SOUTH ANGRY WITH KURDS ABOUT KIRKUK, ELECTIONS LAW

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002575 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL IR IZ SUBJECT: SOUTH ANGRY WITH KURDS ABOUT KIRKUK, ELECTIONS LAW Classified By: Senior Advisor Gordon Gray for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) In meetings with Senior Advisor Gordon Gray August 5-7, leaders in Babil and Najaf expressed disgust with Kurdish actions related to the provincial elections law, especially the July 31 vote by the Kirkuk Provincial Council (PC) threatening annexation to the Kurdistan region (KRG). Both Shi'a and Sunnis stated in no uncertain terms that Kirkuk must remain part of Iraq. ISCI provincial and municipal leaders in both provinces went out of their way to criticize the Kurds despite the party's long-time alliance with the PUK. Tribal leaders in Babil were especially strident in their remarks. Moves toward southern regional formation -- an option favored by some in Basra -- were not mentioned by interlocutors in the Middle Euphrates region. End summary. ISCI rank and file not happy -------------- ¶2. (C) While meeting on August 5 with Najaf PC Chairman Abdul Hussein Moussawi and eight of his fellow PC members, Gray heard consistent, unsolicited criticism of Kurdish activities on the provincial election law. Most mentioned Kirkuk as their first priority, before pressing regional issues such as electricity and water production. All but one of the PC members were either ISCI/Badr members, or (as in the case of Moussawi) independents closely affiliated with the province's ISCI governor and/or deputy governor. Moussawi asked the U.S. to "stick with the Iraqi government and uphold the constitution." PC member Sheikh Fayid said,"people in Najaf think the Kurds are asking for too much. They think they're trying to form their own country with U.S. support. This needs to be addressed." ¶3. (C) In a forum the following day at FOB Iskandariyah (Babil),Mussayib city council chairman and ISCI member Jawad Qadim Jabbar reiterated these concerns to Gray. When poloff asked about ISCI's decision to vote with the Kurds in the Council of Representatives on the provincial elections law on July 22, Jabbar shook his head and said of the Kurds: "They (mis)used their relationship with the Shi'a. This is not a working relationship." A recent convert to ISCI, Jabbar added that he did not understand well how the ISCI and Dawa leadership coordinate with Kurds in Baghdad. Tribal response -------------- ¶4. (C) In the mixed Sunni-Shi'a region of North Babil, tribal leaders were especially pointed in their criticisms of the Kurds. Sheikh Sabbah Khafaji, chairman of the Iskandariyah city council (and a Sunni leader of the mixed Sunni-Shi'a Khafaji tribe) said during a June 7 meeting with Gray, "Kirkuk is Kurdish and Turkomen and Sunni. And it is part of Iraq." Another sheikh on the city council, wearing Shi'a head dress, upped the ante by saying, "We will fight for Kirkuk. We will march up to Kirkuk if we have to." In a meeting with Gray later that day, leading sheikhs from the Janabi party sent Gray the same message. They added that the primarily Sunni Janabi tribe is helping organize a movement to unite Sunni and Shi'a tribes of Southern and Central Iraq for the upcoming provincial elections. When asked by poloff if the Sunni and Shi'a tribes had made any overtures to Kurdish tribes, the sheikh was confused as to why the question was even asked. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) Recent actions by the Kurds have awakened nationalist feelings throughout the Middle Euphrates. It is difficult to assess whether the grassroots ISCI dissatisfaction will have any effect on the party's leadership decisions concerning the ISCI-Kurdish alliance, but party officials at various levels will feel compelled to make their differences with the Kurds public to be viable candidates for office. The strong reaction by Sunni and Shi'a tribal leaders indicates that, if the burgeoning movement to organize politically along Arab tribal lines is successful at the provincial and eventually national level, their representatives from the Middle Euphrates will be much more confrontational with the Kurds. End comment. CROCKER