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### Viewing cable 05WELLINGTON363, IS NEW ZEALAND AWASH IN BAATHISTS?

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
05WELLINGTON363 | 2005-05-05 03:03 | 2011-04-28 00:12 | SECRET//NOFORN | Embassy Wellington

`

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

` `

    S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000363

    SIPDIS

    NOFORN

    STATE FOR EAP/ANP, SA/PB, NEA/NGA, AND S/CT
    DHAKA FOR AMBASSADOR THOMAS AND DCM CHAMMAS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2015
    TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER SMIG NZ
    SUBJECT: IS NEW ZEALAND AWASH IN BAATHISTS?

    REF: A. HADDA/DEPARTMENT/DHAKA MAY 1 E-MAILS (NOTAL)

         ¶B. AMBASSADOR THOMAS/DEPARTMENT 04 OCTOBER E-MAIL
            (NOTAL)

    Classified By: DCM David Burnett,
    For Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

    ¶1.  (C) Summary:  An opposition politician threatened early
    this week to reveal the identity of a member of Saddam's
    regime who is reportedly seeking residence in New Zealand.
    The Government responded by revoking the visitor's permit...
    of the wrong Iraqi.  The Government's action was taken
    against former Iraqi Diplomat Zuhair Mohammed Al-Omar, whose
    background we had disclosed to NZ officials half a year ago.
    But the Iraqi whose name was revealed by the opposition
    yesterday is an alleged former cabinet official, Amer Mahdi
    Saleh Khashaly (AKA Amer Mahdi Alkashali) who arrived in New
    Zealand only last month.

    ¶2.  (S/NOFORN) The media has played up the fact that there
    could be as many as five more Baathists on the loose in New
    Zealand, and the Government's humiliation over the incident
    is palpable.  The anti-immigration party that revealed the
    name of the cabinet official will milk the story for all it's
    worth in the run up to elections later in the year.  The fact
    that both men received visas from New Zealand's embassy in
    Bangkok, already cited for consular impropriety, will
    increase the Government's woes and could lead to career
    trouble for the head of Immigration and others.  Blame may
    also eventually fall on Prime Minister Clark in her role as
    Minister in charge of the Security Intelligence Service
    (SIS).  The possibility is clearly not lost on her and she
    has reportedly hounded the SIS head daily for updates.

    ¶3.  (C) Under NZ immigration law, classified information to
    be used to bar entry to visa applicants judged to be security
    risks, but hearings to determine refugee status -- an
    entirely separate process -- are open and can therefore not
    include classified evidence.  An ongoing case has already
    allowed a former Algerian politician with reported terrorist
    links to take advantage of this loophole.  Ironically, having
    been drawn into the spotlight the Iraqis may now be more
    likely to apply for refugee status, especially if the
    Government withdraws their right to stay here as the result
    of the opposition's claims.  This could be the real election
    issue, as liberal voters tend to see the asylum seekers as
    victims of bad intelligence while more conservative voters
    accuse the Government of providing an open door to
    terrorists.

    ¶4.  (C) If the Iraqis ask for refugee status, we expect our
    New Zealand counterparts will ask us for any open source
    information we can provide that would enable to enable the
    Kiwis to show the gentlemen the door. NZ officials plan to
    brief us fully on the cases over the next few days. End
    Summary.

    ----------
    BACKGROUND
    ----------

    ¶5.  (C) We were called over the weekend by a contact in the
    Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) who asked
    whether the NZ Government could release publicly information
    that we had shared with them last October about Z.M. Al Omar,
    a former Iraqi Ambassador to Bangladesh.  MFAT told us that
    the head of the anti-immigration New Zealand First Party,
    former Prime Minister Winston Peters, had threatened to
    reveal that an Iraqi official was in the country and the NZ
    authorities were doing nothing about it.

    ¶6.  (C) The information we had passed along in October, which
    noted that Al Omar was an unreconstructed Baathist who had
    tried to organize Islamic extremists to foment violence
    against U.S. facilities in Dhaka, had been provided to
    Ambassador Thomas by Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary (Ref B).
    The Foreign Secretary also claimed that Al Omar was seeking
    political asylum in New Zealand.

    ¶7.  (S/NOFORN) SIS has the power to declare any alien in New
    Zealand a Security Risk based on classified information, but
    New Zealand officials are extremely wary to use this option
    now that the Government is engaged in a high-profile,
    embarrassing court battle in connection to a former Algerian
    MP, Ahmed Zaoui.  The Government claimed he presented a
    security risk, and sought to expel him based on classified
    evidence.  His lawyers demanded to see the intelligence,
    claiming it was spurious, but the third country provider of
    the information refused to declassify it.  Meanwhile, Zaoui
    was determined to be a refugee under the entirely separate
    refugee process.  Zaoui claims his human rights have been
    violated by the use of the intelligence that he cannot see.
    His lawyers, the media, and much of the public regard him as
    a persecuted martyr, and he has even been granted safe haven
    by a monastery as his case slogs through the courts.
    Government officials, who have told us they expect to lose
    the Zaoui case, have not yet revised the laws to close the
    loophole.  In the meantime they want to avoid similar
    situations, which is why MFAT asked us if they could
    publicize the information that we had provided to them on
    Al-Omar.

    ¶8.  (S/NOFORN) After receiving the weekend's request from
    MFAT, we asked Embassy Dhaka to seek GOB approval to release
    the information (Ref A) and asked Embassy Baghdad if the GOI
    had any information about Al Omar.  We also suggested that NZ
    law enforcement officials look into Al Omar's financial
    arrangements, as he may be using Hussein government funds to
    cover his costs.

