BALKH GOVERNOR RESISTS INTERIOR MINISTRY ORDER TO DISMISS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 001849 DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM STATE PASS TO AID FOR ASIA/SCAA USFOR-A FOR POLAD SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM PGOV AF SUBJECT: BALKH GOVERNOR RESISTS INTERIOR MINISTRY ORDER TO DISMISS POLICEMEN ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Balkh Governor Atta told PRT officer that Minister of Interior Atmar's order to remove at first three, then only two, Balkh ANP officials is a politically-motivated maneuver and an insult to himself and the people of Balkh. He maintains that President Karzai lacks the authority to dismiss those officials during the period from May 22 - the time his term in office officially ended - to the August 20 election. Atta believes that if the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has legitimate corruption or misconduct allegations against the officials, it must disclose that information to his administration. After consultation with U.S. and other embassies in Kabul, UN Special Representative Kai Eide wrote a letter to Governor Atta reaffirming the Minister's legal right to remove the officials for corruption charges and the interest of the international community in seeing that the laws and Constitution of Afghanistan are upheld. The standoff between Atta and Atmar persists, with Atta reportedly not allowing the policemen to leave their positions. Embassy views the allegations as potentially credible, but given the highly political atmosphere of the election campaign, will stress to Atmar the need for transparency. End summary. Atta Sees Politics Behind Removal Order -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In a July 4 meeting with State PRT officer, Atta explained the standoff with the MoI from his point of view. He believes that Minister Atmar's telephone instructions to the Balkh police chief to remove three Balkh ANP officers, all with close ties to Atta, have nothing to do with corruption and everything to do with politics. Atta sees this as an attempt by Karzai to weaken him for not supporting his reelection bid, and describes Atmar as being one of Karzai's chief campaign operatives. Asked if he had spoken about the matter with Atmar, Atta said he had not because Atmar is "hard to track down." (Note: Provincial Council chairman Azimi had earlier intimated that neither Atta nor Atmar wished to initiate a call to the other. End note.) Jamiat Party leader Rabbani called Atta to understand his position and later brought Ministry of Energy Ismail Khan into the picture. On Thursday, July 2, Karzai phoned Atta after Ismail Khan raised the issue during a meeting with the �00A;president. Atta explained his position, and Karzai reportedly told him the issue was a "small matter" about which he would speak to Atmar, leaving Atta to conclude that Karzai would resolve the problem. ¶3. (SBU) State PRT officer expressed concern to Atta that his refusal to abide an order of the central government signals a step backward for rule of law in Balkh province. Atta denied he was showing disregard for the rule of law, and insisted that the MoI disclose the specific allegations of corruption or misconduct against those three policemen - the chiefs of the traffic division, highway division, and criminal investigations division. He said neither the Balkh police chief nor the regional commander is aware of such allegations against them. (Note: Both the Balkh police chief and regional police chief also said they were not aware of the allegations. End Note) Rather, Atta defended the three policemen and praised them for their contributions to the security of Balkh province. Atmar's over-the-phone effort to replace them without providing any supporting documentation is "unacceptable." ¶4. (SBU) Furthermore, in Atta's view, Karzai does not have the authority to appoint or replace government officials after May 22 - the date Karzai's term officially ended. In an aside, Atta claimed that the MoI had attempted to replace the Panjshir chief of police on July 2, but was unsuccessful after Panjshiris reacted sharply against the decision. (Note: The Panjshir Governor and Panjshiris initially resisted the appointment, calling it blatently political and campaign maneuvering, but later accepted it and the new chief of police was installed July 5. End Note) ¶5. (SBU) During the hour-long meeting, Atta took a call from National Directorate of Security chief Amrullah Saleh about the pending dismissal order. Atta reiterated his position to Saleh and added that he was not preventing the three policemen from turning themselves in voluntarily. Afterwards, Atta recounted the portion of his phone conversation when Saleh had tried to strike a compromise by asking Atta to hand over two of the three men - the traffic police chief and the criminal investigations chief - because he knew how close the highway chief is to Atta. For Atta, such a deal is unacceptable. "If they're criminals, then all three should be brought to justice," he said. Atta is convinced that if he were to suddenly have a change of heart and support Karzai for president, the cases against all three men would be dismissed. ¶6. (SBU) State PRT officer asked Atta what his position would be if the MoI had its own reasons to investigate the three policemen, even if there were no complaints filed against them by the public. Atta