KURDISH TRIBAL LEADER DOWNS KDP AND PUK, URGES U.S. TO STAY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000075

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, POLMIL, NCT, ROL COORDINATOR, USAID

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/31/2016
TAGS: PGOV KCOR PHUM PINS PREL PINR KDEM KWMN IZ IR
SY, TU
SUBJECT: KURDISH TRIBAL LEADER DOWNS KDP AND PUK, URGES U.S. TO STAY

REF: A) KIRKUK 61, KIRKUK 65

KIRKUK 00000075 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Scott Dean, Acting Regional Coordinator, , REO
Kirkuk, DoS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) SUMMARY. A leader from the influential Kurdish tribe
of Surchi said tribes were forced to work with the KDP and PUK
because the parties controlled all the region's revenue. He
thought the two Kurdish parties were incapable of working
together. Shaykh Surchi urged the U.S. to remain in the region
and establish permanent military bases. His tribe's main
concern was political, economic, and social equality. The
Surchi tribe historically fought against the Barzanis. END
SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) This is third in a series of interviews with leaders
from four influential tribes in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,
including the Harki (REFTEL A),Baradusti (REFTEL B),Surchi,
and Zebari. On March 9, IPAO's met with Shaykh Mazhar Surchi
(please protect),a leader of the Surchi tribe.

Parties Control the Tribes
--------------


3. (C) Shaykh Surchi said the tribes had no formal role in the
Kurdistan Regional Government, though both the Kurdistan
Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan paid large
sums of money to tribal leaders for political loyalty. The
tribes were forced to cooperate with the KDP and PUK because the
parties controlled all employment and education opportunities.
"If you are not a member of either the KDP or PUK, you cannot
prosper in the KRG - the parties will insult or impose on you
until you join. We do not need a master and stick over us, we
want a brother." Surchi said he had no particular loyalty to
either the KDP or PUK, but would favor the KDP if he had to
choose.


4. (C) Surchi said that despite public support for merging the
two regional governments, the parties had only agreed to share
power due to U.S. pressure. He doubted the KDP and PUK
administrations would actually unite, he thought the two parties
were incapable of working together. Surchi added, however, that
the merger was a positive step because it held back influential
personalities such as the PUK's Kosrat Rasul or KRG PM Nechirvan
Barzani from becoming tyrants over the KRG. He said that most
inter-party conflicts occurred at the lower levels.

KDP and PUK Corruption Increasing
--------------


5. (C) Shaykh Surchi complained that corruption had increased
in northern Iraq since Operation Iraqi Freedom. He said the KDP
and PUK had misappropriated funds allocated to fight terrorism
and that no mechanism was in place to counter those abuses. KDP
and PUK leaders' - and their cronies' - priority access to fuel
facilitated the region's robust black market. Surchi described
the KDP in particular as "like a god." He argued that while the
PUK was as nepotistic as the KDP, the PUK was more open and
willing to listen to the people.

KDP and PUK Financing the KIU
--------------


6. (C) Shaykh Surchi believed that the Kurdistan Islamic Union
(KIU) remained influential in the region because it was playing
by the KDP and PUK's rules. Both parties supported the KIU
financially. Surchi said his tribe did not support Islamic
parties. He claimed the KIU was better than "the other
fanatics" and was a solid party, but he said he was concerned
what it might do in the future. People joined the KIU in
response to injustices, not because they necessarily shared its
ideology.

Supporting Permanent U.S. Bases in Northern Iraq
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Shaykh Surchi supported permanent U.S. military bases
in northern Iraq, fearing that if the U.S. pulled out, both
external and internal risks would result. Externally, Iran and
Turkey had been enemies to the Kurds and were concerned about
the U.S. presence in northern Iraq. Surchi reminded IPAO's that
Turkey, Iran, and Syria were not democracies and were inclined
to undermine a democratic Iraq. He estimated that 95 to 97
percent of Iraqi Kurds viewed the Coalition as liberators. He
said he was confident in this estimate because no Americans had
been killed in Kurdistan.


KIRKUK 00000075 002.2 OF 002



8. (C) Surchi said that he and his tribe were partners with
the United States. "Your existence here is our existence." He
said that although the two Kurdish political parties prevented
democracy from flourishing in northern Iraq, the U.S. helped to
stabilize the situation. The Surchi tribe's main concern was
political, economic, and social equality. Surchi said that
electricity and fuel should be available to everyone.


9. (SBU) Surchi suggested that U.S. officials meet with the
Kurdish public, not just its leadership, to understand what was
happening on the ground. "We only see the Coalition on
television and never have the opportunity to actually speak with
Americans. We want the U.S. to build structures like hospitals
in the KRG. We are willing to work with you."

Reconciling with the Barzanis
--------------


10. (SBU) Historically, the Surchi tribe had been divided into
two branches, separated by geography and dialect. During the
Kurdish civil war in the mid 1990s, the Surchi branch in Arbil -
not Shaykh Mazhar Surchi's branch - fought against the Barzanis.
The KDP in 1996 attacked the Arbil branch of the Surchi tribe,
killing its leader, Shaykh Husayn Agha Surchi. Husayn's son
Umar and top tribal leaders fled to As Sulaymaniyah and joined
the PUK. Umar returned to Arbil following Operation Iraqi
Freedom and reconciled with the KDP. As a result, the KDP
returned to Umar his confiscated shops and allowed him to
establish the Conservative Party. Husayn's second son, Najim
Surchi, remained in As Sulaymaniyah and became the Minister of
Transportation in the PUK regional government. The KDP
compensated Husayn's third son, Johar Asha, with money and a
house for his father's death.

Tribal History
--------------


11. (SBU) The Surchi tribe includes over 90 villages,
primarily in three Arbil districts - Aqri, Shalawra, and
Rawandas - as well as Mosul. Tribal members also live in Iran
but are somewhat disconnected to the Iraqi Surchis. The tribe
includes both Muslims and Christians and claims to support
religious equality.


12. (SBU) No single individual has led the Surchi tribe since
Husayn's death. Tribal power since has decentralized to large
families. Shaykh Surchi heads one of the large families. He
attributed two things to the decline in tribal unity: first,
Saddam's moves to destroy the tribes and their territory by
forcing tribes to co-mingle in collected locations; and second,
party politics.


13. (SBU) During the Kurdish civil war, the Surchis did not
maintain tribal relationships beyond Iraq; they aligned with
the KDP because of geography. The tribe shares close relations
with the Zebari, Harki and Guran tribes. The Surchi economy
depends on agriculture and animal husbandry, and conducts trade
with Turkey.

Surchi Women
--------------


14. (SBU) Women do not hold positions of influence in the
Surchi tribe. Some Surchi females are members of the KDP
women's organization. The few Surchi women who attend college
are free to study anything, including business and the sciences.

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


15. (C) Shaykh Surchi and other tribal shaykhs with whom we
have met clearly lack confidence that the KDP and PUK
leaderships can work together in a unified regional government.
Surchi, like other Kurdish shaykhs, emphasized the need to
maintain a U.S. presence in northern Iraq as a stabilizing
influence on both the political parties as well as Iraq's
neighbors. He is yet another social leader fed up with the KDP
and PUK's domination of all facets of life in northern Iraq.
ORESTE