  The UAEG took over control 
of the Iraqi embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Iraqi 
consulate in Dubai in the beginning of June and 
froze all of the missions' assets.  Abdullah Rashid 
said embassy staff had received a fax dated June 2 
from an Ambassador Ghassan Mohsen Hussein, head of 
the MFA Steering Committee in Baghdad issuing 
instructions for the issuance of tickets and the 
distribution of travel monies to former Iraqi 
diplomats and their families.  Upon the 
Ambassador's request, Abdullah Rashid forwarded a 
copy of the fax to the Embassy.  The fax requests 
the following: 
 
-- Issuance of tickets to former diplomats and 
their families to travel back to Baghdad via Amman 
or Damascus with the provision of a $20 travel 
allowance per family member. 
 
-- Agreement to continuing paying those staff 
members covered by the 16 March memorandum (a copy 
of which was also attached and which was addressed 
to a former Iraqi diplomat in Dubai -- Humaid 
Khaled Salman). 
 
Abdullah Rashid told the Ambassador the UAEG was 
not/not prepared to act on these matters and open 
the bank accounts for issuance of travel tickets 
and allowances absent confirmation from the USG 
that the fax from the MFA Steering Committee is 
legitimate. 
 
4. (C) Abdullah Rashid asked the Ambassador whether 
any decision had been taken on the resumption of 
consular services.  The local Iraqi staff at the 
Embassy in Abu Dhabi have requested that they be 
allowed to resume these services.  They have 
apparently told the Emiratis that their 
counterparts in Doha and Amman have resumed these 
services.  Abdullah Rashid noted the difficulties 
encountered by the UAEG as a result of the lack of 
Iraqi consular services here.  While the UAEG is 
being lenient on residency issues, the inability of 
Iraqis to travel overseas because their passports 
have expired is a significant hardship.  He related 
that an Iraqi woman in dire need of sophisticated 
medical attention had died in the UAE recently 
because she was unable to travel abroad to receive 
attention.  The Ambassador said we were awaiting 
guidance on the broad subject of consular services 
but in the immediate term, we appreciate the UAEG's 
not penalizing Iraqis with expired passports 
seeking to renew their residency status. 
 
5. (C) ACTION REQUEST:  Please provide guidance on 
both the matter of releasing frozen Iraqi funds for 
Iraqi "diplomats" as well as on the broader issue 
of the resumption of consular services.  As we 
noted last week (reftel), this issue continues to 
simmer here and we expect telephone calls and walk- 
ins to continue as long as Iraqi are unable to 
obtain assistance from their embassy. 
 
6.  (U)  Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
WAHBA