ASSYRIAN PATRIOTIC PARTY REPS CALL FOR CREATION OF A NEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSUL 000012

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/12/2016
TAGS: PREL PINS PGOV PHUM IZ PINT
SUBJECT: ASSYRIAN PATRIOTIC PARTY REPS CALL FOR CREATION OF A NEW
PROVINCE FOR MINORITIES

REF: A) 2005 MOSUL 207; B) 2005 MOSUL 157

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) Assyrian Patriotic Party (APP) reps in Ninewa and Dohuk
said they believe the answer to problems in Iraq's Christian
community could be settled by the creation of a separate
province for minorities. APP leader Namrood Betto suggested
that "Ninewa Plains" be partitioned from eastern Ninewa and
annexed to Iraqi Kurdistan. Betto said he believes the new
province would better protect the human rights of minorities,
attract investment, and improve security. Betto asked for USG
assistance to move the idea forward with the Iraqi central
government, and requested a meeting with Ambassador Khalilzad to
discuss the issue. End Summary.


2. (SBU) REO Poloff met with members of the Assyrian Patriotic
Party (APP) in Dohuk on February 9. In attendance were APP
secretary general Namrood Betto, Christian Aid Program Nohadra

SIPDIS
Iraq (CAPNI) director Emmanuel Youkhana, APP and former member
of the Kurdish parliament Patros Sekheria, and APP Ninewa
director Sargon Saleem. APP was a member of the Al Nahrain
National List (#752) during the December 2005 national election
(ref a).

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A COMMUNITY IN PAIN
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3. (C) The APP is reeling from election losses where only rival
Christian party, Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM),was able to
kept their seat in the national assembly. APP is looking for
solutions to high unemployment and lack of security without
direct representation in the government. Betto said members of
the Chaldo/Assyrian community are leaving Ninewa for other
provinces and countries in search of work, stability, and
security. Betto said he is concerned how the new federal
government will interpret the articles of the constitution. He
said he fears a broad interpretation will only benefit Iraq's
larger ethnic groups (Shias, Sunnis, and Kurds) to the detriment
of minorities. Betto said he believes recent church bombings in
Kirkuk and Baghdad are evidence of a "grand scheme" by Arabs to
assimilate minorities. He said he believes the answer to
Chaldo/Assyrian problems is the creation of a separate protected
area for the community.

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CREATION OF "NINEWA PLAINS"
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4. (C) Betto suggested the USG and Coalition Forces (CF) should
"pressure" the Iraqi government to allow for the creation of a
new and separate province for minorities. Betto said "Ninewa
Plains," as the community refers to it, would help minorities
protect themselves from larger ethnic groups that could do them
harm. Betto claimed minorities have the "right to a safe haven"
according to article 136 of the constitution. Poloff asked if
Ninewa Plains could address problems facing the community in the
short and long run, or if they risk cutting themselves off from
the rest of the country. Betto said he believes a "more
permanent solution" needed to be found and that Ninewa Plains
was the answer. Poloff asked APP members if they had considered
other avenues to redress their grievances, such as working with
minority members of the national assembly to help push issues.
Youkhana claimed democracy is not enough, so therefore the USG
has a "responsibility" to help in the creation of the province.
He called on the USG to provide security, develop the economy,
and help attract displaced Christians to move to the new
province. Betto requested a meeting with Ambassador Khalilzad
and a visit to State officials in Washington to discuss the
issue.

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KURDS TO ADMINISTER SUGGESTED NEW PROVINCE
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5. (C) APP reps said they would prefer the Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) administer the suggested new province. Poloff
asked APP reps how such an arrangement would work given that so
many other members of the Chaldo/Assyrian community claim to be
at odds with the Kurds in Ninewa. Betto said annexing eastern
Ninewa to Kurdistan makes sense, historically, since the "Kurds
have always had a tendency to protect us." He said he had
already spoken to KRG reps and received their "full support" for
the idea. Betto said rival Christian parties, such as ADM, "do
not represent the will of the people" by opposing the Kurds.
Poloff asked how Betto could draw such a conclusion given that
ADM received substantially more votes than Al Nahrain National
List in the national election. Betto admitted ADM has a strong
following but that they are "not working for the interests of
the people" on this issue.
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COMMENT: APP -- TOOL OF THE KURDS?
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6. (C) Although the idea of "Ninewa Plains" is not new (ref b),
the idea of a separate province or protected area shows the
desperation of several Ninewa Chaldo/Assyrian groups. This and
previous discussions with APP reveal how party officials have
not been able to look past their own shortcomings during the
last election and change gears to work within the fledging
democratic process in Iraq by engaging minority and other reps
in the national assembly, lobbying officials through political
organizations, or by telling their story to the press. They
also fear that the community will not win seats in provincial
elections later this year. For their part, the Kurds in Ninewa
would love nothing more than to have some sort of legitimate
reason to justify the annexation of eastern Ninewa to Iraqi
Kurdistan. Other Christian political parties, such as ADM and
Beth Nahrain Patriotic Union (the latter was a member of
coalition #752),would never agree to such an arrangement; and
given tensions between the Sunni Arabs and Kurds it is doubtful
Sunnis would sign off on the idea as well. In talks with
Poloff, ADM has accused APP and the Chaldean Patriotic Union of
being "fake parties," created by the Kurds to further divide the
Christian community. While these allegations are difficult to
prove they do illustrate how deep divisions are within the
community over the idea of a separate protected area. The idea
of Ninewa Plains does not begin to address the very real
problems of poor education, a lack of basic services such as
clean water and electricity, and security. Additionally,
allowing minorities to separate themselves from the rest of the
country only feeds further into Iraqi fears that the country
would disintegrate if Article 136 (Article 58 in the TAL) were
interpreted to allow for the creation of several separate
federal units.
MUNTER