NINEWA: AMBASSADOR HILL MEETS GOVERNOR AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 001448

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: NINEWA: AMBASSADOR HILL MEETS GOVERNOR AND
BOYCOTTING KURDISH LIST COUNCIL MEMBERS

REF: BAGHDAD 1033

Classified By: PRT Leader Alex Laskaris; reasons 1.4b/d


1. (C) Summary. Ambassador Hill made his first visit to
Mosul, meeting the governor, Provincial Council Chairman, and
boycotting members of the Kurdish list. During the one-day
visit, the Ambassador also hosted a reception at the Mosul
Museum, paying homage to Ninewa,s rich history, and greeting
a wide range of government and civil society figures. The
Ambassador stressed the important role the UN will play in
negotiations concerning Disputed Internal Boundaries (DIBS)
and encouraged both sides to work closely with UNAMI.

2. (C) Summary Continued: Al-Hadba ) Gathering (AHG) leader
and Ninewa Governor Atheel Alnujaifi said that decisions on
Article 140 matters are not up to him but are the purview of
the Baghdad government. Alnujaifi also took considerable
time to explain the tensions within his core constituency and
how ongoing corruption in the province threatens to deraQNQHQ#Y,fQ8N7Q9Qlead
to a civil war. According to Goran, &dark forces,8
including the Ba,ath party and international Islamic
extremists such as Al-Qaida, control the AHG. These same
forces are pushing the retrograde policies of excluding the
NFL from the provincial government,s leadership which are
designed to marginalize and exclude the Kurds from power. In
addition, according to Goran, the AHG has close ties to
Amman, Damascus and Ankara. Furthermore, Goran said that the
visit of AHG PC members to Ankara so soon after their
election raised questions as to where their allegiances lie.
Qelection raised questions as to where their allegiances lie.
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THE UN AND PROSPECTS FOR NEGOTIATIONS
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5. (C) Ambassador told Goran that the UN,s DIBs reports and
mediation efforts will form an important foundation for an
eventual negotiated settlement and that the US will encourage
both sides to work closely with the UN. With regard to the
immediate impasse over the allocation of leadership positions
within the provincial government, the Ambassador asked if
negotiation with the AHG were possible. The Ambassador said
that he understood all of the Kurds, grievances in Ninewa
and why they felt entitled to some of the leadership
positions in the provincial government. The NFL,s continued
boycott of the Provincial Council (reftel),however, was
beginning to look like non-participation in a democratically
elected government, the Ambassador said. He added that it is
not as important that the NFL and the AHG agree on any issue
at this point. Rather, getting the two sides in the same
room was the first and most important step and attending
Provincial Council meetings is a vehicle to do so.
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"NFL DESERVES LEADERSHIP POSITIONS"
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6. (C) Goran said that the NFL did want to participate in the
provincial government as evidenced by their attending the
first provincial council session. In fact, Goran said, the

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NFL could play a constructive role by promoting the
provincial government,s development plans in areas of Ninewa
that want nothing to do with Alnujaifi and the AHG.
Unfortunately, according to Goran, the AHG soon made it
apparent that they wanted to revive the policies of the old
regime by excluding the Kurds from a share of the key power
positions in the province. The AHG,s insistence on a policy
of exclusion is what is driving the Kurdish boycott because
it is disenfranchising the hundreds of thousands of people
who voted for the NFL, Goran said.

7. (C) Goran acknowledged the Sunni Arabs make up a majority
of the province and that the Sunni Arabs won a majority of
the seats in the provincial elections. Yet, Goran said, Iraq
is at a point in its development where it needs cooperation,
coordination, and coalition in its government. Perhaps in
10-12 years Iraq will be ready for a simple
&majority-minority system,8 but at this time the political
situation is still too unstable for the type of majority rule
that the AHG is trying to impose.
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ALNUJAIFI: "KURDS USE FLAWED LOGIC," TAKE ADVANTAGE OF U.S.
NEUTRALITY
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8. (C) Alnujaifi opened by saying that he wants the NFL to
participate in the provincial government and the PC.
Alnujaifi said, however, that he rejects the NFL,s logic
which insists on representation in the provincial
government,s leadership due to its large electoral support
while at the same time its supporters threaten to secede in
the areas that comprise the overwhelming core of the NFL,s
support. LTG Jacoby noted that the US military,s role was
to prevent violence from breaking out, so as to give the
political leadership the opportunity to forge lasting
solutions. Alnujaifi responded that Irbil uses the threat of
Arab-Kurd violence as a means of influencing CF policy and of
forestalling demands that it allow the democratically-elected
government to extend its writ into areas of Ninewa under de
facto KRG control. More generally, the Governor added that
the Kurds seek to keep an exclusive hold on areas and region
that they control, while maintaining a role in provincial and
national decision-making.
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"ARTICLE 140 MATTERS MUST BE DECIDED BY BAGHDAD"
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9. (C) Alnujaifi went on to say that the decision on how to
deal with Article 140 areas is not a provincial question.
Rather, Alnujaifi said that the final dispensation of the
Article 140 areas must be decided by the Prime Minister and
the Council of Representatives in Baghdad. Alnujaifi also
said that he will accept whatever decisions are made by the
national government. Alnujaifi also said he was open to a
referendum on the Article 140 areas, although he added the
caveat that the freedom of political expression must be
improved in those areas before such an exercise could be
credible or meaningful. Until the national government makes
a decision, however, the Ninewa provincial government must be
the only legitimate government for all areas within the
administrative boundaries of Ninewa province, Alnujaifi said.


10. (C) The Ambassador said the beginning of a dialogue with
the NFL, especially in the PC, would go a long way in easing
the tensions in the province, including the disputed areas.
The Ambassador also said that the UN was playing an
increasingly important role in helping the Iraqi government
Qincreasingly important role in helping the Iraqi government
delineate internal boundaries and that engagement and
cooperation with the UN was the best way to find a lasting
solution. LTG Jacoby added that now is the time to take
advantage of all the hard work US and Iraq security forces
have done by building effective civil institutions which are
inclusive. The Ambassador asked Alnujaifi what he thought
the prospects are for negotiations with the NFL. Alnujaifi
said he doubted there would be any flexibility in the NFL,s
position until after KRG elections are complete.
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A COALITION OF "HALF CRAZIES"
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11. (C) Alnujaifi went on to explain the difference between
the Kurds in Ninewa and the AHG. According to Alnujaifi, the
Kurds have a highly organized political and military support
system whereas the AHG is supported by &half-crazies8 who
could leave his coalition at any time. The biggest danger to
security and stability in the province, Alnujaifi said, is
losing the support of the groups who only returned to the
political process because they hoped AHG could make a change
in the province. Alnujaifi said that the groups who joined
the political process by supporting AHG in the last elections
could easily abandon the political process again, as they did
during the previous six years when the province was
mismanaged by the previous ruling KDP-led coalition, if these
groups become discouraged by the provincial government,s

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inability to bring economic development, improve the delivery
of essential services and provide jobs.
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CORRUPTION
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12. (C) Corruption is currently the number one reason the new
provincial government has been slow to demonstrate improved
governance, Alnujaifi said. According to Alnujaifi,
corruption in Ninewa takes the form of many local actors who
became rich and powerful during the last six years and are
now using their influence 46QQhQQ"!QQAmbassador had a pull-aside with Tal
Kayf Mayor Basim Belo, one of two Christian district mayors,
and also met Yezidi and Shebak representatives.
HILL