NINEWA CHRISTIANS DISCUSS NINEVEH PLAIN GOALS WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000135 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2018 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV EAID KIRF IZ SUBJECT: NINEWA CHRISTIANS DISCUSS NINEVEH PLAIN GOALS WITH CODEL WOLF REF: 07 BAGHDAD 3488 Classified By: DEPUTY POLITICAL COUNSELOR ELLEN GERMAIN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) At the Ninewa PRT, Christian leaders representing parties including the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM) and the Assyrian Patriotic Party (APP) expressed general consensus to CODEL Wolf (Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PA)) January 3 on forming a Christian, self-governed area in the Nineveh Plain -- while acknowledging there were different visions for implementing self-governance. (Note: The ADM party in June 2007 released a statement calling their right to establish a self-administered unit in the Nineveh Plain a part of "executing and practicing Article 125 of the Constititution." Article 125 of the Iraqi Constitution outlines the guarantee of "the administrative, political, cultural, and educational rights of the various nationalities, such as Turkomen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, and all other constituents." End note.) They told the CODEL there was no consensus among the at least 28 different Christian political parties in Iraq on whether a self-governed area should fall under the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) authority or report to the central government. One ADM representative complained that Kurdish tribes had appropriated a lot of Christian land within the Kurdistan Region. (Comment: The ADM has envisioned an autonomously administered Christian region reporting to the central government, while the APP has supported the idea of Christian self-governance under KRG authority. End Comment.) ¶2. (C) The leaders, including Basim Bello, Chairman of the ADM and the Mayor of Tel Kaif District in northern Ninewa, and Ninewa Provincial Council (PC) members Evlin Anwar Oraha (ADM) and Basima Isa Sulayman of the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP),a third ADM representative, and two APP members argued the Ninewa Provincial Council (PC) -- rather than other institutions like churches -- should decide how to spend the 10 million dollars in aid that the U.S. Congress has earmarked for assisting religious minorities in the Nineveh Plain area. They noted that 4 out of 41 members of the Ninewa PC were Christian, and there were also many Christian representatives in the local District Advisory Councils who had experience with distributing aid. (Comment: Iraqi Christian religious leaders have publicly expressed skepticism regarding plans to create an autonomously administered Christian region, arguing that Christians should be able to live amongst Muslims, without being isolated in one area. Therefore, Christian political leaders sometimes represent a different "Christian" agenda than religious leaders and would likely want to avoid empowering the churches by distributing aid through them. End comment.) Rep. Wolf told the leaders that they should provide their inputs to PRT Ninewa and U.S. officials who would coordinate the assistance. ¶3. (C) The CODEL solicited the leaders' specific anecdotes about anti-Christian persecution. The leaders did not provide such anecdotes, but rather focused on communicating their concerns about the rise of nationalism within regions, political disunity amongst Christians, the demographic impact of continued Iraqi Christian emigration, and the Islamic basis for laws and the Constitution. For example, Mayor Bello complained that minorities living in Ninewa had been deprived of their political rights since Iraq was established and they hope for self rule in both Ninewa and in the Kurdistan Region where there are approximately 120 Christian villages. Rep. Wolf told the leaders he hoped that U.S. assistance would start building mechanisms for solutions; however, the assistance itself would not resolve the issues they raised. Rep. Wolf also expressed his support for creating a State Department point-person to monitor the Christians' situation, noting this would be an individual the Christian communities could reach out to in order to ensure their concerns are heard. ¶4. (U) CODEL Wolf did not have an opportunity to clear this cable. CROCKER