VZCZCXRO0176
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL
DE RUEHKUK #0132/01 2061052
ZNY CCCCC
P R 251052Z JUL 06
FM REO KIRKUK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHKUK/REO KIRKUK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000132 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
TAGS: IZ
SUBJECT: (SBU) NEW KURDISH BLOC ON POLITICAL GOALS, OPPOSITION TO 
KDP-PUK 
 
KIRKUK 00000132  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.      (C/NF) INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY:  Leaders of the recently 
formed 5-party Kurdish political opposition bloc said they would 
focus on local issues and push to reduce the domination of  the 
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of 
Kurdistan (PUK).  They asserted that their bloc is secular and 
will counter the growing political influence of Islam in the 
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).  They also hope to push the 
KRG to a more Kurdish nationalist stance on Article 140 and the 
future of Kirkuk.  Post met with representatives from the 
following bloc parties:  Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party 
(KDSP)(see para 11 below); Kurdistan Democratic Movement (KDM); 
Kurdistan Peoples' Democratic Movement (KPDM); and Kurdistan 
Liberation Party (KLP).  The representative of the fifth 
opposition party, the Kurdistan Independent Labor Party, did not 
attend.  END INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY. 
 
(C) "EVEN HOUSEKEEPERS MUST BE PARTY MEMBERS" 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶2.  (C/NF) IPAO on  July 19,2006, met with leaders of the 
5-party Kurdish opposition bloc formed on June 25, 2006.  The 
representatives said the two main Kurdish parties have dominated 
the political system to such an extent that even housekeepers 
and servants must join the KDP or PUK to win employment.  The 
opposition leaders said their first priority would be to force 
reforms of the KRG until it is a truly representative government 
of the people.  The bloc members said they would start by 
pushing for a ban on the requirement of party membership for 
employment. 
 
(SBU) INDEPENDENCE - "THE RIGHT OF ALL NATIONS" 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶3.  (C) The representatives said their parties formed the bloc 
because they share the ideology that independence is "the right 
of all nations," believe this is a critical time in Kurdish 
politics, and that opposition is necessary to achieve their 
goals and guard against potential conflict between the two main 
parties.  (Note:  The bloc leaders claimed several of their 
members acted as arbiters during the civil conflict between the 
KDP and PUK in the mid-90's.  End note.) The bloc members also 
do not agree with the way the KDP and PUK have distributed power 
and economic benefits. 
 
(SBU) KEEP RELIGION OUT OF GOVERNMENT 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) The bloc members all agreed that smaller secular parties 
can and should play a key role in protecting against the growing 
influence of Islam in Kurdistan.  To achieve this goal, the five 
parties would like to focus on improving municipal services in 
KRG areas. 
 
 
(SBU) POSITION ON KIRKUK, ARTICLE 140 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) The leaders recalled that the Kirkuk issue was a main 
reason the Kurds never reached an agreement with Saddam's 
regime.  The leaders said the issue of Kirkuk is likely to 
determine the relationship between the Kurds and the new 
government in Baghdad.  The bloc members said they agreed with 
the importance of implementing Art. 140, but said the KDP and 
PUK have not seriously addressed this issue.  The bloc stands 
for reincorporating Chamchamal, Kifri, Kalar and other Kurdish 
areas separated under Saddam back into Kirkuk Province. 
 
(U) BIOGRAPHIC NOTES 
-------------------- 
 
¶6.      (C/NF) Faiq Mohammad Ahamed:  Secretary General, Kurdistan 
Democratic Solution Party (KDSP); received primary and secondary 
education in Halabja; received Bachelors Degree from Mosul 
University in Medicine and worked as a surgeon in a Sulaymaniyah 
hospital; former PUK representative to the Kurdistan National 
Assembly for six years.  Allegedly arrested and held by PUK 
security forces in May, 2006, for denouncing the killing of 
Kurdish people in Turkey. 
 
¶7.      (C) Shukrallah Hamed Amin: Secretary General, Kurdistan 
Democratic Movement (KDM); born in the village of Koysinjaq in 
Erbil; former member of the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP); 
following the 1991 uprising, a founding member of the Kurdistan 
Communist Party (KCP); left the KCP due to ideological and 
management issues. 
 
¶8.      (C) Khadr Qadir Khadr:  Secretary General, Kurdistan 
Peoples' Democratic Movement (KPDM, founded 1995); born in 
Erbil, 1947; joined the ICP circa 1986; did not finish high 
school due to ICP responsibilities, where he was commander of 
ICP Peshmerga and appointed as a senior member of the ICP Erbil 
 
KIRKUK 00000132  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
office. 
 
¶9.      (C) Omer Hassan Omer:  Chief Executive, Kurdistan 
Liberation Party (KLP, founded August 15, 1993); born in Erbil, 
1963; did not finish studies for economic and political reasons; 
maintains a socialist ideology, is strongly pro-Kurdistan 
independence, and favors a referendum to decide Kurdistan's 
political future; KLP originally belonged to the KPDM, but broke 
from this party after some members voted to join the KDP; KLP 
currently publishes a weekly newspaper and magazine. 
 
(U) COMMENT 
----------- 
 
¶10.  (C) The party size of the individual bloc parties appears 
limited to between 1000 to 2000 members, which would severely 
limit their ability to compete with the two main parties 
dominating the KNA.  However, the bloc members seem to realize 
this and might be setting their eyes on capturing the few seats 
that would tip the balance to one or the other main party in an 
evenly split KNA, thus permitting the opposition bloc parties to 
influence PUK and KDP debate on key Kurdish issues. 
 
(U) NOTE 
-------- 
 
¶11.  (C/NF) This meeting took place before post knew of the USG 
policy to avoid meeting with KDSP. 
JBIGUS