Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BAGHDAD2041
2007-06-20 17:48:00
SECRET
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

WHY SADR CITY MODERATES REMAIN INDISPENSIBLE

Tags:  PGOV PINS PINR ASEC KDEM IZ 
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VZCZCXRO0926
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2041/01 1711748
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 201748Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1804
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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).

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