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