SHABEK NATIONAL ASSEMBLYMEMBER ASKS FOR MORE "VISIBLE" USG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSUL 000011

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/10/2016
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM IZ PINT
SUBJECT: SHABEK NATIONAL ASSEMBLYMEMBER ASKS FOR MORE "VISIBLE" USG
PROJECTS IN NINEWA


CLASSIFIED BY: Cameron Munter, PRT Leader, Provincial
Reconstruction Team Ninewa, State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



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SUMMARY
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1. (C) PRT Leader and REO Poloff met with Shabek national
assemblymember Dr. Haneen Al Qado in Mosul on February 8. Al
Qado thanked the USG for ongoing assistance but said USG
development projects in Ninewa need to be "more visible." Al
Qado said he is working with other members of the national
assembly to have better local recruitment for Iraqi Security
Forces (ISF). He believes a more representative force would
better respect different ethnicities in the province. Al Qado
blames Kurds for ethnic tensions in the area, and said he hopes
provincial elections set for this year would help bring Sunni
Arabs to the majority to keep Kurds in check in Ninewa. Al Qado
said he is working on building a caucus with other minority
members of the new national assembly to help move human rights
issues to the forefront of legislative topics. He said he is
planning a minority and human rights conference with help from
the United Nations set to take place this March. End Summary.

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USG NEEDS "VISIBLE" PROJECTS IN PROVINCE
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2. (C) PRT Leader welcomed Al Qado as his first guest to the
PRT. Al Qado was quick to thank the USG for its ongoing help
and assistance to the Iraqi people. PRT Leader asked for Al
Qado's assessment of how the USG could do things better. Al
Qado said the main problem with projects in Ninewa is that they
have not been "visible." As a result, Al Qado said Moslawis are
"laughing" because there is "nothing to show for the money." He
cited several projects, such as Mosul Airport, which has gone
over budget and is "nowhere near being completed." He accused
crooked contractors and a complicit provincial government with
fleecing money supplied by the American taxpayer. Al Qado said
he hopes a committee would be established soon by the USG to
"look into corruption."

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BUILDING MORE REPRESENTATIVE SECURITY FORCES
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3. (C) Al Qado said more work needed to be done to make Iraqi
Security Forces (ISF),especially the Iraqi Army (IA) and police
(IP),more culturally representative in Ninewa, since the IP is
predominately Sunni Arab and the IA mostly Kurd. Al Qado
believes ISF actually "from Ninewa" would better represent the
community and act more respectfully towards different
ethnicities in the province. Al Qado said he has been working
with other minority members of the national assembly to pressure
the Ministry of Interior to institute a program to build more
representative security forces in Ninewa. He said he also wrote
a letter to President Bush about this issue and the Shabek in
Ninewa.

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KURDS TO BLAME FOR ETHNIC TENSIONS
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4. (C) Al Qado believes USG presence in Ninewa has kept Kurds
from "occupying" the province. He asked PRT Leader to continue
to pressure the Kurds and "keep them in check." He said if it
was not for USG presence the Kurds would have "Kurdified" the
whole area, similar to past attempts by Saddam Hussein to
"Arabize" the province. Al Qado said non-Kurdish people of
Ninewa, especially Sunni Arabs (whom he believes are the
"rightful inhabitants of Mosul"),are "pushing back" against the
Kurds. He said as a result Kurds are unable to cross the Tigris
River to the west side of the city for fear of being attacked.
Al Qado claimed Kurds have recruited from the ranks of Saddam's
former henchmen in the Baathist regime to, "target and
intimidate minorities." He said he is on the top of a "hit
list" by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP),and was informed
of this by friends in the Shia and Assyrian communities with
ties to the Kurdish party.

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PROVINCIAL ELECTION PREDICTIONS
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5. (C) Al Qado said he is confident provincial elections would
help settle problems with ethnic tensions in Ninewa, especially
with the Kurds. He said the election could be held as early as
May, after the new central government is seated. Al Qado
believes a reason for recent problems in the area was the fault
of the Sunni Arabs for not participating in the January 2005
election, which allowed minorities and Kurds to dominate
provincial politics. Al Qado said this dominance has kept the
provincial government's interests tied to Kurdish political
parties to the detriment of the province. As an example, Al
Qado cited the Peshmerga who he said arrest and detain people in
minority villages without "official authority." Al Qado said he
hopes if Sunni Arabs dominate the provincial elections they
might also be able to keep Kurds in check.


6. (C) Regarding the election outcome, Al Qado predicts that of
the 42 seats in the provincial council only five to six would go
to the Kurds, six to eight for minority groups, such as the
Shabek, Chaldo/Assyrians, and Yezidis, and the rest to Sunni
Arabs. Al Qado said the Shabek are working with the Yezidi to
form a coalition, and that the Sunni Arabs are trying to build a
broad coalition (like the Kurds and Shias) to strengthen their
ability to win seats.

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WORKING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
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7. (C) PRT Leader reiterated the importance of human rights in
the fledgling democracy, and for all people in the province to
work together to solve problems in Ninewa, since it is a
microcosm of Iraq and could be used as a positive example for
other parts of the country. Al Qado said he is working
diligently on the issue and is building a caucus with other
minority members of the national assembly to move minority
issues to the forefront of discussions in the new government.
He said once the caucus is established he and its members would
work towards writing a bill legislating respect for the rights
of minorities. Al Qado said he would attend training on
federalism this March in Switzerland and Canada, supported by
non-government organization National Democratic Institute (NDI).
He is also planning a minority rights conference with the
United Nations set to take place in March.
MUNTER