VZCZCXRO5481
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHMOS #0020/01 0531751
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 221751Z FEB 06
FM REO MOSUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0417
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0015
RUEHMOS/REO MOSUL 0435

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSUL 000020 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/22/2016 
TAGS: PREL PINS PINT PGOV PHUM IZ MARR
SUBJECT: NINEWA ISLAMIC PARTY REPS CALL FOR PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS NOW 
 
 
MOSUL 00000020  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Cameron  Munter, PRT Leader, Provincial 
Reconstruction Team Ninewa, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (a), (b), (d) 
 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (C).  Ninewa Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) representative Younis 
Hashim called for provincial elections immediately.  He accused 
the Kurds (which control the provincial government) of not doing 
enough to address the lack of basic social services and improve 
security in Mosul.  Hashim said before there could be elections 
in the province the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq 
(IECI) office in Mosul would have to be rebuilt and its staff 
more representative.  He asked for an expanded role for 
Coalition Forces with security, and participation by United 
Nations observers.  Hashim said IIP reps have been pushing for 
the creation of community organizations to help address 
shortcomings by the provincial government and police.  He said 
IIP, however, did not support private militias to address 
security concerns.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) PRT Poloff met with Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) Public 
Affairs Director Younis Hashim and Assistant Faris Younis in 
Mosul on February 19. 
 
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PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS NOW 
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¶3.  (C) IIP public affairs director Hashim called for provincial 
elections immediately.  He claimed many problems in Ninewa, 
especially among the Sunni Arab community, were the fault of the 
Kurds that maintain power in the provincial government.  Hashim 
said over the past 10 days people in Mosul have gone without 
gasoline and benzene.  He said many streets, especially in 
smaller villages outside of the city, have been washed out with 
mud due to the heavy rainfall.  Many Moslawis have lost faith in 
the Iraqi Police (IP) to protect them, he said, because of a 
"rise in kidnappings and extortions."  Hashim claimed that 
because basic services, such as electricity and water, were 
lacking the gap in the public's confidence in government as an 
institution has widened.  He said "fraud and tampering" during 
the national election contributed to the public's distrust in 
the democratic process as a way to make life better in Iraq. 
 
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CHANGES TO THE IECI, OBSERVERS, AND SECURITY 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) Hashim called for the dissolution of the Independent 
Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) office in Mosul.  He said 
the current staff would have to be scrapped and replaced with 
"locals" for better representation.  He said improvements to 
security were necessary and that Coalition Forces should play a 
leading role to ensure voter safety and protection of polling 
sites.  Hashim also suggested that the United Nations send a 
large team of observers to watch over the election process.  He 
said Iraqi observers alone were not enough to prevent 
occurrences of fraud. 
 
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SOLUTIONS TO SOCIAL WOES 
------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (C) Hashim claimed the current provincial council members 
had chosen not to address problems because he said, "They know 
their term is almost over."  To help, Hashim said IIP was 
pushing for the formation of community organizations where 
people could anonymously report crimes and register complaints. 
The organizations, in turn, would report the issues to the 
provincial government and/or IP and conduct follow up.  He said 
such organizations could help build trust between the public and 
government institutions.  He claimed that IIP reps had done 
similar work already.  Hashim said economic problems needed to 
be solved soon or security would worsen.  Although he offered no 
specific suggestions on how to improve the economy, Hashim said 
new projects and steady salaries were important to keep young 
people from engaging in nefarious activities. 
 
¶6.  (C) Hashim suggested that prominent persons in Mosul should 
be allowed to carry weapons to better protect themselves.  He 
said the idea makes sense since the wealthy and well connected 
are more likely to be targeted than the average citizen.  He 
said an unnamed IIP rep had recently approached Governor Duraid 
Kashmoula about the issue.  Younis claimed if more people were 
carrying weapons terrorists and criminals would stop harming 
them.  Hashim said many Moslawis have asked IIP to start a 
 
MOSUL 00000020  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
militia to fill security gaps in the city.  He replied, however, 
that IIP did not support private militias and was working 
aggressively to improve the IP and Iraqi Army (IA) instead. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶7.  (C) While Ninewa's poor economic conditions are tough to 
ignore, Hashim and his local IIP colleagues appear to have a 
good grasp on solutions to address the problem but no real plans 
on how to do so.  Their ideas to improve security, such as 
Hashim's proposal that more people should carry weapons, seems 
reactionary and fails to address the root causes of the issue. 
Hashim and Younis directed a lot of their anger at the Kurds in 
the provincial government as the reason for many of Ninewa's 
woes.  They said Kurdish flags in minority villages were causing 
tensions and asked for USG and Coalition Force action to move 
the Kurds back in line (septel).  Hashim and Younis said IIP was 
working with several other unnamed parties to put up the 
strongest front possible for provincial elections set for later 
this year to push the Kurds out of the control of Ninewa 
politics.  What is unknown is how much more effective IIP and 
its coalition members could be if they happen to gain control of 
the provincial government. 
MUNTER