KIRKUK COUNCIL: "CONSENSUS" GOVERNMENT ELUSIVE AS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002860

SIPDIS

THIS IS A REO KIRKUK CABLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2025
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ
SUBJECT: KIRKUK COUNCIL: "CONSENSUS" GOVERNMENT ELUSIVE AS
NATIONAL LEADERS RAISE ANTE

Classified By: Political Counselor Robert Ford.
Reason 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT. Kirkuk Provincial
Council met June 26 and 28, but postponed electing a
Deputy Governor. U.S. urging to secure Kurdish
leaders' agreement to a Kirkuk "consensus government"
that includes Arabs and Turkmen had apparently not yet
been conveyed by July 3 to Kirkuk players. Although
still lacking a complete leadership lineup, the
Council began moving ahead on committee formation,
including a committee to liaise with the Kurdistan
government. Meanwhile PM Ja'aferi's public remarks
regarding the resolution of Kirkuk issues prompted
stern rebukes from Kurdish leaders, with steadily
hardening demands of their own, new propaganda salvos,
and maximum bombast from the region's ethnically
dominated media. It has become impossible to untangle
the chicken-and-egg cycle of hyperbole, accusations,
and hardening positions on Kirkuk's government and
status. There is much apprehension among minority
groups, including Christians, that serious
consequences may follow an entirely Kurd-nominated
government. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT.

Talabani Says He Will Push Barzani to
Accept "Real" Arabs and Turkmen
--------------


2. (C) As factions debated Kirkuk Provincial Council
outcomes in both Kirkuk and Kurdistan cities, Charge
d'Affaires Satterfield continued to press key leaders
in Baghdad on the need for consensus, giving
leadership jobs to both elected Arab and Turkmen
blocs. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told charge
June 28 he had managed to get Kurdistan President
Massoud Barzani to agree to including the Iraqi
Turkmen Front (ITF) in the Council (as Deputy
Governor). Barzani was still resisting including
Arabs in the Council. (NOTE: Barzani told REO/Kirkuk
in December that he hoped Arabs of Kirkuk would not
vote in elections. END NOTE.)

Confusion Reigns: Conditions Imposed on Turkmen
Candidates?
-------------- --


3. (C) Meanwhile, at the provincial level, there was
no sign of progress. During the June 28 Council
meeting, 23 Kirkuk Brotherhood List (KBL) members
agreed they should give Turkmen another week to select
a candidate for the position of Deputy Governor (i.e.,
until July 4). Mohamed Kamal, Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP) caucus chair, said that any Turkmen deputy
governor would have to accept Article 58 of the TAL,
which he interpreted to mean Kirkuk is part of
Kurdistan. Sherzad Adil (KDP) suggested that the
Deputy Governor be selected from the KBL. Babakir
Sadeq Ahmed, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK),
countered that Turkmen view the ITF as their most
legitimate mouthpiece; therefore that bloc should
nominate a deputy governor candidate. (Comment: This
is in accord with what Jalal Talabani told the Charge
June 28 in Baghdad. End Comment.)


4. (U) PUK-affiliated newspaper al-Ittihad reported
June 28 that Council Chairman Rizgar Ali Hamajan had
also stated that a deputy governor nominee must accept
that Kirkuk is part of Kurdistan. On July 2 Kirkuk
PolOff contacted Rizgar Ali who said the story was
false; he denied that this was a prerequisite for
nomination. Ali noted that the KBL wants the Deputy
Governor to be "100 percent Turkmen" (read ITF),
support implementation of all articles of the TAL
(including Article 58),and promote harmony between
all ethnicities. (Comment: There is no consensus,
even among various Kurdish parties, on what exactly
Article 58 requires. End Comment.)

Committee Formation Commences
--------------


5. (SBU) Rizgar Ali prompted members to move forward
with committee nominations, and tabled suggestions for
committees on security; construction and development;
and liaison to the Kurdistan National Assembly (KNA).
Kirkuk Regional Coordinator (RC),concerned that
committee formations would preempt possible agreement
by Turkmen and Arabs to return to the Council, on June
27 sent a letter to Governor Abdulrahman Mustafa
requesting that the Council not act on committees
until there is agreement on leadership posts. The
letter also sought the Governor's view on the
authority for the Provincial Council to elect Kirkuk's
city mayor (on June 21),as Coalition Provisional
Authority Order 71 stipulates that the municipal
council elects the mayor.


6. (SBU) Arab council member Mohamed Khalil told
PolOff June 27 that the Arabs will continue to boycott
Provincial Council meetings until the mayor is fairly
elected and the new Arab Assistant Governor is removed
and replaced with an Arab who represents the Sunni
bloc in the Council.

Christian Fear
--------------


7. (SBU) In a meeting June 25 with the RC and PolOff,
newly-elected Assistant Governor Edward Oraham
(independent Chaldo-Assyrian),speculated that if
Turkmen and Arabs did not each get key slots in
government, violence would escalate, with dire
consequences for Kirkuk's small Christian community.
He felt that the Turkmen would not take up arms, but
would remain neutral if Sunni Arabs increased their
tolerance of Foreign Resistance Elements (FRE) in the
province. He offered to relinquish his seat to either
bloc in the interests of keeping the peace. He told
RC that the KDP had vetoed other Christian candidates
for his job, and that he himself could not step too
far from established Kurdish party lines.

National Leaders Call for Delaying
Kirkuk, Prompting Kurdish Outrage
--------------


8. (C) Baha Al-Araji, Shia Arab Sadrist and Secretary
of the Constitutional Drafting Committee told Radio
Sawa June 26 that Kirkuk will not be discussed in the
context of the constitution, because it is too
sensitive to resolve now. He also expressed hope that
the Kurds will accept consensus to keep Kirkuk outside
any federal regions. (Comment: PUK leader and Deputy
Constitution Committee Chairman Fuad Ma'asum also told
PolOff on July 5, that he does not believe the
constitution should address Kirkuk. His reasoning for
this was quite different from Araji's, however:
Ma'asum said he believes that Article 58 should be
largely implemented by the time the next elections
take place so the constitution should not need to
address the issue. End Comment.) Kurdish language
internet site Payanmar on June 29 reported that Iraqi
PM Ja'afari told Mideast newspaper in London that
while Kurds were mistreated and pushed out of the
province and Arabs brought in, Ja'aferi said solutions
must be acceptable to all parties.


9. (SBU) In a swift reaction, KDP politburo and KNA
member Othman Mahmood said June 30 that United Iraqi
Alliance (UIA) "wants to delay Kirkuk resolution until
after the constitution . . . the only loser will be
Kurdish people." He accused the UIA of violating the
principles of the Shia-Kurd agreement of March. Other
steps to counter Baghdad calls for delay of the
process were more tangible. USAID and REO staff
traveling between Kirkuk and Irbil June 30 noted large
new banners and posters along the highway claiming,
"Kirkuk is part of Kurdistan."


Satterfield