VZCZCXRO7368
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2719/01 2371248
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241248Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9029
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 002719 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EINV PGOV ETRD ECON IZ
SUBJECT: KIRKUK: PIC ESTABLISHED; PC CHAIRMAN ADDRESSES 
OUTSTANDING PROVINCIAL ISSUES 
 
THIS IS A PRT KIRKUK REPORTING CABLE. 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Months of negotiations between the 
different blocs of the Kirkuk Provincial Council (PC) ended 
on 18 August with an agreement signed by representatives of 
each of the major ethnicities (Kurds, Arabs, Turkomen) 
establishing the Kirkuk Provincial Investment Commission 
(PIC).  The PIC was approved during the 19 August PC 
meeting.  Separately, PC Chairman Rizgar Ali approached PRT 
to discuss outstanding provincial issues including joint 
administration, Asayish, Turkomen language, an exceptional 
budget, and provincial elections law.  Raising these issues 
may be an attempt to demonstrate Kurdish cooperation and 
concern after the unilateral actions of the past three 
weeks.  END SUMMARY. 
 
-------- 
Kirkuk Provincial Investment Commission Formed 
-------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Following at least three meetings between all 
blocs of the Kirkuk PC starting on 14 August, an agreement 
to form the Kirkuk PIC was formalized in a signed agreement 
dated 18 August.  This is the culmination of several months 
of negotiations between the blocs, and is a significant 
step forward for the future of investment in the province. 
According to Sheik Abdullah Sami al-Assi (Arab PC member), 
the Arab and Kurdish blocs came to agreement on the 
framework for the PIC on 17 August, but the Turkomen still 
held out and refused to sign.  All three blocs met on 18 
August, and the Turkomen decided on one of three agreed- 
upon options to finalize the agreement.  The PC, during its 
normally scheduled weekly meeting on 19 August, approved 
the PIC by open vote.  Three Arab bloc PC members (Ramla 
Obeidi, Mohammed Khalil, and Hala Norradin) attempted 
unsuccessfully to derail the vote on the PIC at the last 
minute by claiming now is not the time to make such an 
agreement since the Kurdish bloc still refuses to honor its 
commitments under the &Thirteen Points8 agreement.  The 
final vote saw the Arab bloc split with three Arabs voting 
yes, and three abstaining. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Chairman of the Kirkuk PIC is Mr. Falah Abdul 
Rahman, an independent technocrat with a bachelor,s degree 
in chemistry from Baghdad University.  Falah is 49 years 
old, born in Kirkuk, and comes from a half Kurdish and half 
Turkomen family.  He has a long history as a businessman, 
including previous work as a vendor for the U.S. Army. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Deputy Chairman of the Kirkuk PIC is Qahtan 
Munshir al-Assi, an independent Arab technocrat.  He is 
also the cousin of Kirkuk PC member Sheik Abdullah Sami al- 
Assi. Qahtan was born in Kirkuk, is 60 years old, and has a 
PhD in electrical engineering from a university in Rome, 
Italy.  He lived in Italy for 30 years, and is married to a 
non-Muslim Italian wife. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The remaining members of the PIC administrative 
council will be made up of seven representatives.  Three 
will be nominated by the Kurdistan Brotherhood List (KBL), 
three by the Turkomen bloc, and one by the Arab bloc.  The 
Arab member of the administrative council will have the 
&window8 position ) a gatekeeper of sorts who decides what 
investors have access to the PIC.  The KBL representatives 
will be in charge of planning and public relations.  The 
Turkomen representatives will be responsible for finance, 
legal, and administrative issues. 
 
-------- 
Kirkuk PC Chairman Rizgar Ali Asks For Help 
-------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Kirkuk PC Chairman Rizgar Ali (PUK), asked to meet 
with PRT officials on 18 August to discuss an &important 
announcement8.  The announcement turned out to be the 
signed agreement on the Kirkuk PIC.  Rizgar followed this 
by asking for US &help and pressure8 on a set of five 
issues.  He asked that his message be passed to &General 
Petraeus, Ambassador Crocker, and PRT Team Leader Howard 
Keegan8. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Rizgar,s first point dealt with the joint 
administration of the government in Kirkuk province.  This 
is in response to criticism over the perceived lack of 
implementation of the 32 percent representational breakdown 
agreed upon by the Arabs and the KBL in the &Thirteen 
Points8 agreement (staff level up to DG ) does not refer to 
the makeup of the PC).  Rizgar stated that he sent several 
letters to Baghdad requesting guidance on the 
 
