KIRKUK SUNNI ARABS ON KIDNAPPINGS AND ARTICLE 140

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000122

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/29/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER IZ
SUBJECT: KIRKUK SUNNI ARABS ON KIDNAPPINGS AND ARTICLE 140

CLASSIFIED BY: Jim Bigus, PRT Team Leader, Kirkuk, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. On June 22, Iraqi Republican Gathering's
Kirkuk office
head detailed a series of kidnappings between Kurds and Sunni
Arabs in
Kirkuk. He used the incidents as an example of how organized
the Sunni
Arab population would be against the annexation of Kirkuk. He
warned
that Islamic groups have approached Sunni Arabs on the issue of
Kirkuk.
He also stated that Sunni Arabs and Turcomen are discussing
plans to
boycott the referendum. END SUMMARY.

RETALIATORY KIDNAPPINGS IN KIRKUK
--------------


2. (C) On June 22, IPAO met with Iraqi Republican Gathering's
(IRG)
Kirkuk office head Ahmed Hammed al-Ubaydi who requested a
meeting to
discuss a series of kidnappings in Kirkuk. He stated that PUK
security
forces had kidnapped Khawla Daham who, according to Ubaydi, is
the wife
of "Iraqi resistance leader" Abdulrahman al-Naqshbendi, a Sunni
Arab
member of the Al-Bu al-Ujayl tribe from Tikrit. In response, the
woman's tribe kidnapped five Kurds in Tikrit and the wife of a
Kurdish
military colonel in Kirkuk. At this point, according to Ubaydi,
Kirkuk
PUK head Jalal Jawher became involved and threatened reprisals
on all
Al-Bu al-Ujayl tribal members living in Kirkuk.


3. (SBU) Following a series of intense negotiations, Daham was
turned
over to General Anwar, Kurdish head of IA forces in Kirkuk, and
the
colonel's wife was turned over to two Arab members of the Kirkuk
provincial council and an exchange was made, according to
Ubaydi. Once
the exchange was made everyone else was released. Ubaydi
emphasized a
clear distinction between the Iraqi Army and police forces (the
IRG
wished to "thank the police and army for their help") and the PUK
security forces that he blamed for causing all the problems.


4. (SBU) In reference to the events Ubaydi said the Arabs were
all
united in opposition to this kidnapping and that if they had
enough
weapons "they would be strong enough to invade Iran". When
pressed for
clarification he said it was a reference to how strong and
united the
Sunni Arab population can be when they are "pushed into a
corner".

ISLAMIC GROUPS APPROACH SUNNI ARABS
--------------


5. (C) Ubaydi warned that "America should be careful," because
Islamic
groups have been approaching Sunnis in Kirkuk and any
partnership that
developed from these discussions would be very dangerous for
coalition
forces. Ubaydi made specific reference to the fact that former
Prime
Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'afari had sent an invitation to several
leaders
in the Hewija community (including the head of the Hewija
council and
Kirkuk Arab council members) to discuss the future of Kirkuk.
When
asked his opinion of the meeting, Ubaydi said that "all Islamic
groups
are killers and they have one goal in mind and that is to kill."
He
painted all groups with the same brush stating that Badr, the
Mahdi
Army, Ansar al-Islam, Ansar al-Sunna, and any other "Islamic
group" are
killers.

KIRKUK REFERENDUM

KIRKUK 00000122 002 OF 002


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6. (SBU) Ubaydi used the kidnapping incident as an example of
how
dangerous the annexation of Kirkuk would be to a united Sunni
Arab
population. He predicted that half a million citizens will be
killed if
Kirkuk is annexed to the Kurdistan Regional Government. Ubaydi
believes
that Kirkuk should be administered as an independent province
and remain
under United Nations control for a period of ten years, using the
situation in Bosnia as an example.


7. (C) In reference to the PM's statements and proposed
deadlines on
the implementation of Article 140, Ubaydi believes that all
provinces
must be redrawn, not only Kirkuk province. When asked about
support for
the Kirkuk Arabs in Baghdad, Ubaydi admitted that even the Sunni
Arab
bloc in Baghdad has stated that they will support the Kurds on
the issue
of Kirkuk. He noted that the Kirkuk Arabs were alone in their
fight and
politically cornered on the issue of Kirkuk. When asked about
the
Turcomen in Kirkuk, Ubaydi said the Arabs and Turcomen were
working on
an agreement and strategy for the upcoming referendum. When
pressed to
divulge details of the planning his answers became vague, though
he
alluded to the fact that the two communities (Turcoman and Arab)
were
developing a plan to boycott the referendum.

COMMENT
--------------


8. (C) Arrests made by KDP and PUK "security forces" continues
to be a
major problem in Kirkuk. Citizens do not recognize the
legitimacy of
the detentions and consider the action kidnapping and therefore
attempt
to retaliate in a like manner.
BIGUS