NINEWA AND ERBIL GOVERNORS MEET IN MOSUL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001536

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2019
TAGS: PGOV IZ PINR PINS KISL TU
SUBJECT: NINEWA AND ERBIL GOVERNORS MEET IN MOSUL

REF: BAGHDAD 1448

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Robert S. Ford for reasons 1.4(b
) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: During his May 31 visit to Mosul (reftel),
the Ambassador called on local Arab and Kurdish political
leaders to address their differences through dialogue. The
Embassy, Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Ninewa,
Regional Reconstruction Team (RRT) Erbil, and Multinational
Division - North (MND-N) have worked together to actively
encourage such dialogue in northern Iraq. In view of the
impasse in Mosul between the mostly Arab Al-Hadba Party and
the mostly Kurdish Ninewa Fraternal List (NFL),we
facilitated an alternative channel of Arab-Kurd political
dialogue between the governors of Ninewa and Erbil that
resulted in a remarkable meeting in Mosul between Gov. Atheel
Alnujaifi (Ninewa) and Gov. Nawzad Hadi (Erbil) on June 6.
While conflict-seekers - both Arab and Kurd - remain active,
the establishment of political talks between leaders of
neighboring provinces with a history of commercial and
cultural ties contributes to our broader strategy of reducing
Arab-Kurd tensions in Iraq. End Summary.


2. (C) During recent conversations with senior officials in
the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Ninewa, MND-N BG
Brown planted the idea of a governor-to-governor meeting to
discuss bilateral issues between Erbil and Mosul. Both sides
agreed, and on June 6 Ninewa Governor Alnujaifi met Erbil
Governor Hadi at Mosul airport. Neither side insisted on
pre-conditions for the meeting, or a specific agenda. MND-N
facilitated the transportation of Governor Hadi to Ninewa,
and the Peshmerga Liaison officer at the Ninewa Operations
Command (NOC) secured KRG President Masoud Barzani's approval
of Hadi's participation in a meeting with Alnujaifi. The
Ninewa Vice Governor of the Al-Hadba party accompanied
Alnujaifi, but all military aides left the room (and
continued security-related discussions in the adjoining
room).


3. (C) The Embassy's Senior Advisor for Northern Iraq
Affairs Vrooman joined the governors' discussion toward the
end, at their request, for a wrap-up on the results of their
bilateral meeting. In the words of Vice Governor Feisal, the
meeting broke the ice between these political leaders, helped
to remove fears held by both sides, and established a good
personal relationship between the governors. Governor
Alnujaifi echoed this sentiment, stressing that it would be
important for both leaders to use this channel as a means of
building better understanding between Arabs and Kurds. It
would take a lot of effort, but, given time, Alnujaifi said
he was hopeful that his professed goal of coexistence could
be realized. All issues were now on the table, and the two
parties were now better aware of each other's positions on a
wide range of economic, trade, cultural and political issues.



4. (C) The governors agreed to hold future meetings, as
their discussions had not resulted in immediate solutions and
would require more time. Alnujaifi expressed his hope that
Hadi would come back to spend time in Mosul as Alnujaifi's
guest, and Hadi offered Erbil as a venue for a future
meeting. Vrooman asked what their public line would be on
the meeting, and the governors said they had agreed that they
would state that all issues were on the table, and that
dialogue had been fruitful and would continue. More
importantly, both governors agreed that there was a need for
calm and a halt in negative rhetoric from Arab and Kurdish
leaders, as this would only make conditions for resolving
Qleaders, as this would only make conditions for resolving
Disputed Internal Boundaries (DIBS) issues more difficult.
(Note: The commitments of these provincial leaders did not
prevent a Deputy Speaker of the COR, KDP member Aref Tayfor,
from reportedly demanding the division of Ninewa Province in
two - one part for the Kurds, one for the Arabs. This
outburst incensed many Arab parliamentarians, who have called
for Tayfor's resignation.)

--------------
Northern Iraqis Discuss Neighbors
--------------


5. (C) Much of the discussion in which emboff participated
concerned the role of Iraq's neighbors rather than provincial
politics. Alnujaifi and Hadi shared their analysis of
political developments within Turkey, and the significance of
the changes brought by the AKP. They further agreed in
principle that Islam and politics should be kept separate,
and assessed that even though Erdogan was an Islamist, his
policies reflected that separation of religion and politics.
What was notable about Turkey's evolution was that Erdogan
appeared much more in touch with his people than previous
leaders had been, they asserted. Both governors attributed

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this to Erdogan's Islamist (Muslim Brotherhood) worldview of
influencing society from the bottom up. Alnujaifi
acknowledged to Hadi the challenges he faced in dealing with
Islamists (and their more extremist brethren) in Ninewa, and
asked whether Islamists in Kurdistan would make further
inroads in the upcoming KRG elections.

--------------
Hadi on KRG Internal Politics
--------------


6. (C) Hadi assessed that Nawshirwan Mustafa's candidacy and
his "Change" list would eat into the Kurdistan Islamic Union
(KIU) constituency in Sulaimaniya, and that even with its
alliances with other small, non-Islamist parties, the KIU
would not bring in more than ten percent of the seats in the
KRG parliament. Hadi thought the KDP-PUK alliance would win
65-70 seats, and that Nawshirwan's Change list could garner
as many as twenty. Interestingly, both governors thought
this result would be good for the KRG - i.e. it would create
the possibility of a loyal (non-Islamist) opposition.
Alnujaifi noted that the KDP-PUK had had a lock on KRG
politics for a long time, and a (non-threatening) opposition
would be healthful. Hadi did not think that Nawshirwan's
candidacy would threaten Talabani, as the two men had
different objectives. Talabani wished to remain a regional
and national leader, whose interests included relations
between Iraq and its neighbors as well as relations between
the KRG and Baghdad. Hadi said Nawshirwan's heart lies in
Sulaimaniya, and that he hoped to cement his political power
in that province during the provincial elections that follow
KRG elections.

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POSTSCRIPT ON MOSUL RECEPTION
AND THE PRESIDENT'S CAIRO SPEECH
--------------


7. (C) Vrooman noted that the new Ambassador's first two
visits outside of Baghdad had been to Erbil and Mosul, and
asked Alnujaifi for his assessment of the impact of the May
31 reception hosted by the Ambassador at the Mosul Museum.
Alnujaifi said he had sounded out several circles of
Moslawis, and all of them had underscored what a milestone it
had been to hear the Governor and the Ambassador express
pride and respect for Iraq's culture and history. This,
Alnujaifi hoped, would help the province and the country turn
a new page. In a similar vein, both governors applauded
President Obama's Cairo speech for its tone and his outreach
to Muslims, and believed that this had come at a particularly
timely moment in U.S.-Iraqi relations.

HILL