PRT DIYALA: PRE-ELECTION POWER GRAB SUSPECTED -

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002130

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/08/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PINR KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: PRT DIYALA: PRE-ELECTION POWER GRAB SUSPECTED -
ALLEGED ILLEGAL REMOVAL OF DIYALA OFFICIAL

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Classified By: PRT Team Leader George White for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is a PRT Diyala reporting cable.

Summary
--------------


2. (C) Sunni members of Diyala's Provincial Council (PC)
have informed PRT officials that Shi'a politicians in the
town of Hib Hib illegally forced a City Council vote last
week to oust the Mudiyar (City Manager) from office with the
intent of strengthening Shi'a control in this area prior to
the provincial elections scheduled for later this year. They
charge that Shi'a party officials and associates intimidated
members of the City Council into voting to replace the
current Sunni Mudiyar with a Shi'a Dawa Party loyalist. Hib
Hib is located in Khalis Qada (district) and lies north of
the provincial capital Baqubah. It is majority Sunni
(perhaps as high as 80 percent); however, the City Council is
dominated by Shi'a. Removal of the Mudiyar could inflame
sectarian differences in an area which was previously a
stronghold of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). Clarification of a
Council of Representative interpretation of law and resulting
directive that prohibits removal of officials from district
and sub-district government positions in the run up to
elections will be necessary before a resolution can be
reached on this sensitive subject. End Summary.

Hib Hib City Council Votes Under Pressure to Oust Mudiyar
-------------- --------------


3. (C) On July 2, the Hib Hib City Council was reportedly
forced to hold a vote to remove the Mudiyar (City Manager)
under threat of violence against City Council Chairman Salem
Al Zaidi. Hib Hib is located in the Khalis Qada (district)
located north of the provincial capital Baqubah. The
Mudiyar, Amer Mutab Ubaydi, had been accused of allegedly
engaging in nefarious activities supporting AQI.


4. (C) Hib Hib City Council members later decided to
exonerate Amer from these charges in exchange for his
resignation from his position as city manager and decided to
allow his return to his position as a city council member.
Amer vehemently denied any association with AQI and insisted
there should be an independent investigation to clear his
name of those charges. The city council is comprised of 12
Shi'a members and four Sunni members.

Diyala PC Launches Investigation
--------------


5. (C) The Diyala Provincial Council (PC) initiated an
investigation into the removal of Amer this week after
members of the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) decried the
move as unconstitutional and filed a complaint with the Iraqi
Council of Representatives (CoR). IIP members tell us they
are in possession of a letter drafted by the Council of
Representatives (CoR) Committee on Provinces and Territories
dated 21 June which states that neither the PC nor district
or sub-district councils have the authority to change or
shift any official who holds a district and sub-district
(Qada or Nahiya level) administrative position ahead of the
elections.


6. (C) Upon seeing the letter, Diyala Governor Raad
dismissed it as invalid since, he argued, it was signed by
the deputy Chairman of the CoR committee; according to the
directive, the Governor told us, only the committee's
chairman has the right to "interpret the law." The IIP
members with whom the PRT spoke argued that this letter was
in response to a letter disseminated over a month ago which
provided the same directive but on a national scale.

Local Sheikh Joins Sectarian Fray
--------------


7. (C) IIP PC members claimed that a prominent sheikh from
the area, Khalid Salman Ahmed Al Qesi, is behind Amer's
removal, and is seeking to replace him with his brother,
Yareb Salman Ahmed Al Qesi, who recently returned from two
years abroad in Syria. According to IIP members with whom
the PRT has spoken, Yareb has no qualifications for the job,
nor does he meet the residency requirements to become the new
Mudiyar.

IP Used to Intimidate City Council Members
--------------


8. (C) PC official and IIP member Dr. Hussein Al Zubaidi
told us that General Ghanem Al-Quraishi, the Shi'a Provincial
Director of Police (PDOP),assigned a 30-member personal

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security detail (PSD) comprised of Iraqi Police (IP) to
Sheikh Khalid, a move highly unusual for an individual with
no official role in the provincial government. Zubaidi
claims that Sheikh Khalid, who is reportedly a former Saddam
henchman, is using his PSD to intimidate city council members
to help the Dawa Party. Zubaidi also accused Sheikh Khalid
of having ties to insurgent groups and their activities,
including planting IEDs along routes used by Coalition Forces
(CF).

Next Steps ) Governor Raad
--------------


9. (C) Governor Raad met with the Qa'm Maqam Khalis Qada -
the administrator of Khalis district in which the city Hib
Hib is located ) on July 6 to discuss this situation. The
Governor suggested that Amer be placed on administrative
leave until a full investigation can be conducted. The PC
has formed an investigative committee comprised of two
lawyers, Ali Mahmoud and Karam Al Madawi, and one PC member,
Taha Aziz, who represent Shi'a, Kurdish and Sunni (IIP)
members. They traveled to Hib Hib on July 7 to meet with
council members. Their findings will be presented during the
PC's regular weekly meeting on July 9.

Comment
--------------


10. (C) In Khalis Qada (district),there is great
sensitivity to the impact that any unchecked stacking of the
district and sub-district level councils could have on the
legitimacy of the provincial elections in this strategic
location in the Sunni Triangle. The CoR's Committee on
Provinces and Territories has weighed in with its
"interpretation" of the law and has called for a freeze on
any further removals until provincial elections are
conducted; however, tensions could escalate if Sunni,
Kurdish, and Shi'a political parties in Hib Hib and other
Khalis towns ignore the CoR's "interpretation" and directive
and continue to jockey for additional positions on district
and sub-district councils. End Comment.
CROCKER