    ¶9.  (C) On Monday, May 2, MFAT informed us that NZ
    Immigration had determined that they could cancel Al Omar's
    visitor's permit on the basis of his application form.  He
    had not in fact applied for asylum or refugee status.  News
    that the Government had revoked the permit of an Iraqi
    diplomat (but which did not reveal his name) hit the media
    that night, following reports that Peters was to reveal the
    Iraqi's name in Parliament the next day.
    ----------------------
    IT'S THE "WRONG" IRAQI
    ----------------------

    ¶10.  (SBU) On Tuesday, May 3, Peters revealed to Parliament
    the identity of the Iraqi official, as promised.  To the
    government's chagrin, the name he cited was not Al-Omar but
    Amer Mahdi Saleh Khashaly (AKA Amer Mahdi Alkashali), an
    alleged 1980s Iraqi Cabinet Minister who arrived in New
    Zealand last month.  Apparently, Khashaly entered New Zealand
    on an Iraqi passport but used a UN passport to support his
    visa application.  Incredibly, his current whereabouts are
    unknown, and Peters roundly criticized the Government for
    failing to track him down.

    ¶11.  (SBU) The press, already tipped off by government
    officials about Al-Omar's identity,
    gave wide play to the story that Peters had forced the
    government's hand into revealing the identity of the "wrong"
    Iraqi.  The media also reported that Al-Omar lives in New
    Zealand with his son, a New Zealand citizen.  Despite the
    information we have heard about Al-Omar, his son insists his
    career pre-dates the Baathists and that he has police
    clearance from the current Iraqi regime. Peters declared that
    the Government went looking for a wolf and found a rabbit.

    ¶12.  (SBU) The Government's problems have been compounded by
    the fact that both Iraqis were issued visas by New Zealand's
    Embassy in Bangkok, where an employee was fired in 2003 after
    being accused of selling visas.  Al-Omar reportedly received
    his visa even though the issuing officers knew of his
    background.  The officers had failed to do the right
    background checks on Khashaly.  Immigration Minister Paul
    Swain declared that he had lost all confidence in Bangkok,
    and ordered that from now on all visa applications involving
    nationals from "high risk" countries are to be processed in
    New Zealand.  The Government's embarrassment has increased,
    as a search through Immigration files has revealed that "many
    more" Iraqis associated with the Hussein regime -- the press
    says five so far -- may have been allowed entry into the
    country.

    -------------------
    Something is Broken
    -------------------

    ¶13.  (SBU) So far, the focus of media attention has been on
    Labor Department Workforce Deputy Secretary May Ann Thompson
    (who used to be advisor to the Prime Minister) and
    Immigration Minister Swain.  Peters claimed Swain, "... does
    not have the remotest idea of which Arab -- Osama bin Laden
    or anybody else -- may be in the country and what he is doing
    here."  It seems more and more likely that Swain and others
    may pay for the embarrassment with their jobs.  As of now,
    the Prime Minister has been spared from strong criticism, and
    she even managed a joke at Peter's expense, chiding him for
    his hyperbolic claim during his presentation to Parliament
    that half the Iraqi cabinet was in New Zealand.

    ¶14.  (S/NOFORN) Behind the scenes, however, there is less
    levity.  The Prime Minister is reportedly hounding the head
    of SIS daily for updates.  Our MFAT source tells us a
    Government task force is meeting daily, and ministries have
    said they will brief us about the controversy within the next
    few days.

    ¶15.  (C) As we have often remarked, the Prime Minister has
    proven herself capable time and time again of distancing
    herself from the scandals that have arisen during the past
    months, such as the financial questions surrounding outspoken
    Labour MP John Tamihere. But this latest dust-up could have a
    real negative impact on both her (as Minister in charge of
    Intelligence) and the Labor government in the run-up to the
    elections.  Even if all Iraqis are declared not to be
    security risks, the fact that both were able to enter and
    live in New Zealand without detection may raise concerns
    among voters.  If they apply for refugee status, the
    government faces months of embarrassing trials that will
    expose them to criticism from liberals, who will regard the
    Iraqis as innocent victims of U.S. and other countries'
    intelligence, and conservatives, who will declare New Zealand
    a haven for terrorists.  Law and order is already a campaign
    issue here.  Adding lax immigration controls could prove a
    volatile mix.

    ¶16.  (C/NOFORN) Elections aside, the incident raises real
    questions about New Zealand's border controls and
    coordination among ministries involved with immigration.
    MFAT has admitted to us that despite their and SIS's repeated
    prodding, Immigration failed to look into Al-Omar until
    Peters' threat.  We have heard that Immigration may also have
    been the source of Peter's revelation. If so, there may be
    dissatisfaction within the ranks about the agency's
    performance.

    -----------------------
    INFORMATION APPRECIATED
    -----------------------

    ¶17. (C) MFAT tells us that at this point they do not need any
    information from us about either Iraqi already named because
    neither has asked for refugee status.  But it seems likely
    that one or both may.  Al-Omar, having had his visa revoked,
    would have no other way of staying with his son here over the
    longer term. The Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary had also
    reported that Al-Omar would ask for asylum.  News reports
    claim Khashaly arrived in New Zealand to ask for help from
    Zaoui's lawyers in getting political asylum for him and his
    son.

    ¶18. (C) In anticipation that Government officials will ask us
    for open source information in the event that Al-Omar and or
    Khashaly ask for refugee status, post would appreciate any
    information that agencies/Embassy Dhaka/Embassy Baghdad could
    provide.  We will also provide more names if and when they
    arise.

    19: (U) Minimize Considered.
    Swindells

`