US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT2296

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KUWAIT 002296 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO PASS USAID/W 
STATE PLEASE REPEAT TO IO COLLECTIVE 
STATE FOR PRM/ANE, EUR/SE, NEA/NGA, IO AND SA/PAB 
NSC FOR EABRAMS, SMCCORMICK, STAHIR-KHELI, JDWORKEN 
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/RMT, DCHA/FFP 
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, ANE/AA 
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA:WGARVELINK, BMCCONNELL, KFARNSWORTH 
USAID FOR ANE/AA:WCHAMBERLIN 
ROME FOR FODAG 
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH 
ANKARA FOR AMB WRPEARSON, ECON AJSIROTIC AND DART 
AMMAN FOR USAID AND DART 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREF, IZ, WFP 
SUBJECT:  DART VISIT TO AN NAJAF 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  DART Field Team West traveled to An Najaf on 24 May to 
participate in special Marine and Army civil affairs 
briefings for ORHA in which a 5 June mayoral election was 
announced, possibly the first mayoral election in the 
country.  WFP and MOT told the DART that they were ready to 
begin governorate-wide distributions by 1 June.  MOT 
offices remained intact during and after the war because MOT 
personnel provided protection for their offices' own 
assets.  Doctors at the women's and children's hospital told 
the DART that bad water, malnutrition, and poor sanitation 
in An Najaf led to diarrhea in nearly every child patient 
they treated.  The IRC discussed with the DART a draft 
proposal to address emergency water and sanitation issues in 
both An Najaf and Karbala.  End Summary. 
 
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WFP, MOT PREPARED FOR JUNE DISTRIBUTION IN AN NAJAF 
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2.  U.N. World Food Program (WFP) staff in An Najaf said 
there were no major problems with the public distribution 
system (PDS) in An Najaf Governorate and that the MOT would 
be ready to begin distributions on 1 June.  According to 
WFP, the An Najaf Ministry of Trade (MOT) offices were not 
looted or damaged because MOT staff protected its assets, 
including the PDS database.  It is intact and will be 
utilized during June's distribution. MOT continues to 
provide its own security, and WFP said security at the 
facilities was not a concern. 
Flour agents are conducting some flour distributions as a 
means to clear older stocks. This distribution is also 
intended to avoid beneficiary discontent. Apparently, 
current flour stocks are of a lower quality flour than the 
new flour supplies due in from WFP. Problems will arise if 
some beneficiaries receive the lesser quality flour at the 
same time their neighbors receive the new higher quality 
flour. WFP said all beneficiaries would receive the new 
flour during June distributions. 
 
3.  WFP reports a shortage in several ration commodities in 
An Najaf stocks, particularly pulses. Stock inventories 
indicate that An Najaf has no pulses, weaning cereal or 
adult milk. WFP will attempt to locate and supply An Najaf 
with the short commodities and is preparing public service 
announcements detailing the June ration.  (Note:  Sufficient 
quantities of dried whole milk for the adult ration are 
missing from the nationwide pipeline.  End Note.) 
 
4.  WFP is aware that An Najaf has five government-supported 
hospitals, and institutions that feed orphans, the elderly, 
and the disabled. WFP plans to work with MOT to ensure that 
patients in these institutions will be included in future 
distributions.  WFP has also discussed re-registration 
issues with the MOT and said that the registration center 
will be prepared to immediately adjust and correct any 
registration errors and define procedures for those who have 
lost their ration cards. 
WFP has an eight-person staff in An Najaf and plans to hire 
two additional employees. The estimated distribution period 
for June will last 15 days. 
 
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OTHER ISSUES 
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5.  WFP staff had no information on what, if any, role it 
would play in the planned purchase of local wheat grain. 
 
6.  No LPG supplies have arrived in An Najaf since March. 
The Marines report that four tankers of LPG were inbound on 
24 May but said this will not fully address the LPG 
shortage. 
 
7.  An Najaf has received recent supplies of wheat and rice 
and MOT has begun milling wheat at five fully functional 
mills. Electricity coverage is at approximately 40 percent, 
but all mills have generators and fuel. 
 
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AN NAJAF PROTECTION ISSUES 
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8.  During the Civil Affairs orientation meeting, Coalition 
forces explained that An Najaf will be the first city in the 
country to hold general mayoral elections.  Voters need to 
be over 18 years of age, have An Najaf residency for over 
six months, and have no criminal record.   Candidates must 
be over 40 years old with An Najaf residency for over six 
months and a clean criminal record.  The election date is 
set for 5 June, and it has become somewhat controversial 
because several political parties with different religious 
affiliations will be running, notwithstanding that the 
interim mayor is Sunni in a primarily Shia community. 
Coalition forces will be monitoring the elections to ensure 
they are conducted safely and freely; however, issues of 
intimidation and retribution may become a factor prior to, 
during, and after these elections. 
 
9.  On the legal side, judges, including the chief judge, 
were appointed (12 judges were removed because of Ba'ath 
party affiliation), and the justice system is beginning to 
take shape.  An Najaf is in need of a courthouse since the 
previous one was destroyed in the fighting.  The prison is 
co-located at the training academy and major repairs to the 
building are apparently needed. 
 
