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WikiLeaks: 2010-02-12: 10VATICAN26: Iraqi Ambassador to the ...
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RUEHPW RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHTRO
DE RUEHROV #0026 0431450
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 121450Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY VATICAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1257
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 1297
C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000026
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/12/2020
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PREF KIRF IZ VT
SUBJECT: (C) IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO THE HOLY SEE CRITICAL OF USG IRAQ POLICIES.
REF: A. BAGHDAD 109
¶B. VATICAN 134
CLASSIFIED BY: Rafael P. Foley, Pol Chief.
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d)
¶1. (C) Summary: The Iraqi Ambassador to the Holy See, Albert
Yelda, told the Ambassador in a recent meeting that he supports
the exclusion of former Baathists candidates from the March 2010
parliamentary elections in Iraq (ref. A). Yelda said USG
efforts to include former Baathists are an interference on
Iraq's domestic affairs. At the same time, Yelda thought it was
premature to withdraw U.S. troops, and added there should be a
permanent human rights international commission in Iraq to
safeguard the rights of minorities. Yelda was dismissive of
U.S. efforts to counter Islamic extremism, and of the Vatican's
dialogue with Muslims. Looking forward, Yelda thought the U.S.
should support organizations denouncing extremism and pressure
Arab countries to do more to stop financial aid for Al-Qaeda and
Islamic fundamentalism. End summary.
¶2. (C) Ambassador and polchief paid a courtesy call on
Ambassador Yelda on February 4. As his assistant recorded with
a video-camera, Yelda thanked the Ambassador for the U.S.
liberation of Iraq and the ultimate sacrifice of so many young
American soldiers. Then, without his assistant, Yelda
complained that the U.S. was pressuring the GOI to allow former
Baathists to run in the March parliamentary elections. This,
Yelda said, would go against the Iraqi constitution. Yelda
spoke at length about the evils of the Baath party and the need
to ensure that the democratic process does not allow Baathists
to return to power, just like Nazis were prevented from
participating in German politics after WWII. Yelda --who is an
Assyrian Christian-- did agree that elections should be fair and
transparent, and that Sunnis should be able to put forward
candidates, provided they are not Baathists. He also complained
about the U.S. engaging Sunni militias and allowing them to be
part of the Iraqi political process.
¶3. (C) Yelda criticized the President's decision to withdraw
U.S. combat troops by the end of 2011 as premature. He thought
it was "unnatural" to have a timetable, and that Iraq would need
at least another ten years to sort issues like the protection of
Christians and other minorities, the future of Kirkuk and Mosul,
and sharing of oil revenues. Yelda said the international
community should establish a permanent commission for human
rights in Iraq, to protect religious minorities. Christians, he
said, can not trust "anybody" in Iraq, and have left the country
in large numbers. (Note: while there are no dependable figures,
there are an estimated 300,000 Christians in Iraq today, down
from the estimated 800,000 before the war.)
¶4. (C) Yelda described the Vatican's dialogues with Muslims
(ref. B) as "useless". He also thought the USG-supported
satellite TV stations presenting a balanced view of developments
in the region were no match against the intolerance and hatred
widely broadcasted by other channels. As an example, he
mentioned the Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi's weekly program in
Al-Jazeera, which he said is more intolerant than what it might
first appear. In response to the Ambassador's question about
what would be the way forward, Yelda said the U.S. should
pressure Saudi Arabia and Indonesia to do more to stop
financial support to Muslim extremists in Iraq, Afghanistan and
Pakistan, who are spreading a message of intolerance in mosques
and madrasas.
¶5. (C) Bio note and comment: Yelda's views are influenced by
his own background as a Christian and as a political exile
during Saddam's regime. As an asylee in London, he co-founded
with Ayad Allawi the anti-Baath Iraqi Liberation Coalition,
according to open sources. Ambassador Yelda has previously
shared with Embassy officials his strong views about the
shortcomings of his own government. In doing so, he has assumed
the role of advocate for the Christians in Iraq. He has served
as the Ambassador to the Holy See since 2004. Yelda told the
Ambassador that he might be called back to Iraq after the March
elections, as part of a general rotation of all overseas
Ambassadors with the installation of a new government in
Baghdad. End comment and bio note.
DIAZ
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