NORTHERN IRAQ: KDP'S SAFEEN DIZAYEE - TURKISH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006340

SIPDIS


DEPT. FOR EUR/SE AND NEA/NGA


E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2013
TAGS: PTER PREL MOPS MARR PINR TU IZ
SUBJECT: NORTHERN IRAQ: KDP'S SAFEEN DIZAYEE - TURKISH
TROOPS WILL UNDERMINE OUR ASPIRATIONS; KDP WANTS TO SEE
PKK/KADEK OUT OF IRAQ, NEED A MECHANISM TO GET THEM OUT

(U) Classified by DCM Robert Deutsch. Reasons 1.5 b and d.


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Summary
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1. (C) Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) official Safeen
Dizayee called on DCM, PolMilCouns and PolMilOff Oct. 7.
Dizayee described the situation in Baghdad as improving. He
said the KDP did not believe that Turkish troops in Iraq
could be neutral, that Turkey would use their presence to try
to be part of the re-shaping of Iraq, that the Turks would
oppose the idea of federalism and suggest to CPA that the US
oppose it as well, and that this was not in the interest of
Iraqi Kurds. "How can we support undermining what we have
achieved?" he asked. Dizayee said that the majority of
Turkish PKK/KADEK elements in Iraq (he estimated there to be
3,000) wanted to return home, but the Reintegration Law was
not sufficient, and a concrete mechanism needed to be
established to facilitate their return. If there were such a
mechanism, Dizayee said, the KDP would help encourage their
return. He said Iraq leaders were considering a general
amnesty for PKK/KADEK members who were Iraqi citizens, and
that Iran and Syria might follow Iraq's lead in this regard.
End Summary.


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KDP Remains Opposed to Turkish Troops in Iraq
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2. (C) On Oct. 7, KDP Baghdad rep (formerly KDP rep in
Ankara) Safeen Dizayee called on DCM, PolMilCouns and
PolMilOff. Dizayee emphasized that Kurdish forces had helped
liberate Iraq from Saddam, and now were contributing to
stability in many parts of Iraq. The Turks, he said, chose
not to help liberate Iraq, but now wanted to be part of its
"occupation." The KDP's position on Turkish troops, Dizayee
said, remains the same as it was before the war. The KDP
does not believe Turkish troops can be neutral or impartial
or disinterested. The Turks, he said, want to play a part in
the re-shaping of Iraq. They object to federalism, which the
Iraqi opposition agreed upon and discussed with the US for
years before the war. It is, he said, what Kurds fought for
over 80 years. A Turkish presence in Iraq, no matter where
or under what circumstances, would not serve Iraqi Kurdish
interests. "How can we support undermining what we have
achieved?" he asked.


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Kurds Fear Troops Give Turks Say in Iraq's Future
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3. (C) Dizayee noted that from the day after the war, Iraqi
Kurdish leaders rushed to Baghdad to contribute to the change
in Iraq and ensure that federalism was entrenched in the view
of the future. The KDP, he said, was disenchanted by the
discussion with CPA having turned to one of mere
decentralization along old administrative boundaries. He
implied that the CPA's reluctance to agree to federalism was
a sop to the Turks to improve chances of getting Turkish
troops for the stabilization force and noted that Turkey
would oppose federalism. A Turkish troop1 presence will
advance Turkey's argument and undercut Iraqi Kurdish efforts.
"What guarantee do you have that they will not intervene in
local affairs as they have in the past?" he asked. DCM
explained that the Turks would serve under unified CJTF-7
command within their sector and that Turkish operations
beyond that sector would be inappropriate. Turks had served
responsibly in KOSOVO, for example, where early suspicions
were that they might not, and we expected them to serve
responsibly in Iraq as well. As for the future political
shape of Iraq, that was for the Iraqis themselves to decide,
not the US or Turkey. Dizayee replied that despite the new
situation, all the ingredients for problems were present. If
a Turkish convoy gets attacked, the Turks, Dizayee feared,
would seize a land corridor leading to escalations of
tensions. DCM explained that would not happen, as Turkey
would not have area responsibility for sectors through which
it only transited.


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Use Peshmerga For Stabilization Force
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4. (C) Dizayee said that the concept of Iraqis providing
their own security had not been adequately explored. The KDP
and PUK, he said, lost people fighting with the coalition
during the war. "We were partners at war and should now be
partners at peace," he said. Dizayee noted that the KDP had
60,000 armed peshmerga and the PUK had over 40,000. These
forces could and should contribute to the stabilization
force. There would, he contended, be less sensitivity among
Iraqis to using peshmerga than there will be to stationing
additional foreign forces inside Iraq. The peshmerga, he
said, were better trained than the new Iraqi police, whom he
viewed as unreliable. The KDP was already proving security
guards for a number of Governing Council members at their
request, and could do more, including relieving coalition
forces, which had not even been discussed, Dizayee added.
"We want to be part of the force. This needs to be more
fully explored," he said.


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KDP Will Help on PKK if There is Mechanism
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5. (C) DCM asked for Dizayee's views on persuading the
PKK/KADEK elements in northern Iraq that they had no future
there and should take the opportunity offered by the
Reintegration Law to return to Turkey. Dizayee replied that
the Reintegration Law was insufficient, and that Turkey
should have been more generous. Of the 4,500 PKK in northern
Iraq, Dizayee said approximately 1,500 were not Turkish
citizens. Iraqi leaders, he said, were considering granting
a general amnesty for those who were Iraqi citizens and that
Iran and Syria might follow suit for their citizens. Dizayee
said the KDP's understanding was that the majority of the
3,000 or so Turks wanted to return home. If there were a
concrete mechanism for them to safely do that, he said, the
KDP would help the coalition deal with the PKK/KADEK. "We
want to see their backs," he said. Dizayee noted that
although Turkey says it wants the Makhmour refugee camp
dissolved, no Turkish Parliamentary or Red Crescent
delegations had visited.



6. (C) Dizayee told us that he hopes for a diplomatic posting
outside Iraq. For now, he will continue to help run the KDP
operations in Baghdad, represent Masoud Barzani in Governing
Council committees and assist Roj Shaways in representing
Barzani in the Governing Council itself.



7. (U) Baghdad Minimize Considered.
EDELMAN