KUWAIT BASED ARAB-IRANIAN ACTIVIST DESCRIBES

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 003535 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/IR AND NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS IR KU KUWAIT IRAN RELATIONS SUBJECT: KUWAIT BASED ARAB-IRANIAN ACTIVIST DESCRIBES AHWAZI OPPOSITION GROUPS REF: A. KUWAIT 2266 ¶B. KUWAIT 1622 ¶C. FBIS GMP20060415700012 Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S/NF) Summary and comment: During an August 27 meeting with Poloff, Khalil Delavi, an Iranian Ahwazi (Arab) activist and member of the Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz (DSPA),outlined the basic characteristics of a number of Ahwazi opposition groups operating outside of Iran. (Note: Arab-Iranians call themselves Ahwazis after Ahwaz, the former Arabic name of the province of Khuzestan in western Iran, which has a large Arab population. End note.) According to Delavi, Ahwazi opposition groups fall into two categories: those that support a separate, independent Ahwazi state and those like the DSPA and its affiliates that support a largely self-governing Ahwazi province within a democratic, federalist Iran (ref B). When pressed, however, Delavi admitted that all Ahwazi opposition groups share the ultimate goal of an independent Ahwazi state, somewhat blurring his own distinction between the organizations. Delavi also reported that the Kuwaiti government (GOK) had taken a more active interest in Ahwazi issues and now regularly met with Ahwazi activists in Kuwait, including himself. (Note: Delavi claims Ahwazis account for "60-65% of the 50,000-60,000 Iranians living in Kuwait," the largest Ahwazi community outside Iran. End note.) ¶2. (S/NF) Comment: Delavi sometimes comes across as self-important and somewhat impatient with USG policy on Iran. He has repeatedly asked for more information on Iran democracy funds and outlined a laundry list of Ahwazi needs, ranging from new computers and cell phones to funding for an Arabic-language Ahwazi satellite station. Poloff provided basic information on the Iran democracy programs from the MEPI website, but advised that the USG would not provide funds to any group that advocated the use of violence or the division of Iran into separate states. Post was unable to independently verify the accuracy of Delavi's information on Ahwazi opposition groups. Nonetheless, open source reporting seems to corroborate -- or at least not contradict -- much of his information. End summary and comment. ¶3. (C/NF) Poloff met August 27 with Khalil Delavi (aka. Abdulkhaligh Delavi),an Ahwazi activist who has lived in Kuwait for more than 30 years. (Comment: Delavi has requested several such meetings to discuss the plight of Arab-Iranians in Khuzestan. Although he claims to have regular access to sources in Iran, most of Delavi's information seems to come from Iranian opposition websites. End comment.) During the meeting, Delavi described a number of prominent Ahwazi opposition groups, including: -- The National Liberation Movement of Ahwaz (www.al-ahwaz.com and www.al-ahwaz.net): A Canada-based separatist organization led by father and son Hussein Taliqany and Hashim Taliqany (alt. Taliqani). Delavi said Hussein and Hashim, who claim to be Sayids (descendants of Prophet Mohammed),were deported from Kuwait in 1998. He characterized this group as "ex-Ba'athist" and claimed they were affiliated with the (Arab) Al-Nima tribe in Khuzestan. Delavi dismissed the group, however, as "nothing more than a website." (Comment: According to www.al-ahwaz.net, the website is operated by the Ahwaz Internet Network, which "supervises the management of the Ahwazi Arab Info Center, one of the media organizations" of the NLMA. The website lists Khaza'l Al-Hashemi as the Secretary-General of the NLMA; Sayed Taher Al-Sayed Nima as the Deputy Director and the Director of Interior Affairs; and Nasser Ahmed Al-Sheikh Khaz'l as the Official Spokesman. Based on his name, Nasser Al-Sheikh Khaz'l could be a descendant of Sheikh Khaz'l Khan, the last Arab ruler of Khuzestan. We were unable to find any reference to either Hussein or Hashim Taliqany on the website. End comment.) -- Ahwazi Arab People's Popular Democratic Front (www.alahwaz.org): A London-based separatist organization led by Mahmoud Ahmed Il Ziyara (Al-Ahwazi). Delavi said Ziyara founded the group after his brothers Ahmed and Shaye Mazra', both members of the Shah's intelligence agency SAVAK, were executed by revolutionary courts in 1979. Delavi characterized the group as "left-wing" and "socialist" and claimed they had "some activities" inside Iran. He said the AAPPDF is affiliated with the Mazra' family in Khuzestan, centered in the village of "Abu Homatha," but dismissed the organization as "a family-run business." -- Arab Ahwaz Renaissance Party (Alt. Uprising Party) KUWAIT 00003535 002 OF 003 (www.al-mohamra.nu): A militant separatist group based in Canada and led by Sayid Sabah Al-Musawi. According to Delavi, this is the "only (Ahwazi) separatist organization with a publicly