SUFI POLITICAL PARTY PESSIMISTIC ON ELECTIONS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 004885

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2015
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: SUFI POLITICAL PARTY PESSIMISTIC ON ELECTIONS,
IRAQI POLITICS

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B)
AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Party officials from the slate
representing Iraq's Sufi Muslims complained about
intimidation in the election campaign, interference by
neighboring states, and the sectarian and extremist character
of Iraqi politics during a December 3 meeting with poloffs.
Anticipating they will be crowded out by the powerful
coalitions, they expressed hope they would gain a handful of
the 45 (out of a total of 275) reserved "compensatory" seats.
Overall, they predicted that Sunni participation would lead
to a "big" decrease from January in the number of seats won
by the Shia and Kurdish blocs. They also expect a marginal
increase in electoral strength from the independent and
moderate parties. The Sufi community remains engaged in an
active civic education campaign, using the media to promote a
message of tolerance and moderation. END SUMMARY


2. (C) Poloffs met December 3 with two party officials from
the Sufi Muslim slate, the Unified National List. Abdul
Azeem Mohamed, who is handling the slate's media campaign, is
a resident of Baghdad who also manages Al-Mashriq TV. Dr.
Jafar al-Khafaji, who is handling the slate's public
relations, is a former Baghdad University Islamic philosophy
professor who moved to Sulimaniyah during the Saddam era and
remains there now because of the security situation in
Baghdad.


3. (C) Khafaji complained about Badr and peshmerga
penetration of state organs, and said the Unified National
List has been prohibited from participating in the election
campaign in the Kurdish areas. He reported one of the list's
members had been kidnapped from Baghdad to Sulimaniyah. He
claimed the IECI had ties to the "big parties," and expressed
fear the parties would control access to the polls. He
predicted the United National List is most likely to gain a
few of the 45 reserved (out of a total of 275) "compensatory"
slots. Although Khafaji said there are Sufi adherents
throughout Iraq and the Middle East, he reported they won
only at the provincial level during the January elections.
He predicted independent parties with a patriotic vice
sectarian platform to increase their share in the new
legislature but assessed these probable gains as marginal.
He also predicted that the participation of the Sunni
community would lead to a "big fall" in the number of seats
won in January by the major Shia and Kurdish blocs.


4. (C) Khafaji blamed the United States for policies he said
had had the effect of encouraging sectarian extremism, and
expressed disappointment that the USG had not provided more
support to moderate groups of technocrats like the Sufis.
"The people you put in power," he charged, "placed their
personal interests before the nation's." Khafaji also
expressed concerns about the activities of neighboring
countries, and complained about Iraq's lax borders, warning
that troublemakers would exploit the hajj to meet in Saudi
Arabia and transport money and arms. He and Mohamed said
they opposed a withdrawal of coalition forces at this time.


5. (C) Mohamed described the Sufi message of tolerance,
citing the order of Kasnazandi. (Comment: Kasnazani is a
Kurd who reportedly was first allied with Saddam against
Talabani and then switched sides, actions that illustrate how
the former regime perverted even the historically pacific
Sufi community. End Comment.) Mohamed outlined the group's
civic education campaign and its pursuit of a nonviolent,
middle road between the Shia and Sunni extremists. He said
the new government needed to focus on the economy,
unemployment, and supporting vulnerable populations like
widows. Poloffs welcomed the party's emphasis on civic
education and agreed to look for shared opportunities to
promote democracy training.
KHALILZAD