Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAGHDAD1822
2006-05-30 20:41:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

MANSOUR HUMAN RIGHTS LEAD SAYS KILLINGS HAVE

Tags:  PHUM PNAT KDEM PGOV IZ 
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VZCZCXRO2002
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHGB #1822 1502041
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 302041Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4795
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001822 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2026
TAGS: PHUM PNAT KDEM PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: MANSOUR HUMAN RIGHTS LEAD SAYS KILLINGS HAVE
DECREASED IN SOME NEIGHBORHOODS BUT STILL BAD OVERALL


Classified By: Classified by Political Counselor Robert S. Ford, for Re
asons 1.4 (B) and (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001822

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2026
TAGS: PHUM PNAT KDEM PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: MANSOUR HUMAN RIGHTS LEAD SAYS KILLINGS HAVE
DECREASED IN SOME NEIGHBORHOODS BUT STILL BAD OVERALL


Classified By: Classified by Political Counselor Robert S. Ford, for Re
asons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Hussein Al-Bayati, the human rights lead for the
Mansour District Advisory Council (DAC),told PolOffs May 24
that the Baghdad neighborhoods of Khadra, Ghazaliya, and
Hatin have experienced a marked decrease in reported
extrajudicial killings (EJK) over the past month. Based on
conversations with neighborhood residents, district council
members, and Iraqi security forces, he estimated over a 50
percent decrease in EJKs in those areas. While attributing
this decrease to a greater presence of Iraqi Army (IA)
checkpoints and T-wall installations, he qualified his
assessment by adding that these areas were still dangerous.


2. (C) Al-Bayati said the demographics of the killings
varied extensively by neighborhood unit in Mansour, but he
added that Shia and Sunni residents suffered equally. He
estimated that in Ameriyah, Ghazaliah, Khadra, and Hatin,
more than 70 percent of those killed were Shia. In Washosh
and Mutanib, he estimated a similar percentage for Sunnis.
In al-Adil, he said it was 50-50. He alleged that JAM were
responsible for the Sunni killings and that insurgents were
responsible for Shia killings.


3. (C) The unifying trend in these assassinations, al-Bayati
claimed, is the well-thought out manner in which the victims
are targeted. Al-Bayati told PolOffs that the perpetrators
of these crimes shadow the victims extensively before action
is taken. According to al-Bayati,s assessment, "the time
they go to lunch, the route they take to work, their names
and any other details are very well known by killers on both
sides". The victims, primarily targeted for their
affiliations, are also marked based on their visibility and
accessibility. For example, in many neighborhoods in
Mansour, he said, butchers, bakers, barbers and trash
collectors are open-season targets.


4. (C) When asked about the impact of the new national
government on security, al-Bayati expressed mild optimism for
the effect the new set of government officials would have on
security and the lessening of human rights abuses. He stated
that he knew Prime Minister Maliki personally and thought him
to be an excellent choice who will be able to get things
done. More than anything, he pointed to the presence of
Iraqi Army personnel as the true impetus for positive change.
He said the IA had been partnered with MoI personnel in
April and that the partnership has so far been successful.


5. (C) Comment: Al-Bayati does not keep hard statistics on
EJKs and other types of human rights abuses, so these
estimates should be taken judiciously. However, his
information is developed through interaction with
neighborhood DACs, neighborhood residents and local security,
and therefore has at least some grain of credibility.
Al-Bayati appears to have a degree of objectivity that is
often not shared by most Iraqi politicians. A member of the
(Sunni) Iraqi Islamic Party, he nonetheless acknowledged both
Sunni and Shia involvement in extrajudicial killings. His
praise for the Iraqi Army is often echoed by other Baghdad
residents, who do not look at the police in the same way.
Al-Bayati is a lawyer by training and previously held the
position of head of the Mansour DAC legal committee. End
Comment.
KHALILZAD