announced armed faction." He said the AARP had "good relations with Sunni Islamists in Kuwait," who he claimed were "planning to fund a Sunni satellite station to be broadcast in (Khuzestan)." Delavi specifically mentioned Khalid Al-Osaimi, the brother of Kuwaiti tribal MP Walid Al-Osaimi, as being involved in this project. (Note: According to a FBIS translation of an April 14, 2006 interview with Al-Musawi published in Ilaf (London-based Arabic electronic daily),AARP was established in August 2002 as a "revolutionary ideological organization that believes in the correlation between Arabism and Islam and aims to expel the Persian usurper and establish a free Arab society in Al-Ahwaz" (ref C). End note.) -- The (Islamic) Al-Wefagh Party (possible website: www.al-vefagh.com): Until it was banned "two years ago," this was the only Ahwazi political organization in Khuzestan tolerated by the Iranian government. Al-Wefagh is led by Jassem (Shadeed Zada) Al-Tamimi, a former member of the Iranian Parliament and the provincial government of Khuzestan. Delavi said Iranian officials confiscated Al-Tamimi's passport "one month ago" and prohibited him from traveling until further notice. Delavi claimed Al-Wefagh is very popular in Khuzestan, particularly because of the Arabic poetry and cultural events it organized. -- The Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz (www.alahwaz.info): A London-based Ahwazi opposition group that supports the creation of a democratic, federalist government in Iran under which Iran's diverse ethnic groups would be given considerable autonomy in governing their own affairs. Delavi said the DSPA was rumored to be "the international front for the Al-Wefagh Party," but he would neither confirm nor deny this fact. The DSPA is one of seven ethno-nationalist organizations in the recently-formed Iranian Federal Congress (see www.iranfederal.org for more information on the IFC). Delavi named "Mansour Al-Ahwazi, Hussein Al-Ahwazi, Abu Tariq (from the Al-Sari family),and Abu Farouq" as part of the DSPA's leadership group. He added that the organization was in "direct contact" with Jassem Al-Tamimi. Delavi claimed the DSPA had a "large following," particularly among Ahwazi expats living in Kuwait. A number of other Ahwazi groups are closely affiliated with the DSPA. Delavi explained that the DSPA "coordinates activities" between these groups and added that their members were also members of the DSPA. These DSPA affiliate groups are: - The British Ahwaz Friendship Society (www.ahwaz.org.uk): A London-based organization led by Daniel Brett. Delavi believed this organization was created by the British government in order to maintain close ties with Ahwazi opposition groups. - The Ahwaz Human Rights Organization (AHRO): A Virginia-based organization that seeks to promote human rights for Arab-Iranians in Khuzestan. The AHRO is run by Dr. Karim Abdian, "an Ahwazi activist and American citizen who has worked as a project manager for the Department of Defense for the past 20 years." - The Ahwaz Education and Human Rights Foundation (AEHRF): A sister organization of AHRO, also based in Virginia and run by Dr. Karim Abdian. AEHRF seeks to promote research on Ahwaz issues and fund scholarships for Ahwazi students. - The Ahwaz Study Center (www.ahwazstudies.org): An organization affiliated with Yousef Azizi, a leading Ahwazi intellectual and writer in Khuzestan. Fuzzy Line Between Federalist and Separatist -------------- ¶4. (C/NF) When pressed, Delavi admitted that all Ahwazi opposition groups share the ultimate goal of creating an independent Ahwazi state, somewhat blurring his own distinction between the groups. "Ninety-nine percent of Ahwazis support separation (from Iran)," he claimed. The groups differ, however, over whether violence should be used to achieve this objective. According to Delavi, the DSPA rejects using violent methods to create a federal government in Iran, but ultimately believes this federalist system will devolve into several independent states divided on ethnic lines. Asked what sort of timeframe he envisioned for this process to take place, Delavi responded, "Like Iraq today (which he believed was in the process of separating into three separate states)," suggesting a relatively short KUWAIT 00003535 003 OF 003 transition from federalism to full independence. Kuwaiti Government Now Interested -------------- ¶5. (C/NF) In a previous meeting, Delavi voiced concern that Iran might pressure the Kuwaiti government (GOK) to deport Ahwazi activists residing in Kuwait and complained that he had no contact or leverage with the GOK on this issue (ref B). On this occasion, however, he reported that he was now in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kuwait State Security and that they were "very interested" in hearing what he had to say. He believed this change was due to growing Kuwaiti concern about Iran and the fact that the GOK did not want to "ostracize an important Iranian group." ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * LeBaron