Cablegate: Canada On Recall of Iraqi Com

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

----------------- header ends ----------------
S E C R E T OTTAWA 001461
SIPDIS
DEPT. FOR NEA/NGA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2013
TAGS: PREL CA IZ
SUBJECT: CANADA ON RECALL OF IRAQI COM
REF: STATE 126507
Classified By: POLMIN COUNSELOR BRIAN FLORA. REASON 1.5 (B) AND (D).
1. (S) In response to reftel demarche, DFAIT Middle East
Division Deputy Director Graeme McIntyre affirmed that the
GOC had taken a decision to facilitate the return to Baghdad
of Iraqi Charge d'Affaires Mamdouh S. MUSTAFA, the sole Iraqi
diplomat remaining in Canada. POL/Liaison sources at post
advise that CSIS (Canadian intelligence) was unaware of the
GOC/DFAIT decision to facilitate Mustafa's departure from
Canada.
2. (C) According to McIntyre, Mustafa was accredited to
Canada in 2000/01 as a full Charge d'Affaires -- as opposed
to "ad interim"-- after his predecessor, Mohammad H.
Al-Saffar, failed to resume his post. Though he could not
give us a timeline for Mustafa's departure, McIntyre said it
would help the GOC if Mustafa were included in the worldwide
list of former regime officials posted abroad whose departure
USG previously had encouraged to different host governments.
3. (C) McIntyre said the GOC is particularly sensitive to the
possibility of negative press coverage about Mustafa's
departure (and, probably, the likelihood that left-leaning
opposition MPs will attack the government decision as a
"rights" violation etc.). Poloff noted that if Mustafa was
accredited to Canada as a full charge, then it would appear
that he fell into the category of "head of mission" and is
thus covered by the instruction from the Iraqi MFA.
CELLUCCI
=======================CABLE ENDS============================

© Scoop Media