INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Tfiz01: Dart Situation Report 13 April 2003

Published: Mon 14 Apr 2003 02:06 PM
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 001415
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
DOHA FOR MSHIRLEY
ANKARA FOR AMB WRPEARSON, ECON AJSIROTIC AND DART
AMMAN FOR USAID AND DART
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF IZ WFP
SUBJECT: TFIZ01: DART SITUATION REPORT 13 APRIL 2003
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SUMMARY
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1. The issue of milling of the Australian-donated wheat has
yet to be resolved as WFP cannot proceed with milling until
the negotiations with OIP are completed. Representatives of
the IRAC reported that documents have been completely looted
from GOI intelligence offices in Umm Qasr. DART members met
for the second time with the newly designated village
council in Umm Qasr on 12 April. A Coalition assessment of
the power situation in Najaf revealed that fuel consumption
at the power plant is much greater than earlier indicated.
END SUMMARY.
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FOOD
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2. The first ship containing Australian-donated wheat, the
Pearl of Fujairah, is now berthed at Kuwait's commercial
port with 39,500 metric tons (MT), having offloaded 10,500
MT at the military port. The discharge of the wheat is
expected to take approximately five days. The second ship,
the Andromedra, remains off the coast of Oman.
3. The World Food Program (WFP) is looking into milling
capacity in Iraq, as Kuwait's capacity is only 400 MT per
day. Basrah's capacity was 1,600 MT per day, and the mill
in An Nasiriyah also appears functional. The most likely
solution to the issue of milling the Australian wheat will
be some combination of Kuwaiti and Iraqi mills. However,
WFP cannot proceed with milling until the negotiations
between the Office of Iraq Program (OIP) and WFP have been
completed.
4. The DART food team met with the newly arrived WFP Senior
Program Officer from the WFP/Iraq operation on 11 April. An
additional eight to ten WFP program staff will be arriving
over the next week in Kuwait and will move into Iraq as soon
as security permits. The DART discussed how to
appropriately balance the tasks of addressing immediate food
needs and reviving the public distribution system (PDS).
WFP's Senior Program Officer also traveled to Umm Qasr on 12
April to meet with the assembled village leaders and food
agents.
5. DART and WFP held a second meeting with the Kuwait Red
Crescent Society (KRCS) on 11 April. KRCS asked WFP for
guidance in conducting distributions. Also discussed was
the possibility of the KRCS providing complementary
commodities to what WFP would be providing through the PDS,
such as canned meat or fish. KRCS is very open to this and
has funding to make purchases. KRCS is also preparing to
collaborate with the Iraqi Red Crescent Society once it re-
emerges.
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ABUSE PREVENTION UNIT
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6. Representatives of the Iraqi Refugee Aid Council (IRAC)
reported that documents have been completely looted from
Government of Iraq (GOI) intelligence offices in Umm Qasr.
IRAC also repeated what many news organizations have
reported over the last two days: widespread looting across
the country has scattered many of the documents (e.g.,
property records, birth certificates, and intelligence
documents) that could be used to reconcile volatile disputes
and help establish the true extent of prior abuses by the
GOI. News reports indicate that documents in some Baghdad
hospitals have been destroyed.
7. Coalition forces investigating the warehouse where
hundreds of bodies were discovered outside of Umm Qasr used
the USAID Field Guide to Preventing, Mitigating and
Responding to Human Rights Abuses as a reference in their
investigation.
8. On 12 April, a DART Abuse Prevention Officer (APO)
traveled to An Nasiriyah with a DART advance party for a
three-day assessment trip. The APO will make contact with
Coalition forces operating in the area and meet with local
leaders to assess patterns of abuse and vulnerable segments
of the population.
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TRANSITION INITIATIVES
----------------------
9. The DART's Transitions Officer and grant administrators
met for the second time with the newly designated village
council in Umm Qasr on 12 April. A list of equipment and
supplies needed for the council to become fully operational
was developed and plans to provide office space were
discussed. In addition, requirements for refurbishing a
primary school were examined. A follow-up meeting is
planned for next week.
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COALITION ASSESSMENT OF POWER IN AN NAJAF
--------------------------------------
10. Coalition forces conducted an assessment of the power
situation in An Najaf on 10 April. The assessment revealed
that fuel consumption at the power plant is much greater
than earlier indicated. The plant requires 2,000 gallons of
natural gas per day per megawatt produced. The holding tank
on site has a capacity of 200,000 gallons. The primary fuel
line for this plant runs from Basrah, but pressure in that
line is dropping. Coalition forces were informed that if
the natural gas flow from Basrah can be restored, the power
plant in An Najaf as well as plants at other locations will
be self-sustaining and operational. Coalition forces are
investigating the status of the natural gas pipeline coming
to An Najaf from Basrah.
JONES
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