LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/ KURDISTAN

[Anthea]

KDP headquarters given to university
By Wladimir van Wilgenburg

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)’s central committee on Thursday decided to hand over its headquarters in Kirkuk to the university of Kirkuk

Today under the auspices of President @masoud_barzani , we had a regular meeting of KDP central committee . A wide range of political and party related issues discussed in details. Preparations for upcoming elections underlined . One of the decisions in this mtg was to grant the… pic.twitter.com/OFx3fSslo5
— Dr. Hemn Hawrami (@heminhawrami) October 26, 2023

“Today under the auspices of (KDP) President @masoud_barzani, we had a regular meeting of KDP central committee,” Hemin Hawrami, a member of the KDP Political Bureau, said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“One of the decisions in this mtg (meeting) was to grant the KDP’s HQ in Kirkuk to the university of Kirkuk aiming at serving the university students and deepening fraternity among all components of Kirkuk,” he added.

Today’s meeting of the #KDP Central Committee: In order to preserve the spirit of unity and stability of Kirkuk, and to appreciate and respect the steadfast and striving people of this city who have been long defiant and continuously offered sacrifices for their legitimate goals,… pic.twitter.com/z0uA1CH6Hy
— KDP ForeignRelations (@kdpfro) October 26, 2023

The KDP’s Foreign Relations also on Twitter said the decision was made in “order to preserve the spirit of unity and stability of Kirkuk, and to appreciate and respect the steadfast and striving people of this city who have been long defiant and continuously offered sacrifices for their legitimate goals.”

In early September, Turkmen and Shia protestors blocked the Erbil-Kirkuk road protesting the decision by Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani to hand over the Iraqi Joint Operations Command center to the KDP, which previously served as its local headquarters.

During a Kurdish counterprotest, at least four Kurdish demonstrators were killed while 14 others were wounded, when Iraqi security forces opened fire.

After the incident, on Sept. 3 the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court’s Sunday overturned the decision by the Iraqi PM.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani earlier ordered the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs to register the killed protestors in Kirkuk as “martyrs”.

Moreover, Hawrami also said a wide range of political and party related issues were discussed in detail, including preparations for upcoming elections.

The provincial elections will be held on 18 December—the first such elections to be held since 2013.

Previously, the 2018 provincial elections were delayed due to technical issues, and the provincial councils were subsequently removed in the aftermath of the 2019 protests.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/32 ... -of-Kirkuk

[Anthea]

Duhok festival of homegrown crops

Kurdistan: Barwari Bala’s famous apples were the pride of the show at a harvest festival in Duhok’s mountainous Amedi district that wants to promote homegrown food.

“The festival is good to promote our apple that is famous in Barwari Bala,” Obaid Ravini, a farmer, told Rudaw’s Ayub Nasri on Friday.

The three-day event attracts farmers and visitors from the surrounding area as well as neighboring countries.

In addition to the famed apples, other products such as honey, cheese and other dairy products, and dried fruits were available. Farmers hope to promote their homegrown crops over imported produce from Turkey and Iran.

“Our ancestors lived on this produce that made them strong and healthy. I think we are once again returning to Kurdish traditional food, vegetables, fruits, and other local produce,” said participant Aveen Zaki.

A key objective of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s cabinet is to diversify the Kurdistan Region’s economy by taking advantage of its agricultural capabilities to export produce.

Also at the festival, Kurdish folk dancers performed traditional dances, known as halparke, and original art was on display.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/281020231

[Anthea]

KDP Election Posters Targeted

As the official election campaign for Iraqi provincial elections began, a number of election posters promoting candidates from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Kirkuk have been vandalized, with Kurdish candidates being the primary focus of the attacks

The vandalism has predominantly affected the electoral campaigns of Kurdish candidates, especially those affiliated with the KDP, according to Kurdistan 24.

Mohammed Khorsheed, a KDP candidate running for a provincial council seat, expressed his concerns over the widespread defacement of campaign posters. He stated, "Most of our posters have been torn down and destroyed," reflecting the extent of the damage.

Khorsheed refrained from assigning blame for the vandalism, but he emphasized the political ramifications of such actions, stating, "This is a political insolvency for anyone behind this act."

The KDP's presence in the disputed Kurdish province of Kirkuk has been relatively limited since 2017 when the party played a leading role in the Kurdistan Region's independence referendum, which encompassed disputed (stolen) territories between Erbil and Baghdad.

While Iraqi federal provinces are preparing for provincial council elections scheduled for December 18, 2023, the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region conducts separate elections for its own regional councils, a distinct political arrangement.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/829121

[Anthea]

BCF's Winter Clothing to Duhok

The Kurdish Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) on Tuesday announced its aid crews distributed winter clothes to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Duhok province

The charity group said it extended its humanitarian assistance to IDPs at the Bersive camp in Duhok province in cooperation with a philanthropist, where a number of low-income families were helped out and were given thermal clothing as winter approaches.

