CHRISTIAN ACTIVIST: GRATIFIED THE "U.S. IS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002738 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2018 TAGS: KIRF PGOV PHUM SOCI IZ SUBJECT: CHRISTIAN ACTIVIST: GRATIFIED THE "U.S. IS THINKING ABOUT US" REF: BAGHDAD 1552 Classified By: Special Advisor for Northern Iraq Affairs Thomas C. Krajeski for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Asserting that intra-Iraqi Christian discord is the result of political competition between church leaders, CoR Speaker Mashadani's human rights advisor urged the USG to engage with nonpolitical lay people. She complained that the government was not providing adequate assistance to Christian refugee returnees in Dahuk, but praised the successful efforts to enroll Christian recruits in the Iraqi police. She lamented that KRG PM Barzani has not responded to her offer to establish a "council of minorities," and welcomed S/I Krajeski's offer to raise the issue with Barzani during his upcoming visit to Erbil. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Meeting with Senior Advisor for Northern Iraq Affairs (S/A) Krajeski and poloff on August 18, Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM) member and human rights advisor to Council of Representatives (CoR) Speaker Mashadani Pascale Warda highlighted the difficulties of Christian refugees returning to Dahuk Province only to find that their property has been occupied by Kurds. She claimed this was happening in a systematic fashion, and that the authorities are not providing adequate assistance to help the returnees regain their property. She alleged incidences of Kurdish and Arab oppression of Christians in other areas, including the villages of Khabur and Chakalha in Dahuk, which she claimed had been "taken over" from Christian populations. Christians who have attempted to return, including a group who planted 800 apple trees to reestablish an orchard, have been refused the right to work the land, she said. ¶3. (C) On a more positive note, Warda applauded the recent success in enrolling Christian recruits in the Iraqi Police (IP). S/A Krajeski presented statistics indicating that some 800 Christians have applied for positions and that 250 Christian recruits are being trained. (Note: The IP have reported that many Christian applicants are not eligible due to their age or illiteracy, and that they are having difficulty finding more applicants for the positions that remain available. End Note.) ¶4. (C) Warda reiterated complaints she has previously made to Embassy officials that both KRG PM Nechrivan Barzani and the GOI are ignoring the plight of Iraqi Christians (reftel). Specifically, Warda said Barzani has not responded to her letter, sent in November 2007 and resent five additional times since then, proposing formation of a "council of minorities" to address Christian issues in Iraq. S/A Krajeski, noting that he planned to visit Erbil on August 24, offered to present Warda's letter to PM Barzani. He also agreed with her on the importance of working closely with activists from Christian and other minority groups in Iraq to develop a more powerful base for advocacy. ¶5. (C) Warda thanked S/A Krajeski for his assistance with PM Barzani, and for the Embassy's engagement with and assistance to Iraq's Christian and other minorities. She underscored her desire to work with the Embassy on strategies to enhance the development of civil society and minority rights in Iraq. "For the first time, the United States is thinking about others (Iraqi minorities)." She noted that the apparent schisms between the various Christian sects in Iraq are caused by church leaders (ordained officials),and urged the USG to engage with lay-people, who do not have an interest in playing one sect off another for political advantage. She also pointed out that she does not consider Christians to be a "minority," as they are "the original people of Iraq." ¶6. (C) Responding to S/A Karjeski, Warda neither endorsed nor rejected the concept of an autonomous region for Iraqi Christians. "There are issues bigger than that," she said. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: Warda's receptiveness to the suggestion that she and the leaders of other minority groups, including Yazidis, Mandeans and others, coalesce into an advocacy group that can pressure the Government of Iraq is good news. Our view is that the issue of minority rights can be best addressed collectively rather than focusing on the situation of specific groups. We have put Warda in touch with the International Institute for Law and Human Rights, a State Department funded NGO operating in Baghdad, in order to facilitate such coordination. BUTENIS