PRT TIKRIT: DE-BAATHIFICATION CONTINUES TO PLAGUE

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002435 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR ECON IZ SUBJECT: PRT TIKRIT: DE-BAATHIFICATION CONTINUES TO PLAGUE SALAH AD DIN ¶1. (U) This is a PRT Tikrit, Salah ad Din cable. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY. Salah ad Din's continued receipt of de- Baathification orders to remove individuals with ties to the former regime from their government positions, many of which it has chosen to ignore, is eroding the central GOI's influence in the province and causing many of SaD Sunnis to question if the GOI wants to incorporate former members of the Baath Party in Iraq's new democracy. On July 9, 11 more Tikrit professors who were low-level Baath Party members received debaathification orders. The University removed them from their positions, though maintains them as lecturers due to a lack of qualified replacements. Additionally, the Higher National De-Baathification Commission continues to attempt to remove key provincial government officials, many of whom are participating in the democratic process and working to reconstruct the province. Thus far, the Governor has ignored these orders, recognizing the political sensitivities and potentially disastrous effects. While the effects of de-Baathification are most obvious with the unemployment it has caused throughout the province, most SaD Sunnis see it as a psychological symbol of what they perceive to be a Shia- dominated government's rejection of their participation in the political process. In the eyes of SaD Sunnis, political reconciliation hangs almost exclusively on the reformation of the de-Baathification regulations. END SUMMARY. -------------- 11 More Professors De-Baathified -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On July 9, 11 more Tikrit University professors who were low-level Baath Party members received debaathification orders. The University immediately removed them from their positions, as many of them were heads of departments, but has continued employing them as lecturers due to a lack of qualified replacements. Counting those recently issued de-Baathification orders, 28 of the university's professors now have been removed from their positions. ¶4. (SBU) Since late 2006, the Higher National De- Baathification Commision (HNDBC) has had a reactive method of sending de-Baathification orders. For instance, the Commission only investigates an individual's former Baathist ties after it receives a tip or after it "remembers" an individual may have been a Baathist. SaD residents have felt this technique makes the process uneven and opaque. Several high-level SaD government officials, including the Deputy Governor and the Assistant Governor for Technical Affairs, received de-Baathification orders during this time. The Governor chose not to enact them for fear of the effect on the province's reconstruction efforts. ¶5. (SBU) The provincial office of the HNDBC reports that over 200 teachers, 86 healthcare professionals, 4 judges, 330 police officers, and hundreds of other local government technocrats are still among those who have fully submitted their files to be re-hired to their positions. To date, the province has not received a response on most of those cases. (NOTE: Approximately 300 teachers who received de- Ba'athification orders were re-hired in January. However, the DG of Education says that he is not sure why some were re-hired and others were not. He claims that 200 more qualify to be re-hired. END NOTE.) -------------- Comment -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In the eyes of SaD Sunnis, political reconciliation hangs almost exclusively on the reformation of the HNDBC and its regulations. While de-Baathification is most tangible for the unemployment it has caused in the province, most SaD Sunnis see it as a psychological symbol of what they perceive to be a Shia-dominated government's rejection of their participation in the political process. Salah ad Din's continued receipt of de-baathification orders, many of which it has chosen to ignore, is eroding the central GOI's influence in the province and causing many of SaD Sunnis to question if the GOI wants to incorporate former members of the Baath Party in Iraq's new democracy. END COMMENT. ¶7. (U) For additional reporting from PRT Tikrit, Salah ad Din, please see our SIPRNET Reporting Blog: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Tikrit. CROCKER