NAJAF AND DIWANIYAH PROVINICAL ROUNDUP

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 HILLAH 000055 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/13/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR IZ SUBJECT: NAJAF AND DIWANIYAH PROVINICAL ROUNDUP REF: (A) HILLAH 54 (B) HILLAH 51 HILLAH 00000055 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Mark G. Davison, Team Leader, Provincial Reconstruction Team, DOS. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (U) This is a PRT Najaf/Diwaniyah cable. Mark G. Davison, Leader. SUMMARY ¶2. (S) Local sources have provided some details regarding an April 11 raid on the main office of the Sadrist movement in Diwaniyah during the ongoing security operation. Local journalists are reportedly complaining regarding access to the area of operations. According to one NGO, quoting a doctor at the main hospital, emergency services are also experiencing difficulties regarding access and are short of supplies. Apparently responding to the Prime Minister's statements in Tokyo, Muqtada al-Sadr may be under pressure, both from the security operation and a perceived lack of impact of the recent demonstration, and this could make for a more dangerous climate in the two provinces. End Summary. FURTHER ASPECTS EMERGE ON SECURITY OPERATION ¶3. (C) As stated in the caveat of Ref (A),while other sources are no doubt reporting regarding the ongoing security operation in Diwaniyah, it may continue to be useful to convey some aspects of events, as coming to us from PRT Diwaniyah locally engaged staff: Raid on Sadrist Movement Office -- Iraqi Security Forces with Coalition support conducted a raid of the main office of the Sadrist movement in downtown Diwaniyah on April 11, 2007. The raid was based on intelligence information regarding suspected terrorist activity coming from the office itself; -- Iraqi security forces report finding in the office: -Hand grenades and materials for making explosive charges; -Suspicious identification cards and hand-held communications equipment; -Anti-government propaganda, as well as photographs of injured security forces and damaged security vehicles. Journalists Complain Regarding Access -- According to our sources, Iraqi journalists are intent on covering the security operation and have complained that they are being barred from areas of confrontation within the city of Diwaniyah; -- The journalists claim that they must rely exclusively on press conferences arranged by the security forces within secure locations; -- Apparently, two journalists who were intent on entering the area of operations were only dissuaded by the IA checkpoint guards firing their weapons in the air. One journalist was from the newspaper, al-Sabaah; the other from the TV channel al-Forat and inaccurate claims that they had come to harm circulated in the province. Impact on the Life of the City Security is reportedly still very tight at the outskirts to the city, with checkpoints there still closed to the general traveling public. Only emergency vehicles are allowed access. Governmental departments and offices, as well as all schools remain closed as of April 11. With restricted traffic, prices of foodstuffs and the general market basket are rising. NGO REPORTS SHORTAGES IN EMERGENCY HEALTH CARE SUPPLIES ¶4. (C) While we are not able to corroborate details, the NGO Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance has issued its own report on Diwaniyah, dated April 11: Begin text: Health workers in Diwaniyah, Qadisiyah Province, indicate that a week of fighting between US-Iraqi forces and Shia militiamen has brought the city to the brink of a quote, real humanitarian catastrophe, unquote. Aid agencies and doctors are demanding they be given access to the city's population. Quote, We cannot send our ambulances in to collect dead bodies or the wounded from the streets. And we are running out of essential medical items such as pain killer tablets, IV fluids, anesthesia, suture HILLAH 00000055 002.2 OF 002 kits, antiseptic, bandages and cotton, unquote, said Dr. Kamal Hussein of the city's general hospital. End text. MUQTADA AL-SADR HAS HIS SAY ¶5. (C) We have again received, through our Najaf channels, a published proclamation of Muqtada al-Sadr, apparently responding to the statements made in Tokyo of Iraq's Prime Minister regarding continuing Coalition presence. Our source is in no doubt regarding the proclamation's authenticity, and we note that the paper is once again stamped with Muqtada al-Sadr's Persian script cartouche. For brevity's sake we have omitted the references to the Koran and have somewhat synopsized the message: Begin informal, edited translation: In the name of God. God bless all the protesters in Najaf, when you stood as a united wall against the invasion and screamed quote, Out, Out Invasion, unquote. Your voices remain important to us as long as you reject that which is wrong, follow that which is right, and love Iraq. We are not like those, particularly he who reached a position of authority, who demanded your voice when he needed that voice during elections and then ignored that same voice, along with your opinions and your demands. Did you hear the head of government stating that it was meaningless to schedule the invasion's withdrawal? Where does that leave your statement, made from the multitudes that walked to Najaf, and where does that leave their voices, demanding the withdrawal? Where does that leave you, with your Iraqi flags raised in protest, filling the sky? And where does that leave you, the head of government, who from the Iraqi people have reached the position you are now in? Do you listen to the voice of the people, only when you choose to, and ignore it when you do not wish to hear? You (e.g. the Prime Minister) are oppressing the nation and what your claims are in conflict with the Hawza (e.g. Shia religious authorities) as well as the political entities. I stand on the verge of hopelessness: -- do I congratulate this great nation for their mass demonstration, or shall I merely pity your illogical and illegal statements? Shall I let everyone know that similar statements might force me and the believers with me, who politically resist the invasion, to take other actions? End translation COMMENT -- A DANGEROUS MIX ¶6. (S) In conversations with local contacts, it is clear that the continuing pressure on the Sadrist Mahdi militia in neighboring Diwaniyah province, combined with Muqtada Al-Sadr's frustration, as expressed to his provincial supporters, creates a dangerous mix. While I am only one observer, with albeit limited contacts, the potential for a more violent reaction than heretofore in the two provinces remains an ever-present danger. DAVISON