WHY SADR CITY MODERATES REMAIN INDISPENSIBLE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 002041 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2017 TAGS: PGOV PINS PINR ASEC KDEM IZ SUBJECT: WHY SADR CITY MODERATES REMAIN INDISPENSIBLE REF: A. BAGHDAD 1536 ¶B. BAGHDAD 1537 ¶C. BAGHDAD 1538 ¶D. BAGHDAD Classified By: ACTING POLCOUNS ROBERT GILCHRIST FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (S) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Heyder S. Zedan and Suaad A. Allami told poloff June 5 that the Sadr City District Advisory Council (DAC) and Office of the Martyr Sadr (OMS) rely upon moderate independents to register civil society organizations, write project proposals, draft legal contracts, and procure resources from the Ministry of Health. They also described how OMS illicitly profits from government contracts in Sadr City. In addition, they explained how the Sadrists expanded their control of Sadr City by intimidating and replacing the district's qa'im makams, or 'ward bosses.' Gradually, Sadrists achieved control over every political, service and administrative governance institution in Sadr City; however, they rely upon the professional expertise of non-Sadrists like Zedan and Allami to help them govern the district. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. -------------- MODERATES SUPERVISE NGOs IN SADR CITY -------------- ¶2. (S) Heyder S. Zedan and Suaad A. Allami, two leading, independent moderates on the Sadr DAC (Reftel A),told poloff June 5 that they supervise civil society organizations in Sadr City on behalf of OMS and the Sadr City DAC. "Other DAC members do not understand the NGO process," Allami said. "It's new and complicated." Through their leadership of the DAC Civil Society Committee (Reftel B),Allami and Zedan register civil society organizations in Sadr City. Allami and Zedan claimed to possess exclusive authority in Sadr City to conduct this registration process. The Provincial Council (PC) requires DACs to sign forms attesting to the legitimacy and independence of local NGOs. Without DAC approval, local NGOs cannot receive funding from the PC; nor can they access external, private funding sources, according to Allami and Zedan. ¶3. (S) As part of the NGO registration process, Allami and Zedan must verify the legitimacy of NGOs by confirming that the organizations exist, perform their stated function, and remain independent of political parties. Allami said that locals do not understand the concept of an independent civil society. She said that she explains to other DAC members and to Sadr City residents that based on CPA regulations, the norms of the international community and, most importantly, the expectations of major foreign donors, local NGOs must be independent of political parties. "We tell them they must be independent or they won't get money from donors, like international organizations or the U.N." In response, the DAC Civil Society Committee often hears the question, "How can we be independent?" Allami said she tells them that they cannot "follow the parties" if they want to receive money from donors. "I tell them, 'I know the donors, and they don't deal with party organizations.'" ¶4. (S) Allami and Zedan said that they retain their right to register NGOs in Sadr City, and their influence over Sadr City civil society organizations more generally, primarily because other DAC members and local NGO leaders believe that Allami and Zedan can help access donations from foreign benefactors. "None of the Sadrists," Allami said, "have the skills to write project proposals." Allami and Zedan claimed to draft project proposals for many Sadr City NGOs. They reported that Sadrists and their affiliated Islamist organizations do not know how to communicate or develop relationships with donors. Zedan and Allami currently seek to capitalize on their influential role by renting a building in Sadr City to provide office space for the district's NGOs. -------------- MODERATES PERFORM VITAL LEGAL FUNCTIONS -------------- ¶5. (S) Allami said that she has drafted major legal contracts and regulations for the Sadr City DAC. When a wireless phone company called "Association Baghdad Corporation" sought in January 2005 to provide wireless service to residents of Sadr City, Allami drew up the contract on behalf of the District Council. (NOTE: Allami reported that the "Sadry Iraq" contract, as it was called, fell through. END NOTE.) Allami also drafted the contract for the Souk Adakhal Market, established by Coalition Forces in 2005. She said that the contract ensured DAC control of the large building that houses the Adakhal market, which now earns the DAC 18 million Iraqi dinars per year in rent from BAGHDAD 00002041 002 OF 003 shop owners. Allami also said that when DAC members pose questions about procedures and rules -- such as the correct approach to members who frequently miss meetings -- they look to her for a decisive legal interpretation. In addition, Allami drafted the contracts and regulations for operating the DAC building's cafeteria, store, and offices. -------------- MODERATES PROCURE RESOURCES FROM THE MOH -------------- ¶6. (S) Zedan said that he serves the DAC by facilitating communication and