NINEWA GOVERNOR ON FUEL SHORTAGE, ARAB-KURD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000884 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2017 TAGS: PGOV IZ SUBJECT: NINEWA GOVERNOR ON FUEL SHORTAGE, ARAB-KURD RELATIONS, AND ARTICLE 140 PROCESS Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Daniel Speckhard per 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Ninewa Governor Duraid Kashmoula told the Ambassador on March 8 that Ninewa is in dire need of fuel and asked the Ambassador to urge Iraq's neighbors to increase fuel imports. He said the Kurds are not taking over Mosul and it is the Sunni Arabs in the area who are causing problems. Kashmoula opined that provincial elections would be problematic until security improved and the issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs) was resolved. He thought that Article 140 would give some land to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and some to Mosul if it were implemented correctly. Kashmoula also noted he warned the PM that many guards at Badush Prison sympathized with terrorists well before the March 6 jailbreak there. END SUMMARY. -------------- Ninewa in Dire Need of Fuel -------------- ¶2. (C) Governor Kashmoula said Ninewa is in dire need of fuel. He said all of the government's efforts in reconstruction, agriculture, and security operations are frozen because there is not enough fuel in the province. Kashmoula added that electricity is almost always shut off. He said that citizens will not cooperate with the government if the government does not provide basic services. Kashmoula said he has spoken with multiple GOI officials, to include the Minister of Oil and Minister of Interior, but less than fifty percent of the problems has been solved. ¶3. (C) The Ambassador noted that Iraq was not receiving enough fuel imports as it needed and said he hoped the neighbors' conference on March 10 could establish a working group to examine the problems of fuel imports and electricity. The Ambassador also said the central government has put forward a new plan for securing the Bayji refinery and for securing oil pipelines with Coalition assistance. The results from this plan, however, will not be immediate. Kashmoula asked for US assistance in pressing Iraq's neighbors to increase their fuel exports to Iraq, but said he did not need assistance in resolving outstanding issues he had with the central government. -------------- Kashmoula Says Kurds Not Taking Over Mosul -------------- ¶4. (C) The Ambassador inquired about the relationship between the Kurds and Arabs, particularly near Mosul, saying he has heard different stories of who is at fault for the tensions between the groups. Kashmoula said he is a Sunni Arab but was going to speak honestly. He said Kurdish families have resettled into the villages they were forced to leave as part of Saddam Hussein's Arabization program. The fault, he continued, lies with the Sunni Arabs, who have settled in Mosul but act as if they have a right to the lands the Kurds reclaimed. Kashmoula said the Arabs are creating the problems, particularly the new politicians who are exploiting the situation and falsely claiming that the Kurds are taking over Mosul. Kashmoula said the Kurds were the only group who stood by the Provincial Council and him on November 11, 2004 when insurgents staged coordinated attacks on the city and many of Mosul,s police officers deserted their posts. Kashmoula stated that the Iraqi police and National Guard left, but the Kurdish forces set up checkpoints and controlled the roads to Mosul. He concluded by saying the Kurds have never interfered with his government. -------------- --- Security, IDPs Make Provincial Elections Unwise -------------- --- ¶5. (C) Kashmoula said that political parties in Ninewa know how much influence they have in the province and the smaller parties are spreading rumors to try to increase their popularity. He said that if security does not improve and the issue of IDPs is not resolved, he thought provincial elections would be an unwise idea. He clarified that he would want elections "today, rather than tomorrow," except that the issues of security and IDPs make elections problematic. -------------- Impact of Article 140 -------------- ¶6. (C) Kashmoula said that if Article 140 is implemented correctly, areas of Mosul will go to the KRG and areas of the KRG will go to Mosul. For example, he said Makhmour should go to the KRG, and three subdistricts of Shakan should go to Mosul because they lie outside the Green Line and yet are BAGHDAD 00000884 002 OF 002 currently part of the KRG. Kashmoula noted that there are two committees formed to deal with the Article 140 issue, one in Kirkuk and one in Sinjar. He said he was largely involved with the issue because it was something for the committees and the central government to deal with. -------------- Badush Prison Jailbreak -------------- ¶7. (C) The Ambasador inquired about the raid on March 6 at Badush Prison in Mosul that freed some 70 prisoners. Kashmoula said he told the central government about two months ago that approximately half of the guards at Badush Prison were infiltrated by terrorists. He said that he and the Provincial Police Chief (who was at the meeting with the Ambassador) gave the Director General for Prisons and the Prime Minister a list of names of guards they wanted transferred. The Ambassador said the Prime Minister had given these names to the Minister of Justice and is upset that the guards were not removed per his orders. Kashmoula responded that the PM is a good man, but his hands are tied and no one does what he says. SPECKHARD