NEW COR MEMBER FOCUSES ON ROLE OF SPORTS IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003610

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/24/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR IR IZ
SUBJECT: NEW COR MEMBER FOCUSES ON ROLE OF SPORTS IN
UNIFYING IRAQ, CONCERNED ABOUT TAWAFUQ AND IRAN

Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Ellen Germain for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)


1. (C) The newest member of the Council of Representatives
(CoR),Ahmed Rathi (IIP/Tawafuq),was installed by the
Tawafuq bloc after one of its own, Abdul Nasir al-Janabi
(Sunni, National Dialogue Conference) bolted from the CoR,
saying he was leaving to "join the insurgency." Rathi, a
popular and well-known soccer player, shared with PolOffs on
October 22 his hopes and plans for his new job, which include
joining the CoR Committee on Youth and Sports in order to
improve relations with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and
Iraq's Olympic Committee. He believes sports is an effective
vehicle for breaking through sectarian barriers and is a
unifying force in Iraq. He complained that only Shia regions
are receiving governmental assistance with sports - an
imbalance he seeks to redress. He believes Tawafuq's
withdraw has reduced the bloc's power, and worries about
Iranian influence in the country. End summary.

AHMED RATHI REPLACES RESIGNED COR MEMBER
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2. (C) Ahmed Rathi (IIP/Tawafuq) recently replaced Abdul
Nasir al-Janabi (National Dialogue Conference) in the CoR,
and was sworn in on October 8. In early October, Janabi
announced his resignation from the CoR in order to join the
insurgency. The CoR subsequently voted for approval of his
resignation on October 3, with loss of financial and other
privileges. (Note: Speaker Mahmoud Mashadani, who is from
the same party as Janabi, reportedly opposed the replacement
of Ahmed Rathi in Janabi's position since Rathi is with the
Iraq Islamic Party (IIP) of the Tawafuq bloc. However,
Mashadani was out of the country during the CoR discussions
on this issue. End note).


3. (C) Ahmed Rathi is a famous soccer player, known
throughout Iraq by sports fans. He told PolOffs there is too
much sectarianism in the CoR. He made a previous
unsuccessful bid to join the CoR on an IIP list, and up to
now has been resident with his family in Jordan. He added
that he expects to join the CoR Committee on Youth and Sports
as part of his responsibilities, but noted there must be a
CoR vote on the issue. He would like to improve relations
between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the CoR's
committee during his tenure. He raised the kidnapping of
Ahmed al-Samarri, the Head of the Iraqi Olympic Committee in
July 2006 as an example of the extent of sectarian problems
in Iraq.

COR COMMITTEE/MINISTRY RELATIONSHIP
--------------


4. (C) Rathi said there is a tenuous relationship between the
Ministry of Youth and Sports and CoR Committee that he
believes can be improved. The current Minister of Youth and
Sports, Jasim Muhammad Jafar (UIA-Shia) is reportedly not
very experienced in the sports field and relies on Basil Abd
al-Mahdi, his senior advisor, on many issues. (Note: Basil
is VP Adil Abd al-Mahdi's brother. Jasim was also the former
Minister of Housing and Construction in the Iraqi
Transitional Government (ITG). End note). Rathi claims
there are no Sunnis at the ministry (sic). If he is voted by
the other CoR members to join the committee, he would like to
help influence funding of the ministry's budget, which is
approximately $35 million.

YOUTH AND SPORTS CAN UNIFY IRAQ
--------------


5. (C) Regarding the current political situation in Iraq,
Rathi said "there is not much to be hopeful." He said he
wants to see cooperation between Sunnis and Shias in the CoR
and GOI. He believes sports can be a uniting force. Rathi's
priorities for his work include legislation and influencing
the budget to increase the number of stadiums and sports
clubs in the provinces. He added that "providing youth with
opportunities in sports is a way to keep them from joining
the insurgency." (Note: There are reportedly 300 sports
clubs in Iraq, all publicly funded given the lack of a
private sector in Iraq. End note).

TAWAFUQ WITHDRAW, IRAN, ANBAR SHEIKHS
--------------


6. (C) On the Tawafuq withdrawal from the GOI, Rathi offered
he does not completely agree with this decision. He said the
Sunnis right now are outside the decisionmaking process and
VP Hashimi and others Tawafuq senior members are losing their
power. He said, "it is better for the Sunnis to participate
and work towards a solution, which is a better position from
which to deal with the Maliki government." However, when

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asked who from the Sunni side could lead such an effort, he
responded "there are no new people."


7. (C) Rathi is also very concerned about the overwhelming
influence of Iran in Iraq. He said "there needs to be more
balance." He added that Iran is creating problems for both
Shia and Sunnis and influencing the government too much.
Regarding the Anbar Awakening Council, he does not think
Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha or others will be able to extend their
influence beyond the Anbar province.

BIO NOTE
--------------


8. (C) Ahmed Rathi's family is originally from Basrah, but he
was born in Baghdad and attended the University of Baghdad.
He spent the last two and half years in Jordan, and his wife
and three daughters remain there due to the security
situation. He is a famous soccer player known throughout
Iraq. He played soccer most of his life, but left Baghdad in

2004. He speaks some functional English, but prefers to
speak in Arabic. He is well-educated and comes across as a
moderate IIP/Tawafuq member.
BUTENIS