PRT KIRKUK:MOI DIRECTS KIRKUK POLICE TO HIRE 241

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000471 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2024 TAGS: PGOV IZ SUBJECT: PRT KIRKUK:MOI DIRECTS KIRKUK POLICE TO HIRE 241 RECRUITS FROM DAWA PARTY REF: BAGHDAD 428 Classified By: PRT Kirkuk Leader Howard Keegan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). This is a PRT KIRKUK reporting cable. ¶1. (C) Summary. On February 17, Kirkuk Provincial Council Acting Chair Ali Salihi convened a press conference to denounce the official Ministry of Interior (MoI) directive ordering the PC to hire 241 Dawa party affiliates into Kirkuk's Iraqi Police (IP) force. He described the directive as ill-considered and counter to the spirit of Article 23 of the Provincial Elections law. Salihi, an independent Kurd, was supported by PC members from both Arab and Turkomen blocs. Actions such as these cause the local leaders to question whether the central government will honor and support the outcome of the Article 23. It also fuels tensions between the Kurds and the central government. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Salihi stated that the names of the 241 recruits were listed on Islamic Dawa Party stationary. At the press conference, Salihi was joined by Provincial Council members including Najat Hussein (Turkomen),Mohammed Khalil (Arab), Babakir Siddiq (Kurd, PUK) and Muhammad Kamal (Kurd, KDP). The group strongly objected to the central government's involvement in distributing government positions in the province. They cited the negotiations over Article 23, specifically the component requiring allocation of government positions among the various ethnic groups. The ethnic blocs had agreed to allocate the positions on 32% for each of the three main ethnic groups, with the remaining four percent for the Chaldo-Assyrian Christians, he explained. They considered this decree a blatant attempt to ignore Article 23. -------------- THE DECREE -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The PRT obtained a copy of the decree from the Salihi. The top memorandum dated February 2, 2009 from the Deputy Minister of Police Affairs of the MOI to the Kirkuk police department directing it to provide for medical examinations and training for the 241 recruits. This memorandum in turn references another memorandum dated January 19, 2009 from the Deputy Minister for Administrative Affairs of the MOD directing the hiring of at the rank of Staff Sergeant 241 individuals whose names are on an attached list. In addition to directing the Deputy Minister for Police Affairs to act, it advises the Kirkuk police department to take the necessary actions and advise the Ministry of their start date. Another attachment to the February 2 memorandum is a January 26 memorandum from the MOI Training and Rehabilitation Commission directing the Police Training Center to arrange for their training and testing. -------------- THE LIST -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The list of names indicates the rank at which the people are to be hired (all are to be Staff Sergeants),the names of the people, and the IP office to which they are to report. The header on the first page of the list says, "List of Names of Islamic Call (Dawa) Party." Since the heading does not include the word "members," it is not completely clear the individuals listed are all members of Dawa or merely candidates selected by the Dawa Party (who may or may not be members of Dawa). In addition, it is impossible to tell if the people listed are natives of Kirkuk or are from outside the province. Both Salahi and CoR Sarteep Mohammed believe that the 241 candidates are all Dawa members. In addition, the Provincial Director of Police (PDOP),Major General Jamal, advised the PRT that some of the names listed QGeneral Jamal, advised the PRT that some of the names listed are Kirkuki natives who are already employed in the police force. -------------- REACTION BY ETHNIC BLOCS -------------- ¶5. (C) The solidarity of opposition to the MoI's directive varied among the ethnic blocs. The Kurds, predictably, were monolithic in their opposition to it. In addition to the KDP, PUK and independent PC leaders who spoke at the press conference, the head of the KDP in Kirkuk, Najat Hussein told the PRT that he too was strongly against the action by the MoI. Kurdish CoR member Sarteep Mohammed digressed from the Article 23 discussion topics (reftel) to condemn at length BAGHDAD 00000471 002 OF 002 MoI's directive. The solidarity of the Turkomen was broken by Shia Tahseen Kahea, who exhibited nonchalance about the MoI action and opined that GoI law allowed the MoI to appoint whom they wished. As for the Sunni Arabs, offsetting Sheikh Abdullah Sami Al-Assi staunch opposition to the MoI action was Ishmael Hadidi (who like Sami is a Sunni from the Obeidi tribe) also downplayed the directive. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) Even if further analysis reveals that all of the candidates are from Kirkuk, which would eliminate the argument that Kirkuk's high rate of unemployment requires hiring from the local populace, the political brazenness of ramming the directive down the provincial leadership's throat rather than coordinating with them is alarming to local officials. While PM al-Maliki may feel the recent elections gave his Dawa party the strength to engage in such provocative political moves, it would have been far better judgment to engage in a negotiation with provincial leaders rather push through this show of political party strength. Actions such as these cause the local leaders to question whether the central government will honor and support the outcome of the Article 23 committee. The delicate negotiations on Article 23 may have been harmed, demonstrated by comments of the Kurdish members of the Article 23 committee at their February 17 meeting in Kirkuk. In addition, this type of action does nothing to alleviate tensions between the Kurds and Maliki. BUTENIS