VZCZCXRO1991
OO RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHPW RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #3520/01 2901403
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 171403Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0925
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXP/ALL NATO POST COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 4252
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 003520 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA.FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A, 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, 
NSC FOR JWOOD 
OSD FOR KIMMETT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM AF
SUBJECT: EVENTS IN PARLIAMENT SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 11 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (U) Parliament continued to debate and, in some cases, 
amend the 100-plus remaining Presidential decrees enacted 
before its establishment.  Speaker Qanooni's ongoing dispute 
with President Karzai over constitutional authority found 
expression in parliament's attempt to override Karzai vetoes 
of two parliamentary initiatives: the first to raise the age 
of majority to 19 and the second to establish a 
constitutional oversight commission.  A joint commission from 
the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House) and Meshrano Jirga (Upper 
House) reached a compromise (welcomed by the international 
community) on a bill regulating the media, which will be sent 
to Karzai for signature.  The Lower House approved bills 
regulating protests and political party registration, and 
defining the military penal code.  It also debated, but did 
not vote on a bill establishing a military penal system.  The 
Upper House referred a bill on government land-leasing back 
to committee after conservative members asserted it might 
violate Sharia Law.  Twenty five randomly selected members of 
the Upper House were offered free Umrah trips to Saudi Arabia 
courtesy of the Government of Saudi Arabia.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Parliament-Palace Constitutional Struggle Continues 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Lower House-Palace constitutional powers dispute 
lost no steam.  Lower House Speaker Qanooni failed to 
maintain quorum to override President Karzai's vetoes earlier 
this year of bills setting the age of majority and 
establishing a constitutional oversight commission. 
Pro-Karzai MPs left the session before the votes, breaking 
quorum.  Qanooni plans another attempt to override the vetoes 
in coming weeks.  (Comment:  As proposed, a constitutional 
oversight commission would be responsible for interpreting 
the constitution and would include members appointed by 
parliament, an explicit challenge to Karzai personally and to 
the authority of the Supreme Court.  End Comment.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Compromise Produces Media Law Acceptable to IC 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3. (U) A joint Upper and Lower Houses reconciliation 
committee reached consensus on a bill governing media 
regulation.  The compromise encourages freedom of the press 
by separating state-sponsored Radio Television Afghanistan 
from the Ministry of Information and Culture, and affirming 
the independence from direct ministry control of the High 
Media Council, which oversees the Afghan press, television 
and radio.  Advisors to Speaker Qanooni say parliament's 
legal office is finalizing the bill, and will transmit it 
soon to Karzai for signature. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Public Demonstrations, Political Parties 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The Lower House amended and approved a bill regulating 
police and protestor behavior during public demonstrations. 
One amendment specified that police may only use non-lethal 
force against protesters unless fired upon first.  Other 
amendments criminalize threats of violence from protesters, 
forbid protestors from carrying weapons, and restrict 
participation in protests by some classes of persons. 
Foreigners are forbidden from participating in public 
demonstrations except those pertaining to international 
issues.  Members of the army, police and intelligence service 
may not participate in protests. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Lower House passed a bill on political parties 
with two amendments that will raise the bar for registering 
new parties, but will not affect existing parties.  The 
amended bill increases the number of signatures required to 
register a party from 700 to 5,000, and the fee for 
 
KABUL 00003520  002 OF 003 
 
 
registering a party from one to two million Afghani (an 
increase from approximately 20,000 USD to 40,000 USD).  The 
bill is intended to discourage the proliferation of small 
political parties, and was driven in part by larger parties 
and political groupings intent on forcing party 
consolidation. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
Military Penal Code and Land Leasing Bills Hit Obstacles 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Lower House Approves Military Penal Code Bill, No 
Vote on Military Penal System Bill:  The Lower House approved 
a bill containing the military penal code with no changes, 
and debated, but did not vote on a bill to establish a 
military penal system because it lost quorum.  (Comment: 
While members of parliament sometimes leave sessions in order 
to deliberately break quorum for political reasons, they more 
often leave the chamber for competing meetings or simply 
because they're uninterested in the topic.  Parliament's 
system for determining "presence" is partly responsible for 
the frequency with which the houses lose quorum.  In order to 
count as present, members must be physically inside the house 
chamber.  End Comment.) 
 
¶7. (SBU) Upper House Conservatives Call Government 
Land-Leasing Bill Anti-Sharia, Stop Debate:  The Upper House 
debated a bill on leasing government land, but returned it to 
committee when conservative members voiced concerns it might 
be against Sharia law.  Discussion began with consideration 
of the term of government leases, but quickly turned to the 
admissibility of leasing government land at all under Sharia 
law.  With debate stymied, members referred the bill to 
committee for additional research.  (Comment:  Conservative 
members of the Upper House played a decisive role by using 
Sharia law to stop discussion of a bill that appeared 
otherwise unobjectionable.  Debate in both houses easily 
turns from secular to religious on issues, which to outside 
eyes might appear religiously innocuous.  Even members 
themselves seem to have a difficult time spotting potential 
religious entanglements.  The evening before the debate on 
the government land-leasing bill, Second Assistant Secretary 
of the Senate Senator Abdul Khaliq told us he expected easy 
passage of the bill.  End Comment.) 
 
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Trips to Mecca and Scotland 
--------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Saudi Arabia Offers Free Umrah Trip to 25 Senators: 
Saudi Arabia offered during the last weeks of Ramadan an 
all-expenses-paid trip to Mecca for 25 randomly selected 
members of parliament's Upper House.  (Comment:  We interpret 
the Saudi's offer as an encouraging indicator of the 
Kingdom's support for Afghanistan's nascent governmental 
institutions.  End Comment.) 
 
¶9. (SBU) Parliament Breaks for Eid Holiday:  Parliament did 
not reach quorum during any session in the week before Eid 
due to the absence of Speaker Qanooni, who attended a 
conference on parliaments in Switzerland.  Qanooni has become 
a very effective marshal of the Lower House membership and 
manager of parliamentary debate.  Many members also skipped 
plenary sessions in order to spend time with their families 
during this important religious holiday. 
 
------------- 
Looking Ahead 
------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Once sessions resume after the Eid holiday, 
parliament will continue to examine decrees enacted by Karzai 
before its establishment.  Based on parliament's unofficial 
(and very tentative) schedule, some of the more notable items 
to be discussed include: an anti-narcotics trafficking 
agreement with China, a bill defining the Afghan court 
system, and discussion of the London Compact Strategic 
Agreement. 
 
KABUL 00003520  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) Some members of parliament have expressed a desire 
to combine as many of the remaining decrees as possible into 
an omnibus bill for consideration before the December 8 end 
of the current session.  Some reportedly would like to open 
up the legislative calendar to consideration of issues they 
find of more compelling interest.  MPs are generally becoming 
more conscious of the legislative calendar.  During its first 
sessions, members often debated bills leisurely over several 
days, limiting parliament's productivity.  Recently, bills 
are moving through both houses more quickly. 
 
WOOD