NINEWA ISLAMIC PARTY REPS CALL FOR PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS NOW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSUL 000020

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/22/2016
TAGS: PREL PINS PINT PGOV PHUM IZ MARR
SUBJECT: NINEWA ISLAMIC PARTY REPS CALL FOR PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS NOW


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



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SUMMARY
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1. (C). Ninewa Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) representative Younis
Hashim called for provincial elections immediately. He accused
the Kurds (which control the provincial government) of not doing
enough to address the lack of basic social services and improve
security in Mosul. Hashim said before there could be elections
in the province the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq
(IECI) office in Mosul would have to be rebuilt and its staff
more representative. He asked for an expanded role for
Coalition Forces with security, and participation by United
Nations observers. Hashim said IIP reps have been pushing for
the creation of community organizations to help address
shortcomings by the provincial government and police. He said
IIP, however, did not support private militias to address
security concerns. End Summary.


2. (SBU) PRT Poloff met with Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) Public
Affairs Director Younis Hashim and Assistant Faris Younis in
Mosul on February 19.

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PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS NOW
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3. (C) IIP public affairs director Hashim called for provincial
elections immediately. He claimed many problems in Ninewa,
especially among the Sunni Arab community, were the fault of the
Kurds that maintain power in the provincial government. Hashim
said over the past 10 days people in Mosul have gone without
gasoline and benzene. He said many streets, especially in
smaller villages outside of the city, have been washed out with
mud due to the heavy rainfall. Many Moslawis have lost faith in
the Iraqi Police (IP) to protect them, he said, because of a
"rise in kidnappings and extortions." Hashim claimed that
because basic services, such as electricity and water, were
lacking the gap in the public's confidence in government as an
institution has widened. He said "fraud and tampering" during
the national election contributed to the public's distrust in
the democratic process as a way to make life better in Iraq.

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CHANGES TO THE IECI, OBSERVERS, AND SECURITY
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4. (C) Hashim called for the dissolution of the Independent
Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) office in Mosul. He said
the current staff would have to be scrapped and replaced with
"locals" for better representation. He said improvements to
security were necessary and that Coalition Forces should play a
leading role to ensure voter safety and protection of polling
sites. Hashim also suggested that the United Nations send a
large team of observers to watch over the election process. He
said Iraqi observers alone were not enough to prevent
occurrences of fraud.

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SOLUTIONS TO SOCIAL WOES
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5. (C) Hashim claimed the current provincial council members
had chosen not to address problems because he said, "They know
their term is almost over." To help, Hashim said IIP was
pushing for the formation of community organizations where
people could anonymously report crimes and register complaints.
The organizations, in turn, would report the issues to the
provincial government and/or IP and conduct follow up. He said
such organizations could help build trust between the public and
government institutions. He claimed that IIP reps had done
similar work already. Hashim said economic problems needed to
be solved soon or security would worsen. Although he offered no
specific suggestions on how to improve the economy, Hashim said
new projects and steady salaries were important to keep young
people from engaging in nefarious activities.


6. (C) Hashim suggested that prominent persons in Mosul should
be allowed to carry weapons to better protect themselves. He
said the idea makes sense since the wealthy and well connected
are more likely to be targeted than the average citizen. He
said an unnamed IIP rep had recently approached Governor Duraid
Kashmoula about the issue. Younis claimed if more people were
carrying weapons terrorists and criminals would stop harming
them. Hashim said many Moslawis have asked IIP to start a

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militia to fill security gaps in the city. He replied, however,
that IIP did not support private militias and was working
aggressively to improve the IP and Iraqi Army (IA) instead.

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COMMENT
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7. (C) While Ninewa's poor economic conditions are tough to
ignore, Hashim and his local IIP colleagues appear to have a
good grasp on solutions to address the problem but no real plans
on how to do so. Their ideas to improve security, such as
Hashim's proposal that more people should carry weapons, seems
reactionary and fails to address the root causes of the issue.
Hashim and Younis directed a lot of their anger at the Kurds in
the provincial government as the reason for many of Ninewa's
woes. They said Kurdish flags in minority villages were causing
tensions and asked for USG and Coalition Force action to move
the Kurds back in line (septel). Hashim and Younis said IIP was
working with several other unnamed parties to put up the
strongest front possible for provincial elections set for later
this year to push the Kurds out of the control of Ninewa
politics. What is unknown is how much more effective IIP and
its coalition members could be if they happen to gain control of
the provincial government.
MUNTER