BABIL TRIBAL SUPPORT COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS ISCI/DAWA

C O N F I D E N T I A L HILLAH 000077

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR IZ
SUBJECT: BABIL TRIBAL SUPPORT COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS ISCI/DAWA
DIFFERENCES

REF: A) HILLAH 00075; B) HILLAH 00076

CLASSIFIED BY: Kenneth Hillas, PRT Leader, Babil PRT, Dept of
State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (SBU) On September 12, the Babil Tribal Support Council held
its founding congress at the Artists Hall in al-Hillah. The
head of the Prime Minister Maliki's Babil tribal support council
initiative, Sheikh Salih Kashif al-Gittah, and the Prime
Minister's senior tribal advisor, Dr. Abood al-Essawi, were both
in attendance. There was considerable security in the area and
Governor Salim (ISCI) organized a demonstration at the site in
opposition, according to several sources. The protest was brief
but not violent and did not affect the congress.


2. (C) According to a senior sheikh, the Governor called all the
Provincial Directors General (DG),except for the DG of
Education, and threatened to have fired any employee who
attended the council meeting. He also called the Director of
the Artists Hall and pressured him (unsuccessfully) to cancel
the lease of the hall, which had been arranged by Da'wa
provincial party leader Ali Jabbur (aka Abu Ahmed al-Basri).


3. (C) Sheikh Salih Kashif al-Gittah, who is a religious figure
but was dressed in sheikh attire, officially opened the congress
and reminded the attendees the tribal support council was not a
substitute for the central and local governmental authorities.
Sheikh Abood al-Essawi also reminded those present that the
tribal peoples who will be engaged the tribal support councils
had proven their worth in North Babil, as well as Diyala and
most of all al-Anbar. He went on to say that tribes who joined
in this process could play a key role in stabilizing security,
and that the tribal support council thus offered a better chance
for displaced Iraqis to return home. Sheikh Abood added that
although the sheikhs would serve without pay there was a promise
that projects and services would be initiated in their villages.
The sheikhs in attendance included: Ameer Getran al-Saghiir for
the Khafaji; Majid al-Hazzah, the head sheikh of the
al-Ma'ameran; Ali Abbass of the al-Janabi tribe in Iskanderiyah;
Khalil Abood of the al-Janabi from al-Hillah; Abdullah
al-Shimmery of the Shammar Tribe; Fakhri Mansoor al-Khafaji of
the Khafaji tribe; Manfi Kareem Abbass of the Jobour (Sunni
faction); Magtoof al-Abbass of the al-Abbass tribe in western
al-Hillah city; and An al-Shinan of the Tufail tribe.


4. (C) Comment: The sheiks in attendance represent the the
prominent tribes in Babil, Including the al-Joubor (both Sunni
and Shiite),the al-Janabi (both factions) , the Jehaish
(Sunni),the al- Ma'amerah (Shiite though most live in north
Babil),the Khafaja (Shiite),the Massoud (Shiite though mostly
in northern Babil),the al-Taai (Shiite) and the al-Azzah
(Shiite),giving this tribal council a non-sectarian character
and added legitimacy. Whether ISCI can be accommodated to this
TSC could affect the risk of future violence in the province as
provincial elections loom over the horizon. Like the ISCI
leadership in Baghdad, Governor Salim views the provincial
tribal council as an effort by Da'wa to extend its influence in
the rural areas and make inroads into ISCI's political base.

SIGNATURE