THE JAFF TRIBE AND THE ROLE OF ITS LEADERSHIP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002753 SIPDIS SIPDIS UNCLASSIFIED SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR SOCI IZ IR SUBJECT: THE JAFF TRIBE AND THE ROLE OF ITS LEADERSHIP This is a Regional Reconstruction Team (RRT) Cable. ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The largest tribe in Sulaimaniyah Province of Iraqi Kurdistan is the Jaff Tribe. Its members are Kurdish and 95 percent Sunni. Jaff tribe leaders act as arbiters partaking in consultative relationships with the local community and government. The leaders are widely integrated in society and exercise their influence as professionals, officials in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), commanders of the armed forces, and business leaders. There are currently approximately one and half million members in the Jaff tribal emirate. END SUMMARY -------------- Background and Tribal Structure -------------- ¶2. (U) On May 19 and August 1, IPAO Mergy met with General Ahmed Muhammad Gharib, General Commander for Border Guards, Sulaimaniyah Province, Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement. General Gharib is one of 54 leaders of the Jaff tribe, the largest tribe in Sulaimaniyah. The Jaff Tribe is considered a tribal emirate. ¶3. (U) Note: The Jaff tribal emirate is a union of several tribes, clans (a group of families),and sects ruled by the Jaff elite (the Begzadas) or emirs. Tribe members are bonded by a real or imagined kinship with the leaders and their descendants. The last prominent ranking Jaff tribe leader was Al-Amir Sardar Beg Jaff, first son of Dawood Beg Jaff, who ruled over the Jwanrood clan of the Jaff tribal emirate. Sardar Jaff was an Iranian Kurd, a civil servent trained in law, and had collaborated with Mullah Mostafa Barzani and later Jalal Talabani. Sardar Jaff died in 2005. Contemporary Jaff tribal leaders are distinguished individuals of the various emirate units who resolve conflicts, provide guidance, and promote the well-being of the community. There is no ranking leader or strict hierarchy among current Jaff leaders. However, some tribe members contest the authority of certain leaders because they believe they are working for the PUK not for the tribe. End Note. ¶4. (U) General Ahmed told IPAO that Jaff tribal emirate members are 95% Sunni and Kurdish with a small minority of Zoroastrians. He said 60 percent of the one and half million Jaff members live in Iran and 40 percent are in Iraq. In Iraq, they reside in the areas of Sulaimaniyah, Diyala and Kirkuk. The small towns of Kalar and Halabja in Sulaimaniyah Province are considered the provincial center of the Jaff tribal leaders. In Iran, the Jaff tribe is concentrated in the provinces of Karmansha and Sinna. Since the first half of the Twentieth Century, the Jaff tribe has evolved and moved from a nomadic life to a settled existence. The members became more educated and migrated to northern Sulaimaniyah and urban areas such as Erbil and Baghdad. -------------- Tribal Leaders' Influence and Decision Making -------------- ¶5. (U) Jaff tribal leaders, General Ahmed explained, are professional, officials in the KRG, members of the two dominant political parties -- the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)--, and members of the armed forces and big business. For instance, Judge Rizgar who oversaw the trial of Saddam Hussein, is a Jaff tribe member. The General explained that Jaff leaders work for the government, not for the Jaff tribe. Although they have informal influence, he continued, the leaders do not have a separate communication line to the KRG political leadership. General Ahmed compared the current role of a tribal leader to an arbiter engaged in a consultative relationship with the local community and government entities. ¶6. (U) According to General Ahmed, Jaff leaders resolve social issues first within the tribe or clan and then approach the local government for confirmation. For instance, the leaders decide on the level of compensation for the family of a murder victim. General Ahmed affirmed that in the case of a dispute between the Jaff leadership decision and the law, the latter would prevail. He also mentioned the need to refer some cases to the KRG "Social Office" which is open to all tribes for resolving social and criminal problems. (Note: The "Social Office" is run out of the KRG Presidential Office of Massoud Barzani. The large tribes, including the Jaff tribe, have a representative there to present their interests.) ¶7. (U) General Ahmed contrasted decision making in the Kurdish Jaff tribe with that in an Arab tribe. He said that Arab tribal leaders are the sole decision makers and operate without a veto mechanism whereas Jaff tribal leaders work in a leadership committee to reach a decision. -------------- Other Tribal Traits -------------- BAGHDAD 00002753 002 OF 002 ¶8. (U) The Jaff tribe members have no restrictions on marriage with individuals outside the Jaff tribe as long as the families accept the decision. General Ahmed said the Jaff tribe does not practice polygamy. ¶9. (U) Other activities organized by Jaff tribal leaders include sports events, festivals, the Jaff cultural center in Sulaimaniyah city, and a magazine publication. (Note: Some Jaff tribe members consider the cultural center a PUK controlled center used to keep in check and monitor the Jaff tribe.) ¶10. (SBU) COMMENT: The Jaff tribe emirate members do not form a separate political party but are widely integrated in Iraqi Kurdistan and have influence in their roles as professionals, PUK or KDP party members, military commanders, and business leaders. Its leaders have roles as arbiters, advisors, modernizers, and protectors of a cultural heritage rather than an oppositional force in Iraqi Kurdish politics. As the centralized regional government developed, tribes, and especially their leaders, reacted by promoting collaboration. They carved out a mediatory role of the traditional community within the government framework and the two-party (KDP and PUK) system.