BAGHDAD 00002719  002 OF 003 
 
 
implementation of joint administration with no response. 
He said he cannot implement joint administration without 
approval from the Prime Minister and the ministries in 
Baghdad. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Rizgar next brought up the issue of the Asayish ) 
the Kurdish secret police.  Rizgar mentioned that COL 
Mayville (Coalition Forces commander in Kirkuk in 2003-04) 
cooperated very closely with the Asayish.  He said if one 
walks into Asayish headquarters offices you will see 
letters of commendation and certificates from Coalition 
Forces (CF) thanking the Asayish for all the work they have 
done in fighting terrorism.  Rizgar stated that he received 
a letter from Baghdad in direct reference to the &Thirteen 
Points8 agreement where the federal government denied the 
request by Kirkuk to form a &National Security Department 
(NSD)8 in the province under the 32% representational 
model.  Rizgar attempted to tie the NSD to the Asayish ) 
i.e., if the NSD is formed then the Asayish will be 
removed.  Since the NSD cannot be formed, the Asayish are 
not compelled to leave.  PRT member pointed out that the 
Arabs do not read the agreement the same way; rather they 
see the Asayish and the NSD as two parts of the same point. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Rizgar raised the issue of making the Turkomen 
language an official language in Kirkuk province.  He said 
that Baghdad had no objection to this, but Rizgar said 
there needs to be clarification on whether or not the 
Turkomen script will use the Latin or Arabic alphabet. 
Rizgar said he personally prefers the Latin alphabet, but 
that he is now faced with the dilemma of how to determine 
which to choose. 
 
10 (SBU) Rizgar claimed that Kirkuk was one of the most 
&destroyed8 provinces in Iraq ) &more destroyed than any 
other province8.  He stated that he asked Baghdad for an 
&exceptional budget8 to deal with the destruction in Kirkuk 
in the amount of $200 million USD.  This money would be 
used on infrastructure related projects such as housing and 
roads to allay the &destruction8.  He mentioned that his 
proposal was discussed in the CoR but denied by the Arab 
Sunni/Shia blocs there.  Rizgar asked if the USG could 
pressure the Iraqi Government to allocate these funds for 
Kirkuk. 
 
¶11. (sbu) Rizgar believes that there is some positive 
movement on the elections law front.  He brought up KRG 
President Massoud Barzani,s visit to Kirkuk (on 08 AUG) and 
his overture to the ITF.  He emphasized the importance of 
this overture.  Rizgar said that the PUK and the ITF have 
good relations, but the KDP has never had dialogue with the 
ITF.  He even ventured to say that he thinks the ITF and 
the PUK may have a consolidated list at some point in the 
future.  He claims that PC member Ali Mahdi (ITF) and 
&others8 have brought up this possibility in the past. 
Rizgar believes that right now the PUK must maintain their 
relation with the KDP, but it is important to note that 
there is no longer a &red line8 between the KDP and the 
ITF. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Rizgar finished by stating that he is considering 
bringing a delegation from the Kirkuk PC to Baghdad to 
discuss these points with the Prime Minister. 
 
¶13. (SBU) In a recent previous meeting Rizgar mentioned 
that he would be announcing a conference on the elections 
law to be hosted in Kirkuk.  He planned to invite Kirkuk 
CoR bloc representatives along with Kirkuk PC 
representatives.  IPAO asked if Rizgar is still considering 
this conference.  He answered affirmatively, but implied 
that the groups within Kirkuk must come to an agreement 
before that could occur.  He agreed with IPAO that the 
blocs must move quickly on this, because it would likely 
have to happen before Ramadan.  At the 19 August PC meeting 
Rizgar addressed this issue in his opening speech.  He 
explained to the PC members that an agreement reached in 
Kirkuk will be backed by the USG in Baghdad, and encouraged 
the different blocs to engage in dialogue and discussions 
on a solution.  He also asked for the Kirkuk CoR members to 
be in contact with the Kirkuk PC. 
 
¶14. (SBU) COMMENT:  The establishment of the PIC is a very 
important step forward for the Kirkuk PC.  Not only does it 
provide a framework for allowing financial investment in 
the province, it also demonstrates that the different 
ethnic blocs can sit down and create a balanced and 
cooperative agreement.  The test will be to see if this 
cooperation can carry over to an agreement on the elections 
law.  PC Chairman Rizgar,s diverse list of items to be 
discussed in Baghdad may be an attempt to show that the 
Kurds are not operating unilaterally.  The Kurdish parties 
 
BAGHDAD 00002719  003 OF 003 
 
 
appear to be feeling pressure after the 28 July bombing 
incident, the 31 July invocation of the Regions Law, and 
the failure of the CoR to agree on an elections law.  END 
COMMENT. 
BUTENIS