Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAGHDAD1957
2006-06-10 04:20:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

SADR CITY DAC WOMEN'S AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIR

Tags:  PGOV PINS PNAT PTER KDEM KISL IZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4430
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1957 1610420
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 100420Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4986
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECU RITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001957 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2026
TAGS: PGOV PINS PNAT PTER KDEM KISL IZ
SUBJECT: SADR CITY DAC WOMEN'S AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIR
RESIGNS DUE TO DEATH THREATS

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR MARGARET SCOBEY, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B)
AND (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001957

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2026
TAGS: PGOV PINS PNAT PTER KDEM KISL IZ
SUBJECT: SADR CITY DAC WOMEN'S AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIR
RESIGNS DUE TO DEATH THREATS

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR MARGARET SCOBEY, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B)
AND (D).


1. (C) Summary: Sadr City District Advisory Council (DAC)
member Mustafa Jasim told PolOff in a June 5 meeting that
both he and his wife, fellow Sadr City DAC member and chair
of the DAC Women's Affairs Committee Siham Hatab, were told
by Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) members that they must resign their
DAC seats or risk death. According to Jassim, he and his
wife moved several times as a result of these threats, but
JAM members have continued to track them down. Siham, who is
pregnant, resigned her seat on the Sadr City DAC, fearing for
her unborn child. Mustafa Jasim has not yet resigned, but
reports continued pressure for him to do so. End Summary.


2. (C) Sadr City DAC member Mustafa Jasim told PolOff on June
5 that on March 20, Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) members showed up at
his house in Sadr City. According to Jasim, the JAM members
told his wife, Siham Hatab -- who was alone in the house at
the time -- to resign her seat on the Sadr City DAC or face
death. Jasim said that he and his wife have moved three
times since this incident, eventually ending up in the
al-Shoab neighborhood. According to Jasim, on May 15, ten
JAM members showed up at the house of Siham's mother in Sadr
City while Siham was visiting. He said they accused Siham of
collaborating with Coalition Forces (CF),and told her that,
if she did not resign from the Sadr City DAC within 72 hours,
they would shoot her.


3. (C) Jasim said the next day, Mohammad Abdullah, reputed
JAM member and Chair of the Neighborhood Advisory Council
(NAC) for Sadr 8, an administrative district in Sadr City,
went to the house in al-Shoab where Jasim and Siham are
staying. According to Jasim, Abdullah brought with him the
Deputy NAC Chair Najem Mohammad Lafta, Qasim Abd al-Zahra,
and Mohammad Ehmala. Jasim said the conversation was
cordial, but the four men told him to resign his seat on the
Sadr City DAC. Jasim said that following this visit, Siham
resigned her seat, although he has remained on the DAC.


4. (C) Jasim said that, on May 31, he spoke to Sadr City DAC
chair Jawad Khadum and asked to be allowed to take a leave of
absence from the Sadr City DAC. Khadum refused this request,
Jasim said, and argued that Jasim should resign his seat
because he no longer lives in Sadr City.

--------------
Comment
--------------


5. (C) Since its inception, the Sadr City DAC has seen nine
of its members assassinated, with unsuccessful attempts on
the lives of numerous others. In each case, our contacts on
the DAC have attributed responsibility to the JAM.
KHALILZAD