VZCZCXRO8561
OO RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHBC #0019/01 0461707
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O P 151707Z FEB 06
FM REO BASRAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0245
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN PRIORITY 0001
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0001
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHBC/REO BASRAH 0262

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BASRAH 000019 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/15/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: VEILED HYPOCRISY:  BASRAH PROVINCIAL COUNCIL VOTES TO 
BOYCOTT BRITS AND DANES 
 
REF: (A) BASRAH 10, (B) BASRAH 12, (C) BASRAH 13, (D) BASRAH 14, (E) BASRAH 15, (F) BASRAH 17, (G) BASRAH 18 
 
BASRAH 00000019  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah, 
Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary:  On February 13, the Basrah Provincial Council 
(BPC) unanimously voted to suspend communication and cooperation 
with British and Danish officials in Basrah.  The decision was 
officially issued on February 14 and delivered to the British 
and Danish missions in Basrah on February 15.  The letter 
demands that the Danish government issue an official apology to 
all Muslims in the world because of the cartoon scandal, Danish 
forces not circulate in Basrah, and the Director of the Danish 
Office in Basrah depart within 72 hours if there is no apology. 
The letter continues the boycott of the British for the alleged 
videotaped abuse of Iraqi youth and the arrest of 11 Iraqi 
policemen on January 23.  The boycott does not extend to U.S. 
officials.  This suspension of cooperation with Coalition 
partners is likely political maneuvering on the part of the 
increasingly dysfunctional BPC to shift attention away from its 
own poor performance and to secure the release of the detainees. 
 End Summary. 
 
Unified Front, Internal Divisions 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶2.  (C)  On February 13, the BPC voted officially to suspend 
communication and cooperation with British and Danish officials 
in Basrah.  (See Refs for background on the boycott.)  The 
boycott, although supported by all BPC members, is spearheaded 
by a few extremists on the BPC and by Khazl Jaloob Falih Abu 
Salam (Fadillah) in particular.  As Basrah Governor Mohammed 
Mosabeh Mohammed Al Wa'ili continues to lose support, Abu Salam 
has increasingly taken on a leadership role in the Basrah PC. 
Moderate Ghali Najam Muter (Iraqi National Accord) initially 
supported continuing dialogue with the British and Danish, but 
backed down rather than face the ire of other BPC members. 
 
What the Letter Said 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  The BPC issued an official statement (Number 606, dated 
February 14, 2006) in which it declared an official decision 
(Number 99, made during BPC session number 61) to impose a 
boycott on the Danish forces present in Basrah and to continue 
the boycott of the British forces.  This letter was delivered to 
the Danish and British Offices in Basrah on February 15.  A 
translation of the letter is as follows: 
 
"First:  A boycott with the Danish Forces due to what the Danish 
press has printed insulting the Prophet Mohammed.  We are asking 
the forces not to go in or around the city; also for the 
Director of the Danish Regional Embassy Office to depart within 
72 hours from the date of this decision's issuance, unless the 
Danish Government provides an official apology to all Muslims 
around the world. 
 
Second:  To continue the boycott with the British Forces because 
of their non-compliance with the Council's decision regarding 
their random arrests and raids, as well as their insults to our 
citizens by the forces on broadcast satellite television. 
 
Third:  All sectors/departments will comply with the boycott 
with the above-mentioned forces and not cooperate with them for 
any reason, unless directed by the Council.  In case of 
non-compliance with the decision, the Council will do all 
necessary procedures to remove the non-complier from their 
position of employment." 
 
Danish and British Reactions 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶4.  (C)  The Senior Legal Advisor at the Danish Office in Basrah 
told IPAO that he believed the British videotape issue triggered 
the boycott against the Danish office.  He said that the Danish 
office will not attempt to engage BPC members and is deferring 
action on the boycott issue to the national level through its 
embassy in Baghdad.  The current Director of the Danish Office 
is outside of Iraq until February 21.  Danish Office staff in 
Basrah have received no personal physical threats and have no 
plans to evacuate.  Because of the BPC letter, Danish military 
forces are not moving out of their base. 
 
