FADHILA AND THE REGIONS LAW: DRINKING FROM THEIR

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000930

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL IZ
SUBJECT: FADHILA AND THE REGIONS LAW: DRINKING FROM THEIR
OWN SOUP BOWL

REF: BAGHDAD 000872

Classified By: PolCouns Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C) In a meeting on March 25, 2008 at the Council of
Representatives (COR),Fadhila Bloc member Dr. Basim
al-Hechaimi gave a detailed overview of his party's strategy
for the eventual creation of a Basrah federal region.
When the Regions Law goes into effect next month, Fadhila
expects ISCI to make the first move in attempting to
transform one or more of the 9 predominantly Shia provinces
of southern Iraq into a region. In several provinces, ISCI
could easily muster the necessary 1/3 of the members of the
provincial council to submit an application to the central
government. However, the Fadhila bloc believes that if this
matter is sent to the Iraqi High Electoral Commission (IHEC)
for review, IHEC will remand it to the Supreme Judicial
Council. If this happens, Fadhila believes ISCI's initiative
will be declared unconstitutional, since the recently passed
Provincial Powers Law calls for new provincial council
elections by October 1. Therefore, any attempt by the
currently sitting provincial councils to declare a new
federal region would be declared null and void by the
judicial system, which would effectively end ISCI's attempt
to create what Dr. Basim coined a "Greater Southern Republic
of Hakim." Stating that "Iraqis may eat from a communal
table, but they drink from their own soup bowl, as they would
rather spill their soup on their own shirts than on their
neighbors," Dr. Basim aptly summarized Fadhila's
unwillingness to use Basrah's oil wealth to subsidize the
other southern provinces in a nine province ISCI-dominated
'super' region. He hinted that in the aftermath of provincial
elections, Fadhila would be well-positioned to declare
Basrah a federal region.

CROCKER