NINEWA: KURDISH TACTICS ALIENATE SHIA SHABAK

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001446 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PHUM IZ SUBJECT: NINEWA: KURDISH TACTICS ALIENATE SHIA SHABAK Classified By: Classified by Ninewa PRT Leader Jason Hyland for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). This is a Ninewa Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) message. ¶1. (C/NF) A prominent leader of the minority Shia Shabak and Turkmen communities in eastern Ninewa's al Hamdaniya district said May 5 that heavy-handed Kurdish pressure in 2008 has solidified his constituency's opposition to joining the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) Provincial Council member Mohammad Ibrahim told Special Adviser for Northern Iraq Affairs Ambassador Thomas Krajeski and PRT Ninewa officers that the Kurdish prohibition of Arabic-language signs, ISCI exclusion from the provincial Article 140 committee, Kurdish over-representation on the Provincial Council and instances of violence between Shabak and formerly pro-Saddam Herki Kurds in Hamdaniya all contribute to the opposition to the Kurds. "The Kurdish Regional Government is being forced on Hamdaniya," he said. Ninewa ISCI chairman Abu Zainab did not defend the KRG, but said the region could still be a good option for the Shabak if the Kurds would protect minority rights. ¶2. (C/NF) Although Ibrahim is himself a Shia Turkmen, he is the most visible and vocal representative at the provincial level of Shia Shabak and Turkmen interests in al Hamdaniya. His anti-Kurdish views mirror the national level views of Dr. Hunayn Al-Qadu, a Shia Shabak COR member. Christians Pitch Autonomy within KRG -------------- ¶3. (C/NF) In a separate May 5 meeting with Ambassador Krajeski, a group of Assyrian Catholics from al Hamdaniya maintained their long-standing support for living autonomously within the KRG and presented for the first time their vision of what life under the Kurds would look like. George Naziya, head of the Chaldean-Assyrian-Syriac Council, described how his political bloc contains 10 smaller Christian political parties interested in joining the KRG. Naziya said the Council's proposal would be to create within the KRG an autonomous region connecting a thin ribbon of Christian villages in Ninewa's Tel Keif, Mosul and Hamdaniya districts. Under his proposal, the autonomous Christian region in the KRG would maintain ownership of oil reserves, establish its own autonomous cabinet and parliament, and receive a five percent slice of the GOI budget proportionate with what he claimed is the area,s percentage of Iraq,s total population. He said life under the KRG would be attractive because the Kurds offer minority rights and economic opportunities. The Assyrian Democratic Movement, which holds leadership positions in neighboring Tel Keif district, is not part of the Council, often voices its anti-Kurd sentiment and supports autonomy within Ninewa under Article 125. Comment: Cracks in al Hamdaniya's Support for KRG -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C/NF) The disposition of these minority groups, who comprise most of the Hamdaniya district of Ninewa province, is important as Hamdaniya may be one of the first districts UNAMI addresses under the Article 140/disputed internal boundaries process. Ibrahim's remarks reflect the antipathy for the Kurds among some of Hamdaniya's ethnic and religious minorities, who worry that current Kurdish intimidation foreshadows a restrictive life for minorities under the KRG. While the economic benefits of joining the KRG continue to appeal to Hamdaniya's Christian leaders, their proposed region may lack the political and economic foundation necessary for viable autonomy, and probably in its current form asks more than KRG or GOI leaders are willing to give. CROCKER