cooperation with the Ministry of Health. Zedan asserted that even though Sadrists control the Ministry of Health, the institution does not collaborate effectively with the DAC or OMS in Sadr City. The DAC and MoH lack clear lines of authority and communication. "Who controls projects? What should the DAC supervise, and what should the MoH supervise?" Zedan said that the OMS and the DAC rely on him to develop effective working relationships with the MoH. Through this relationship, Zedan is expected to procure MoH resources and services for Sadr City. -------------- OMS CONTROLS CAPITAL PROJECTS IN SADR CITY -------------- ¶7. (S) According to Zedan and Allami, the OMS has over time assumed control of all capital-intensive public work projects in Sadr City. They reported that the Amanat currently channels through the OMS most of the GoI capital used for infrastructure development in their district. Between 2003 and 2005, they explained, the DAC scrutinized projects and maintained the power to approve or deny proposals. "The council served as a responsible face of the community," Zedan said, "and an authentic link to the government" of Iraq. Zedan and Allami claim to have had a productive relationship with the Amanat's Sadr City Director General. While the relationship remains "friendly," Zedan reported, the situation has changed dramatically: "Now the Amanat takes orders from the political parties, and from the Sadr Office." ¶8. (S) Change came in early 2005. Following his election to the Provincial Council in January of that year, Naeem Aboub Al-Kaby, a staunch Sadrist (Reftel A),began to interfere with the Amanat in Sadr City. Soon, leaders in OMS succeeded in appointing him as one of the two deputy directors of the Amanat -- a senior citywide position known as the 'Deputy Mayor.' In his position as Deputy Mayor of the Amanat, Al-Kaby initiated a simple procedure which he still employs today: whenever he receives a capital-intensive project proposal for Sadr City, Al-Kaby takes it directly to the OMS located in the district's Sector 14. ¶9. (S) Al-Kaby does not consult, Zedan and Allami explained, with the Amanat Director General in Sadr City, with the DAC, or with any other formal and informal organizations in Baghdad's most populous district. After receiving a proposal, OMS leaders select a contractor and take a percentage, up front, of the contract's value. The OMS profits from every GoI contract in Sadr City, Zedan and Allami said. They implied that Al-Kaby also receives a percentage, noting the rapid and conspicuous increase in his personal wealth. -------------- THE DAC STILL FORMALLY APPROVES PROJECTS -------------- ¶10. (S) Zedan and Allami explained indignantly that, according to CPA Order 71, the DAC is supposed to supervise the Amanat's work in Sadr City. The DAC must formally approve contracts through agreement among members -- or a vote, if necessary. The DAC Chairman is supposed to convey this approval in the form of his signature. Zedan and Allami report that the Sadrists continue to respect this regulatory process, even as they control its outcome. By installing their sympathizers on the DAC and by controlling the DAC Chair (Reftels A and B),Zedan and Allami said, the Sadrists ensure that their favored projects receive formal DAC approval. -------------- OMS CONTROLS SADR CITY QA'IM MAKAMS -------------- ¶11. (S) The Sadrists used threats and intimidation to take control of Sadr City's two qa'im makam positions, according to Zedan and Allami. The DAC, they said, initially played a role in selecting and supervising the district's qa'im makams, who play a role in supervising the district's service provision, hospitals, and the police. They said that CPA BAGHDAD 00002041 003 OF 003 Order 71 assigned the DAC a supervisory role, empowering DAC members to dismiss the qa'im makam when appropriate. ¶12. (S) Before the Sadrists controlled the majority of council members (Reftel A),the DAC selected two candidates to serve as the district's qa'im makams: Sheikh Rahim Sahood al-Duraji from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), and a lawyer named Jabar from the Dawa Party. (NOTE: Zedan and Allami did not recall Jabar's full name, or the precise date that the DAC selected these two candidates. END NOTE.) A local Jaish Al-Mahdi (JAM) commander, Hassan Kareem, communicated a direct threat to Jabar, who then resigned from the position. After Sadrists took control of the DAC, they appointed Kareem to replace Jabar. Three months ago, they said, JAM members shot Sheikh al-Duraji and seriously injured him; he no longer has influence in Sadr City's public affairs. ¶13. (S) According to Zedan and Allami, OMS has secured its control of all formal government institutions (Reftel D) in Sadr City. It dominates the district's essential services through the Amanat; the formal political institutions through the District and Neighborhood Councils; and administration through the qa'im makams. This political power, Zedan and Allami explained, followed upon JAM's domination of Sadr City through force. JAM now controls a relatively disciplined and formal system of 'block leaders,' by appointing a local JAM commander to control each of the district's 104 sectors. CROCKER