10.  Security continues to be an issue in An Najaf.  Six 
patrols per day are being conducted by Coalition forces and 
will eventually be handed over to the military police (MP). 
A police academy has begun training police recruits.  As of 
24 May, 680 police have been trained by 74 MPs.  The first 
phase of the training is a two-day focus on community 
policing.  They are planning on conducting phase two, which 
consists of a five-day program focusing on specialized 
skills. 
 
11.  Another Coalition source mentioned that there were five 
known mass graves in the area and that there might be many 
others.  The local community looking for loved ones have 
disinterred many, if not all of these five sites.  The 
Coalition source estimates that approximately 400,000 people 
were killed in that area alone and that people were still 
disappearing until the war began in March.  Although there 
have not been any specific retribution issues thus far, the 
Coalition source did say that a list has been circulating 
with 75 names that says, "Your day is coming; retribution is 
at hand."  He is attempting to locate a copy of this list. 
The DART shared a copy of the Office of Transition 
Initiative's two-page abuse prevention handout with the 
Coalition forces.  There appears to be no human rights 
organizations in An Najaf. 
 
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VISIT TO AN NAJAF'S HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN 
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12.  Doctors at the An Najaf Hospital for Women and Children 
told the DART that 85 to 90 percent of new child patients 
suffer from diarrhea, and they suspect that some may suffer 
from cholera.  The 200-bed hospital also receives two to 
three malnutrition patients everyday.  The doctors with whom 
the DART spoke did not know if the diarrhea and malnutrition 
rates were higher than normal for this time of year.  The 
immunizations program, which had slowed prior to the war, 
has now ceased.  The infant mortality rate increased during 
the war due to increased pressure on the staff and 
insecurity, although staff continued to work.  The hospital 
staff and nearby residents combined to ward off would-be 
looters. 
 
13.  The hospital has running water most days of the week, 
and the electrical power is "on and off."   A doctor said it 
takes ten minutes from the time the electricity goes down to 
the time the generator-powered electricity goes 
on-dangerously affecting the low-weight babies in the 
incubators.  Sometimes, two babies are placed in one 
incubator because of demand and broken down equipment. 
Sanitary and sewage conditions, described by one doctor as 
"so bad," are in poor condition.  A receiving room was 
teeming with flies.  There is one functioning telephone line 
for the entire hospital, and the air-conditioning unit is 
failing.  The doctors said the hospital requires about ten 
oxygen cylinders each day.  It now rations two.  One staff 
member said two to three children die each day for lack of 
oxygen.  Some residents are staying away from the hospital 
because they realize there are drug and equipment shortages; 
others because of service charges.  The doctors admitted 
that many of the hospital's problems existed for years. 
 
14.  There are shortages of many drugs and supplies, 
including IV fluids and antibiotics.  "The most important 
drugs are finished," said a female doctor.  If she could 
change one thing in the hospital, she said she would abolish 
the hospital's self-financing system that is burdensome on 
poor patients.  Of the hospital's 38 specialized doctors, 23 
are female. The new hospital director was elected over three 
other candidates late last month.   Hospital staff received 
their USD 20 emergency payments, but not their regular April 
or May salaries yet. 
 
15.  Last week, doctors said a Red Crescent Society (of 
unknown origin) delivered a small quantity of drugs, and 
CARE recently delivered lactose-free milk and high-protein 
biscuits.  The doctors said no other agency had visited 
after the war, though Coalition representatives had come 
several times.  It was unknown whether drugs were available 
in the governorate's drug warehouse.  An Najaf governorate 
has a total of five hospitals, three of them in An Najaf 
city, and 14 primary health centers. 
 
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SPECIAL CIVL AFFAIRS BRIEFING IN AN NAJAF 
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16.  The DART attended special Office of Reconstruction and 
Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) briefings on 24 May in An 
Najaf by both the Marines and Army civilian affairs teams. 
The city's hospitals were referred to as "atrocious."  The 
Coalition forces have yet to provide assistance to 
hospitals, and non-governmental organizations and others 
have contributed only small quantities of drugs.  The sewer 
system is old and needs to be rehabilitated.  At full 
capacity, it would only service 20 percent of the city. 
They said the incoming water is chlorinated, although its 
filters needed to be replaced and some pumps and motors 
overhauled. 
 
17.  Coalition forces said diesel fuel was needed for An 
Najaf's power plant.  One turbine is currently running; two 
are not.  He said that if all three were running, they would 
provide only 40 percent of the city's electrical needs. 
Fifteen trucks delivered gas yesterday, and four LPG trucks 
were expected today. 
 
18.  Neither teachers, nor hospital employees, have been 
paid April salaries yet, though they had received their USD 
20 emergency payment.  Coalition forces said some teachers 
were leaving their schools to earn money elsewhere.  The 
textile industry, once a large employer in An Najaf, is 
suffering because a large textile factory was destroyed in 
the war.  Coalition forces also said another large industry, 
date production, might be harmed because it was too late to 
aerial spray the date trees. 
 
JONES