PRT DIYALA: KURDS AND SUNNIS CLAIM GOI SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002837 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2018 TAGS: POL PINS PHUM MOPS IZ SUBJECT: PRT DIYALA: KURDS AND SUNNIS CLAIM GOI SECURITY OPERATIONS UNFAIRLY TARGET THEM REF: BAGHDAD 2759 Classified By: Political Affairs Minister-Counselor Robert S. Ford for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is a PRT Diyala reporting cable. Summary -------------- ¶2. (C) Top Kurdish and Sunni political leaders in Diyala view the recent security operations in the province (Operation Benevolent Diyala) as a GOI sectarian campaign designed to suppress Kurdish and Sunni participation in the upcoming provincial elections. Sunni contacts have told us that arrests of Sunni political leaders and their staff sidelined the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP),the Sons of Iraq (SOI),and other Sunni groups during the recent voter registration period, which ended August 28. PRT Rule of Law team has confirmed that about a thousand were arrested and all were Sunnis. Kurdish party leaders were not arrested, but claim they were threatened by Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) several days before the Khanaqin demonstration on August 26. Sunni political leaders charged that ISF raids during Operation Benevolent Diyala raised public fears and prevented many from venturing outside their neighborhoods to register to vote. Widespread Sunni and Kurdish perceptions of injustices committed by ISF could negatively impact the upcoming provincial elections in Diyala. End Summary. Sunni Charges of GOI Election Tampering -------------- ¶3. (C) Diyala Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) Chairman Hamdi, Provincial Council member and Sons of Iraq (SOI) Leader Dr. Hussein al-Zubaidi, Deputy Governor Auwf, and other IIP leaders have repeatedly complained that Operation Benevolent Diyala, launched by Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) on July 27, has been a sectarian campaign orchestrated to ensure that Shi'a retain political control of Diyala Province. They charge that since the province is majority Sunni (estimates range between 50-70 percent),Shi'a political parties can only win the next election by disenfranchising Sunnis. ¶4. (C) The ISF's occupation of the Diyala Governorate Election office in Baqubah for over a week at the start of security operations raised additional Sunni suspicion of GOI intent to tamper with the elections. Sunnis have expressed concern that the ISF took over voter registration offices in several cities, including Muqdadiyah, which have large Sunni populations. However, when asked, Amer Latif Majeed, the Diyala Governorate Election Official (GEO),conceded that he had seen no sign of ISF tampering with the records. ¶5. (C) Deputy Governor Auwf told us that security operations had prevented Sunni leaders from assisting Sunni voters to register and had intimidated the Sunni public, especially following the August 19 ISF raid on the Diyala Governance Center and the Provincial Council chambers. He charged that the GOI was waging a campaign to deprive Sunni voters of their rights. According to the Diyala Sunni leadership, ISF arrested 80-85 Sunni political party officials during the recent security operations, in addition to a number of politically active SOI leaders. They also alleged that political party records were seized. Auwf and Diyala IIP Chair Hamdi believe that Sunni success in the next elections will depend on how many first time Sunni voters register to vote, including large numbers of returning internally displaced persons (IDPs). ¶6. (C) GEO Amer Latif Majeed told us August 25 that voter registration in Diyala has been dismal (only about 135,000), which is less than 30 percent of the projected total expected to register. He said Sunni political parties have not participated in the registration process. Amer also remarked that voter registration was extremely low in areas where Operation Benevolent Diyala was conducted. He noted that most of those who registered were men, which contrasted with previous elections where women voters registered in similar numbers to those of male voters. According to Amer, only 1,653 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have registered to vote. He said this was particularly low given the province has approximately 25,000 registered IDP families. According to Director General (DG) of Migration, Mohammed Bajellan, and Governor Ra'ad, the number of IDPs in Diyala may be three times as high as the numbers registered. (Embassy Note: The voter registration update period began July 15. Diyala has had some of the highest turnout at voter registration centers, trailing only Anbar and Ninewa in total number of visitors. Voter registration in Iraq is a passive system; if one's name is on the Public Distribution System (PDS) list - Iraq's rations database - then one is registered to vote. In BAGHDAD 00002837 002 OF 002 addition, one family member may check the voter registry for the entire family, thus a turnout of 135,000 could reflect as many as 400,000 names being reviewed. End Note.) Kurds Fear They are the Next Target -------------- ¶7. (C) Provincial Council Chairman Ibrahim Bajellan (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) told us that one reason the Kurds demonstrated on August 26 was to protest ISF threats against Kurdish parties if they did not close their offices in Diyala (reftel). Bajellan added the Kurds also were suspicious of ISF raids on Sunni political parties during which the ISF allegedly seized records and materials. ¶8. (C) Precise statistics on whom and how many people were arrested during Operation Benevolent Diyala (also known as Glad Tidings of Benevolence) have been difficult to obtain; however, the total briefed by the Diyala Police Operations Center to provincial officials at the end of August was 1,164. According to Deputy Governor Auwf (Sunni),the Iraqi Police (IP) began arresting Sunnis over a week prior to the start of the operation. Auwf had learned in mid-July that he was about to be arrested and quickly arranged to appear before a judge in Muqdadiyah to have the charges dismissed. ¶9. (C) According to Sunni provincial officials, the ISF provided contradictory data on the number of arrests to Governor Ra'ad and other provincial officials. They charge that after the first week, although the ISF had told CF that less than 50 individuals had been detained, the ISF had informed Governor Ra,ad al Tamimi (Shi'a independent) and other provincial officials that 189 wanted individuals were in detention. Gov Ra'ad also told the PRT that the wanted list included 1,200 names, which had been whittled down from an original wanted list of 6,000. Based on reports we received from several jails and visits by the PRT,s Rule of Law team to detention facilities, we confirmed that slightly over 1,000 individuals were arrested, many of whom were released during the last week of August. The Rule of Law team reported all individuals in the detention facilities they visited up until the last week in August were Sunnis. Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) Diyala governorate matters in part because its mix of Sunni Arab, Shi'a, and Kurd is a miniature of the country. Peaceful coexistence can happen elsewhere in Iraq if it can happen in Diyala. Iraqi military officials have declared the recent security operations in Diyala a success, citing the noticeable reduction in violence and detention of most of the wanted individuals. However, our Sunni and Kurdish contacts have expressed strong reservations about ISF conduct, accusing the GOI of promoting a sectarian agenda, including targeting primarily Sunnis in the province and attempting to disenfranchise Sunnis and Kurds in the upcoming elections. Our sense is that the campaign may have targeted mainly Sunnis, and when the Embassy DCM raised this question with a top aide to the Prime Minister, that official made no effort to deny it. The accusations that the arrests intimidated the voter registration are less evident, especially given the passive registration already in place and the relatively high number of new registrations in Diyala. That said, the perceived injustices among Sunnis and Kurds, if not addressed, have the potential to create political and security problems in the next provincial elections. End Comment. BUTENIS