¶5.  (U)  The British Consul General issued a televised press 
release on February 14 in Basrah in which he made the following 
remarks: 
 
 
BASRAH 00000019  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
"It is unfortunate that the Provincial Council has decided to 
suspend co-operation with us.  This will only harm the people of 
Basrah.  Our work supporting reconstruction and security in 
Basrah will continue.  However, we will be able to achieve more 
with the co-operation of the Provincial Council.  The British 
forces are here in accordance with the decision of the UN 
Security Council and at the request of the Iraqi government.  We 
are here to support security and reconstruction. 
 
Concerning the video tape which was aired by some satellite 
channels of the maltreatment of some Iraqis by a very few 
British soldiers, the Prime Minister and the British Government 
take this very seriously and the PM has announced that an 
immediate and full investigation will take place." 
 
Protestors and Retaliation 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶6.  (C)  On February 14, about 300 protestors gathered outside 
the gate to the British Consulate in Basrah.  The protest lasted 
about one hour.  No one was hurt or injured during the protest, 
and police personnel escorted the protestors.  Protestors burned 
a British flag and chanted that the British should be punished 
for their crimes and should leave Iraq.  A large red and white 
Danish flag has been chalked onto the streets outside the 
building of the Office of the Martry Sadr (OMS) political party 
in Basrah so that traffic passes over the top of it, an effort 
to retaliate against the perceived insult of the Danish cartoons 
depicting the Prophet Mohammed. 
 
Little Will to Resolve the Conflict through Dialogue 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
--------------- 
 
¶7.  (C)  In a February 14 meeting on an unrelated matter, the 
Basrah Archbishop Gabriel Kassab told the Basrah Deputy Regional 
Coordinator (DRC) that he had last met with Basrah Governor 
Mohammed about ten days previously, and that he had advised the 
governor that those arrested for attacks on Coalition forces 
must be held accountable for their crimes.  He said that the 
governor had not agreed with him and that he believed the reason 
for his disagreement was because the detainees were "his 
people."  Archbishop Kassab said that he had attempted to 
mediate between the members of the BPC advocating a boycott 
against the British and Danish and those who wished to continue 
dialogue, but that neither side was interested in reaching an 
agreement.  They only "pretended" to talk to each other. 
 
¶8.  (C)  Archbishop Kassab identified Abu Salam as one of the 
primary personalities behind the decision to boycott the British 
and the Danish.  "Now Abu Salam is the Governor," he said, 
alluding to the diminishing role of Governor Mohamed as a 
political leader in Basrah.  The Archbishop looked both ways 
before telling the DRC that cursing the presence of the British 
and Americans in Basrah has become a way to assert patriotism, 
but that everyone secretly likes and supports the Coalition 
presence in the south. 
 
¶9.  (C)  The Archbishop, whose professional relationship with 
the Basrah Governor precedes MNFI engagement and whose survival 
in the overwhelmingly Shia south has depended on his adroitness 
as a minority figurehead, confessed that he was concerned by the 
current in-fighting among the political parties in Basrah.  Each 
party, he said, is concerned only with its own members, and none 
of the parties are directing attention to the needs of the 
people.  "I would make each person in Basrah a saint," he said, 
alluding to the degree of suffering endured by Basrah's 
residents while political leaders squabble.  When asked if he 
thought the Basrah governor would be re-elected, the Archbishop 
replied that he had been surprised Mohamed had ever been elected 
governor in the first place, so he did not feel comfortable 
trying to predict the outcome of the next election. 
 
¶10.  (C)  Comment:  The Basrah PC has become increasingly 
dysfunctional over the past months as political in-fighting 
reigns.  Its predilection to suspend communication with 
Coalition partners and to determine Coalition presence as a 
means of achieving its goals is a disturbing trend of a 
provincial government usurping national authority.  Little 
progress has been made by the Reconstruction and Development 
Committee on implementing and funding projects, and it is 
becoming increasingly likely that the Basrah local government 
will not be able to allocate funds, either from the donor 
community or from Baghdad, for the benefit of Basrah's residents 
before provincial elections.  It should come as no surprise that 
there appears to be no will to resolve the conflict through 
dialogue. The resumption of relations without official apologies 
from the British and Danish governments would rob the Basrah 
 
BASRAH 00000019  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
Provincial Council of a much-needed political victory.  The BPC 
is using the current political crisis as a means to divert 
public attention from its own lack of accomplishments and the 
illegal activities of some of its members.  The current impasse 
is unlikely to be resolved without the active engagement of the 
Baghdad government.  End comment. 
GROSS