(SBU) SALAH AD DIN GOVERNOR WINS KRG LARGESSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIRKUK 000018

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/29/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER KDEM IZ TU JO SA
SUBJECT: (SBU) SALAH AD DIN GOVERNOR WINS KRG LARGESSE

CLASSIFIED BY: BELL, RC, RC, USDOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (U) This is a SET Tikrit cable.


2. (C) SUMMARY. The Governor of Salah Ad Din, a predominantly
Sunni Arab province, is making inroads with Kurdish Regional
Government President Barzani. Governor Hamad met with Barzani
in January; he came away with a commitment for the KRG to fund
medical supplies for Salah Ad Din. This followed a meeting
about six months earlier which led to the Kurds funding 175
adjustable hospital beds. END SUMMARY.


3. (C) In mid-January, Governor Hamad Shukti of Salah Ad Din
Province met with KRG President Masoud Barzani in Erbil and
asked the Kurdish government to provide medical supplies to
Salah Ad Din's Director General (DG) of Health. The Governor
said that Barzani agreed to provide medicines and other needed
supplies. Gov. Hamad said this was part of his on-going
relationship with Barzani, referring to early last summer, when
the Kurdistan Regional Government provided 175 adjustable
hospital beds to the province.


4. (C) The Governor tells SET that the MoH in Baghdad does not
provide the same level of support to Salah Ad Din that it does
to the provinces in the south, and ignores his requests for
additional supplies. He feels MoH views Salah Ad Din as a haven
for supporters of the former regime.


5. (C) Barzani and the Governor also spoke about Arabs currently
being held in Kurdish detention centers. The Governor believes
that the people who are detained in the Kurdistan Region were,
in fact, detained in that region, rather than transported there,
as had been happening about six months ago. However, he
believes the KRG should charge them with crimes or free them.
Barzani agreed to have the cases reviewed, and innocent men from
Salah Ad Din returned to that province.

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(U) COMMENT
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6. (C) Governor Hamad has known President Barzani for some
time; he feels they have a somewhat close friendship. Hamad
feels comfortable asking for medical support because Barzani
offered that type of help last year, and it is widely seen as a
very good, humanitarian thing to do. (REO KIRKUK COMMENT: The
Kurds have their own motives. They hope eventually to annex
Kirkuk province to the Kurdistan Region; they hope this will
include Tozkhurmato district, which Saddam split off from Kirkuk
province and attached to Salah Ad Din province. END REO KIRKUK
COMMENT.) In discussion with SET officer, the Governor said
nothing about supporting Kurdish political positions.


7. (C) Governor Hamad has broadened his contacts outside of the
province over the last year. He said he had visited Turkey,
Jordan and Saudi Arabia in an effort to improve relations and
seek financial assistance. He said that so far, the Kurdish
contacts had been most fruitful, but he still held hope for the
others.

BELL