VZCZCXRO4536
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #1478/01 1601725
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091725Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9329
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES PRIORITY 0103

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001478 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER SAMAR LAMENTS 
UNCOMPETITIVE ELECTION, OPTIMISTIC KARZAI WILL BURY SHIA 
FAMILY LAW 
 
REF: A. KABUL 1335 
     ¶B. KABUL 1134 
     ¶C. KABUL 1372 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission 
(AIHRC) Chair Sima Samar and the Ambassador discussed on June 
9 a range of political and human rights issues.  Samar blamed 
the opposition, including herself, for not organizing a 
viable challenge to Karzai's re-election bid.  She urged the 
Embassy to increase contact with civil society leaders who 
often represent the viewpoint of the Afghan people more 
closely than government officials.  On the Shia Family Law, 
Samar predicted Karzai would attempt to bury the law and 
seriously focus on re-drafting with promised progressive 
changes.  While Karzai had reneged on yet another promise to 
pardon Kambakhsh, she was still hopeful.  Finally, Samar 
predicted that, as Parliament had recessed for the summer, 
MOJ would promptly gazette a version of the media law taking 
the confirmation of the head of Radio and Television 
Afghanistan (RTA) away from Parliament. 
 
Politics 
----------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) "We should blame ourselves (the opposition and civil 
society).  We were not organized enough to assemble a 
credible opposition ticket," declared Samar.  She 
characterized Ashraf Ghani as the one opposition candidate 
with a platform, but suggested that he destroyed any chance 
of success after he chose weak running mates.  She asserted 
that Karzai would pressure government organs to support his 
campaign because he likely feared that his poor popular 
standing would otherwise force him to a second round.  She 
expressed frustration with the candidate vetting process, 
criticizing the requirement that candidates have a court 
conviction to be disqualified.  She asserted that warlords 
have never been in a court. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Samar agreed with the Ambassador that governance 
would improve as more young Afghans completed their education 
and rejected the former warlords.  However, the current 
capacity was not so low that "we should have Khoram as 
Minister of Information and Culture."  She also insisted that 
Afghans should not tolerate Ministers who were so corrupt 
everyone knew how much they charged for certain services. 
Samar also agreed with the Ambassador's point that support to 
political parties would be crucial for the formation of a 
credible opposition. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Samar urged the Ambassador to expand the Embassy's 
contacts to include more civil society leaders.  Only meeting 
with Ministers limits understanding of issues because most 
Ministers, as representatives Karzai's government, share the 
same viewpoints.  The Ambassador told Samar that the Embassy 
was committed to developing broader contacts and welcomed her 
suggestions.  Samar said AIHRC would follow up with the 
political section. 
 
Shia Family Law 
----------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Samar thinks Karzai and Minister of Justice Danish 
will attempt to bury the Shia Family Law (reftel A).  She 
recounted how Danish had resisted showing her a copy of the 
then-draft bill while claiming it did not raise 
constitutional or human rights concerns.  Samar claimed it 
would now be relatively simple for MOJ to modify the law to 
her and other human rights leaders' satisfaction.  AIHRC had 
presented MOJ with proposed amendments.  All MOJ would have 
to do now is make those changes, which would not be a 
laborious process, she claimed. 
¶6. (SBU) Samar made a plea for more investment in civil 
society organizations to build a strong opposition to 
negative influences on Afghan society, such as Iranian-funded 
television stations and universities, including those 
supported by Mohammad Asef Ali Ayatollah Mohseni.  We should 
have our own institutions to counter this influence, she 
urged. 
 
Kambakhsh 
----------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Karzai had told Samar he had signed the pardon order 
for Kambakhsh. (reftel B)  The Attorney General's Office then 
told Samar that Karzai had changed his mind and called off 
the pardon.  Samar speculated some international community 
efforts were too heavy-handed.  She specifically cited plans 
to whisk Kambakhsh out of the country immediately after the 
potential pardon, as a contributing factor to Karzai's 
 
KABUL 00001478  002 OF 002 
 
 
alleged change of heart.  She was still hopeful, however, 
that Karzai would relent and issue the pardon.  She 
encouraged continued international attention to the case. 
 
Media Law 
----------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Now that Parliament recessed for its summer break, 
MOJ would likely soon gazette the version of media law that 
put the appointment of the head of the Radio and Television 
Afghanistan (RTA) out of Parliament's reach.  Samar believed 
most Afghans viewed RTA as essentially a government 
propaganda outlet and therefore got their news elsewhere. 
She agreed that Karzai's failure to recognize Parliament's 
override of his veto (reftel C) was a serious concern. 
EIKENBERRY