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. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - THE UN AND PROSPECTS FOR NEGOTIATIONS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶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. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "NFL DESERVES LEADERSHIP POSITIONS" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶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 BAGHDAD 00001448 002 OF 003 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. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ALNUJAIFI: "KURDS USE FLAWED LOGIC," TAKE ADVANTAGE OF U.S. NEUTRALITY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶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. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "ARTICLE 140 MATTERS MUST BE DECIDED BY BAGHDAD" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶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. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A COALITION OF "HALF CRAZIES" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶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 BAGHDAD 00001448 003 OF 003 inability to bring economic development, improve the delivery of essential services and provide jobs. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CORRUPTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶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