Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KIRKUK133
2006-07-25 11:36:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
REO Kirkuk
Cable title:  

(SBU) NEW KURDISH BLOC ON POLITICAL GOALS, OPPOSITION TO

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PINR PINS PNAT PREF PREL KDEM PTER IZ 
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VZCZCXRO0242
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL
DE RUEHKUK #0133/01 2061136
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P R 251136Z JUL 06
FM REO KIRKUK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0696
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0658
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 0044
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHKUK/REO KIRKUK 0724
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000133 

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/25/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PINS PNAT PREF PREL KDEM PTER IZ
TU
SUBJECT: (SBU) NEW KURDISH BLOC ON POLITICAL GOALS, OPPOSITION TO
KDP-PUK

KIRKUK 00000133 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Jim Bigus, PRT Leader, POL, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000133

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/25/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PINS PNAT PREF PREL KDEM PTER IZ
TU
SUBJECT: (SBU) NEW KURDISH BLOC ON POLITICAL GOALS, OPPOSITION TO
KDP-PUK

KIRKUK 00000133 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Jim Bigus, PRT Leader, POL, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C/NF) INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY: Leaders of the recently
formed 5-party Kurdish political opposition bloc said they would
focus on local issues and push to reduce the domination of the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK). They asserted that their bloc is secular and
will counter the growing political influence of Islam in the
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). They also hope to push the
KRG to a more Kurdish nationalist stance on Article 140 and the
future of Kirkuk. Post met with representatives from the
following bloc parties: Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party
(KDSP)(see para 11 below); Kurdistan Democratic Movement (KDM);
Kurdistan Peoples' Democratic Movement (KPDM); and Kurdistan
Liberation Party (KLP). The representative of the fifth
opposition party, the Kurdistan Independent Labor Party, did not
attend. END INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY.

(C) "EVEN HOUSEKEEPERS MUST BE PARTY MEMBERS"
-------------- --------------


2. (C/NF) IPAO on July 19,2006, met with leaders of the
5-party Kurdish opposition bloc formed on June 25, 2006. The
representatives said the two main Kurdish parties have dominated
the political system to such an extent that even housekeepers
and servants must join the KDP or PUK to win employment. The
opposition leaders said their first priority would be to force
reforms of the KRG until it is a truly representative government
of the people. The bloc members said they would start by
pushing for a ban on the requirement of party membership for
employment.


(SBU) INDEPENDENCE - "THE RIGHT OF ALL NATIONS"
-------------- --


3. (C) The representatives said their parties formed the bloc
because they share the ideology that independence is "the right
of all nations," believe this is a critical time in Kurdish
politics, and that opposition is necessary to achieve their
goals and guard against potential conflict between the two main
parties. (Note: The bloc leaders claimed several of their
members acted as arbiters during the civil conflict between the
KDP and PUK in the mid-90's. End note.) The bloc members also
do not agree with the way the KDP and PUK have distributed power
and economic benefits.

(SBU) KEEP RELIGION OUT OF GOVERNMENT
--------------


4. (C) The bloc members all agreed that smaller secular parties
can and should play a key role in protecting against the growing
influence of Islam in Kurdistan. To achieve this goal, the five
parties would like to focus on improving municipal services in
KRG areas.


(SBU) POSITION ON KIRKUK, ARTICLE 140
--------------


5. (C) The leaders recalled that the Kirkuk issue was a main
reason the Kurds never reached an agreement with Saddam's
regime. The leaders said the issue of Kirkuk is likely to
determine the relationship between the Kurds and the new
government in Baghdad. The bloc members said they agreed with
the importance of implementing Art. 140, but said the KDP and
PUK have not seriously addressed this issue. The bloc stands
for reincorporating Chamchamal, Kifri, Kalar and other Kurdish
areas separated under Saddam back into Kirkuk Province.

(U) BIOGRAPHIC NOTES
--------------


6. (C/NF) Faiq Mohammad Ahamed: Secretary General, Kurdistan
Democratic Solution Party (KDSP); received primary and secondary
education in Halabja; received Bachelors Degree from Mosul
University in Medicine and worked as a surgeon in a Sulaymaniyah
hospital; former PUK representative to the Kurdistan National
Assembly for six years. Allegedly arrested and held by PUK
security forces in May, 2006, for denouncing the killing of
Kurdish people in Turkey.


7. (C) Shukrallah Hamed Amin: Secretary General, Kurdistan
Democratic Movement (KDM); born in the village of Koysinjaq in
Erbil; former member of the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP);
following the 1991 uprising, a founding member of the Kurdistan

KIRKUK 00000133 002.2 OF 002


Communist Party (KCP); left the KCP due to ideological and
management issues.


8. (C) Khadr Qadir Khadr: Secretary General, Kurdistan
Peoples' Democratic Movement (KPDM, founded 1995); born in
Erbil, 1947; joined the ICP circa 1986; did not finish high
school due to ICP responsibilities, where he was commander of
ICP Peshmerga and appointed as a senior member of the ICP Erbil
office.


9. (C) Omer Hassan Omer: Chief Executive, Kurdistan
Liberation Party (KLP, founded August 15, 1993); born in Erbil,
1963; did not finish studies for economic and political reasons;
maintains a socialist ideology, is strongly pro-Kurdistan
independence, and favors a referendum to decide Kurdistan's
political future; KLP originally belonged to the KPDM, but broke
from this party after some members voted to join the KDP; KLP
currently publishes a weekly newspaper and magazine.

(U) COMMENT
--------------


10. (C) The party size of the individual bloc parties appears
limited to between 1000 to 2000 members, which would severely
limit their ability to compete with the two main parties
dominating the KNA. However, the bloc members seem to realize
this and might be setting their eyes on capturing the few seats
that would tip the balance to one or the other main party in an
evenly split KNA, thus permitting the opposition bloc parties to
influence PUK and KDP debate on key Kurdish issues.

(U) NOTE
--------------


11. (C/NF) This meeting took place before post knew of the USG
policy to avoid meeting with KDSP.
JBIGUS