NINEWA: KDP VICE GOVERNOR VISITS PROMINENT SHAMMAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004156

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV PBTS PREL KDEM PHUM MARR IZ
SUBJECT: NINEWA: KDP VICE GOVERNOR VISITS PROMINENT SHAMMAR
SHEIKH

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Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Greg D'elia for reasons 1.4
(b,d).

This is a Ninewa Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) message.

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Summary
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1. (C/REL AUS, GBR, CAN) Ninewa Vice Governor and provincial
Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) leader Khasro Goran fielded
complaints December 17 from local tribal leaders in a rare
visit to prominent Shammar sheikh Abdullah Al Yawr's house.
The Shammar, a politically and economically powerful Arab
tribe, complained of harassment by Kurdish security forces
and discrimination by Kurdish provincial officials, and
condemned potential efforts to divide the province (a
reference to Article 140). Goran listened to the Arab
leaders' grievances, responded that the Kurds want equal
rights for all groups and warned of deteriorating provincial
security. The meeting produced no new agreements but marked
a useful opening for dialogue between the two groups. End
summary.

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Shammar Feel Oppressed, Want Unified Ninewa
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2. (C/REL AUS, GBR, CAN) Goran on December 17 visited
Abdullah's house near Rabi'a for the first time since 2004.
Speaking for a group of 40 prominent Shammar leaders,
Abdullah said his tribe felt oppressed, ignored and
discriminated against by the Kurdish-dominated Provincial
Government in Mosul. He called for Ninewa to remain unified,
with Kurds living peacefully with Arabs. If the "Kurdish
parties" were not willing to agree to a fair settlement that
maintained Ninewa's integrity and the rights of Arabs,
Abdullah said the province's Arab population would break
Kurdish control "like a rock smashing a glass." Individual
Shammar complaints included the Iraqi Army's arrest in Ninewa
of Sunni Arabs who were allegedly detained in Kurdish areas,
lack of local services, prohibitions on sick Arabs receiving
treatment in Kurdish hospitals, and encroachment of Kurdish
security forces into Arab areas.

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Kurds Were Victims Before, but Say They Seek Justice
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3. (C/REL AUS, GBR, CAN) Goran listened to Abdullah's
complaints, as well as the specific allegations of Kurdish
mistreatment of individual Shammari, before laying out his
own vision for Kurdish-Arab relations in Ninewa. Goran said
that, although the Kurds were victims of Saddam-era
injustices, they sought equal rights for all groups in a
peaceful, transparent, and modern Iraq. He said Barzani
ordered him to restrain Kurdish encroachment in any form.
"If someone forces you to open a Kurdish school in your
village, come cut my head off," Goran said.

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Violence Mentioned, but Motivations Differ
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4. (C/REL AUS, GBR, CAN) Both Goran and Abdullah referred to
the possibility of violence in the province. Goran said
Kurds would fight to leave Iraq if their rights were not
protected, in contrast to Abdullah's threat to use violence
to maintain Arab rights in a unified Iraq. While the men
agreed ethnic and racial issues were not driving Kurdish-Arab
tensions in the region, Goran said the primary issue facing
Ninewa is provincial security. Abdullah disagreed, stating
that the biggest potential driver of violence was an attempt
to break the integrity of Ninewa province (a clear allusion
to implementation of Article 140 in the region). Goran
concluded by extending an invitation to Abdullah to meet
Kurdish Regional Government Prime Minister Massoud Barzani
for talks on developing a cooperative relationship between
Kurds and Arabs.

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Comment
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5. (C/REL AUS, GBR, CAN) Although neither Goran nor Abdullah
seemed fully comfortable in the meeting, both were happy to
publicize it among their own communities. Despite Goran's
initial reluctance to attend this meeting, he brought along

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Kurdish media representatives. Similarly, Abdullah chose to
speak in front of his tribesmen. Both men referred to
earlier eras of better Kurdish-Arab ties and mutual
assistance. It is unlikely that direct political movement
will come from the meeting, but it reinforced the Provincial
Government's willingness to listen to its citizens and set
the stage for continued dialogue between Kurds and Arabs over
security, minority rights and disputed territories.
CROCKER