KABUL 00001849 002 OF 003 said he would not stand in the way of an internal MoI investigation, but that the MoI must first disclose the allegations against them. Given the political sensitivity of the case and Atta's belief that Minister Atmar would appoint biased investigators to conduct the investigation, Atta said he would want representatives from the Balkh provincial prosecutor's office and the Provincial Council to be included on the team of investigators. ANP Commander Shares MoI Instructions -------------- ¶7. (SBU) In a July 6 meeting, ANP regional commander General Patang shared a few more details about what transpired. He confirmed that the MoI sent a cable to his office the day after Minister Atmar phoned him to deliver the news. The vaguely worded cable, which Patang displayed, mentions nothing about corruption or misconduct against the three policemen. Rather, it calls for their removal based on the "new police structure and organization chart." To Patang's surprise, the three policemen in question were informed of their dismissals before he had even heard about the development. The next morning, a delegation of provincial council members and Members of Parliament visited Patang to warn him not to implement Atmar's order. MP Alem Khan said he would shed his own blood before allowing that to happen. Patang spoke with Minister Atmar to express his concern that carrying out the MoI's order would spark violence. That seemed to buy Patang some time, and he did not send the cable to the Balkh police chief for implementation. Patang said Governor Atta soon called in the three policemen named to replace the three dismissed policemen and advised them not to get involved in a matter between Atta and Atmar. Heeding Atta's advice, the three replacements have since told Patang they do not want their new assignments. ¶8. (SBU) Patang provided a read-out of a second set of cable instructions he had received from the MoI just one hour earlier. That order calls for the immediate suspensions of the traffic police chief and the criminal investigations chief, but not the highway police chief. (Note: This is the same deal NDS chief Saleh tried pitching to Atta. End Note). The second cable's language is completely different from that of the first, as it orders the suspensions in view of "considerations that require judicial follow-up." Their deputies have been named to replace them. ¶9. (SBU) This time, Patang forwarded the cable without delay to the Balkh provincial police chief, who after initial hesitation, disseminated the order to his force. However, the two policemen still have not left their offices. Patang has spoken with the two men and explained the consequences of their refusal to obey a direct order. He says they have told him they are willing to step down, but that Governor Atta has told them to stay put. Now, they are afraid to leave their posts. Patang confided to State PRT officer that he suspects politics is behind Atmar's order, leaving him and his policemen in a very uncomfortable position in the middle of a political standoff between Atmar and Atta. Kai Eide Weighs In -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The UNAMA representative in Mazar has delivered talking points to Atta from a draft letter that SRSG Kai Eide had intended to send to the governor. In that draft, Eide asked Atta to abstain from any action that stands in the way of implementing Minister Atmar's decision to remove the two officers. SRSG Eide reaffirmed Atmar's legal authority to remove police officials on corruption charges. Eide wrote that the general objective of the international community (IC) is to see that the laws and Constitution of Afghanistan are upheld, which is why the IC stands behind Minister Atmar's efforts to fight corruption within the police force. Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) While we fully support Minister Atmar's legal right to remove corrupt police officials, the rollout and timing of this particular order - only weeks before the election - raise questions. With politics coloring many decisions Karzai and his Ministers take during the campaign season, it is no surprise that Atta has reacted the way he has. It is indeed quite possible that the policemen have been involved in some form of corruption or misconduct. Atta has a vested interest in protecting them because they are his ex-commanders and belong to his security apparatus. But the MoI's conflicting rationales for the dismissals of the two men as reflected in the cables it sent to the regional police chief are puzzling and fuel suspicions about its motives for issuing the order. ¶12. (SBU) Under the current Police Law, MoI has direct command and KABUL 00001849 003 OF 003 control over its officers in the field, a situation that would become much murkier if the current version of Police Law Article 4 as passed by Parliament were to be signed by the president. If asked for recommendations by Minister Atmar, we will encourage the MoI to specify its allegations against the two policemen to Balkh provincial authorities and to pursue its investigations in as transparent a manner as possible, even though MoI is not required to do so. That is likely to be the only way to see cooperation by Governor Atta in allowing the MoI's order to be carried out. It would also be an opportunity to test how far Atta is willing to cooperate in investigations that may hit too close to home. EIKENBERRY