KIRKUK PRT: LION DAY MARKET-WALK RESTORES KIRKUK LEADERS

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 000581 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER IZ SUBJECT: KIRKUK PRT: LION DAY MARKET-WALK RESTORES KIRKUK LEADERS TO FORMER AQI TURF REF: 07 Baghdad 4008 ¶1. This is a PRT Kirkuk cable. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: The Kirkuk Brotherhood List (KBL) and the Arab Bloc continue to work together to identify mechanisms for the implementation of the last of the 13 points cited in the agreement between the two blocs that resulted in the Arab bloc's return to the Kirkuk Provincial Council (PC). To publicly demonstrate the agreement, provincial officials, the Governor, the Deputy Governor and the PC Chair toured the District seat of Hawija, an area in which AQI recently operated openly. The success of the recent Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) contracts there provided the opportunity for the visit, a demonstration of Kurdish-Arab unity. During the market-walk, local residents frequently appealed for the processing and release of detainees. End Summary. ¶3. (U) The KBL and the Arab Bloc continue to work together to identify mechanisms for the implementation of the last of the 13 points cited in the agreement between the two blocs that resulted in the Arab bloc's return to the Kirkuk PC (reftel). Meanwhile, the Turkman bloc continues its boycott of the PC. ¶4. (U) Provincial officials made two recent trips to Hawija District, a region primarily populated by al Jaburi Sunni tribesmen. Terrorists, particularly AQI, have been active there; the al Jaburis have strong ties with the insurgency. The PRT accompanied Governor Abduhl Rahman Mustafa, Deputy Governor Rakan Said, and PC Chairman Rizgar Ali on February 14 to the celebration of Lion Day, an Iraqi Army (IA) awards ceremony recognizing heroism in recent operations and celebrating last year's major defeat of insurgents in Hawija. The trip included a market walk and open-air tea social in a sidewalk cafe. Notably, the market street in Hawija was cleaner than similar markets in Kirkuk City. Another trip on February 12 involved the Provincial Director General of Health inspecting the Hawija hospital. The hospital has operated since 2005 without provincial oversight. The Director General identified many shortcomings that he plans to help address. ¶5. (U) No Governor had visited Hawija since 2002; no PC Chairman had visited the city since 1982. Only two months ago the city was considered too dangerous for the Hawijah Council to hold its weekly session there. The Hawijah Council has now decided to hold the majority of its sessions in Hawijah. Governor Mustafa, a Kurd, while not an explicit supporter of the CLC program, recognizes that the CLC contracts have been the basis for improved security in the District. ¶6. (U) During the walk, Hawija residents most often raised the issue of "illegally seized" detainees, some of whom they claim are being held outside the province in the Kurdish region. Hawijans cannot visit them as the KRG holds them in seclusion. Hawijans pressed the Provincial Leaders to negotiate their release and return. For those detainees held by ISF, Hawijans wanted them processed under the new amnesty law. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: The improving security situation is allowing more visits to an area once considered so "hot" that none of the provincial representatives would dare visit, nor would local officials hold Hawijah local council meetings in the district. Bring leadership figures to the people is helping to build confidence that their leaders are actually paying attention to the needs of the populace. High visibility market walks have also allowed the Arab population to see the Governor and the Provincial Council Chair, both Kurds, in public company with the new Arab bloc Deputy Governor. These public events demonstrate the ethnic unity emerging from the 13-point agreement. The increased attention from Provincial officials will increase pressure on the Turkman bloc to resume negotiations if they want to avoid losing out on the opportunity for changing resource-allocation priorities. The market-walk allowed the people to voice their concerns directly, increasing local public vesting with the Provincial government. Hawijans await the ratification of the amnesty law in order to defuse an inter-ethnic issue in a District where virtually every family has one or more relatives currently being held in custody. End Comment. CROCKER