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
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

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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

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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