In recent weeks, the Barzani Charity Foundation has been actively engaged in humanitarian efforts across the Kurdistan Region, Nineveh Plains, and disputed Kurdish territories. Its aid crews have been delivering a number of humanitarian services, including the provision of English language and music classes, the organization of tailoring workshops, and the delivery of computer training to internally displaced persons. These initiatives are designed to alleviate the difficulties faced by IDPs and improve their living conditions.

Situated in the Kurdistan Region, the BCF holds a crucial role as a charity organization, making a significant impact on both the local and regional levels. Their primary mission revolves around providing financial support to underprivileged families and offering humanitarian aid and relief to individuals affected by natural disasters and conflicts.

Furthermore, the charity group supplies essential resources to internally displaced persons, which include tents, blankets, medical supplies, educational materials, food packages, financial aid, and other necessary provisions.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/829434

[Anthea]

Education uses Kurdish alphabet

Kirkuk’s education directorate on Friday reversed a controversial decision to replace the use of the Kurdish alphabet in the official records of schools in the province, following pressure from the city’s Kurdish MPs

In a letter to the city’s primary schools, the education directorate ordered them to use the Arabic alphabet when writing students’ names instead of the Kurdish one.

“This decision is illegal, because Kurdish is an official language, and we have education in Kurdish in Kirkuk,” Sabah Habib, a member of the education committee in the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw’s Hardi Mohammed on Friday.

Habib said the decision was taken by the primary screening center in Kirkuk’s education directorate, in charge of student records, upon receiving directives from its counterpart in Baghdad, on the basis that this would prevent issues that might arise while recording the names of students, as the clerks in Baghdad do not know how to use the Kurdish keyboard.

According to Habib the education directorate’s order put forth the option to use Kurdish spelling of student names using Arabic letters, which he also deems to be unacceptable.

“We do not accept it like that either, we will send them Kurdish employees, we will provide them with Kurdish font to eliminate their excuses and solve their issue,” he said.

Following the negative reactions from the Kurds of Kirkuk, the education directorate released a statement saying that Kurdish letters will also be used to record students’ names, reversing the controversial decision.

The Iraqi constitution recognizes Kurdish and Arabic as the country's official languages, while also enshrining the rights of minorities such as Turkmens, Assyrians, and Armenians to study in their mother tongues in the state’s educational institutions.

Any move against the Kurdish language is particularly loaded in Kirkuk, where under Iraq’s Baathist regime the use of Kurdish was banned, as a part of the efforts to Arabize the oil-rich city. After Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003, education in Kurdish was restarted.

The Kurdish language is taught in 515 schools and kindergartens in Kirkuk province. According to data from the Kurdish Studies Department in Kirkuk, 7,600 teachers run these classes and an estimated 98,000 students are studying the Kurdish language.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/10112023

[Anthea]

Arabs and Turkmens Seek Postponement

The Arab and Turkmen communities in the disputed (stolen) Kurdish province of Kirkuk have jointly filed a complaint with the Iraqi top court, seeking the postponement of provincial council elections

Their contention revolves around the alleged addition of 257,000 voters to the electoral registers, according to information obtained by BasNews.

As the campaign for the provincial council elections unfolds in Kirkuk, the situation remains uncertain amid these new political challenges.

The Arab community, currently in power in Kirkuk, is advocating against holding elections, preferring the status quo.

Azam Hamdani, a candidate of the Arab coalition, told Kurdistan 24, "Complaints have been filed by the Arab and Turkmen communities.”

In Kirkuk, where Kurds have five lists and coalitions, political forces unanimously emphasize the necessity of conducting the provincial council elections to ensure effective representation.

"The attempts by the Turkmen and Arabs to avoid elections suggest their concern that the Kurdish position in Kirkuk might strengthen, especially since the Kurdish position weakened after October 16,” Mullah Farhan Sharia, a candidate in the city, said.

Scheduled for December 18, 2023, the provincial council elections in Kirkuk, like other Iraqi provinces, face uncertainty due to these contested claims.

The Iraqi Election Commission reports that over 16 million eligible voters are gearing up for the provincial council elections. With 7,765 polling stations set to open, including 48,400 booths for public, private, and refugee voting, the electoral process involves 214,595 employees, including civil servants, university students, and graduates.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/830509

[Papillon2017]

That os the eternal issue in Middle-East about democracy and representation. Democrastic elections means the victory of the majority. Then, minorities and weaker political groups fear to be excluded from the society and all places of power. Then they protest and claim a 'consensus rule', aka a 'tribal council', or a 'Lebanese model'.

If not, civil war : PUK vs KDP in 90s, Sunnis vs Shiites in 2004, 2015, etc. And of course Turkmens/Arabs/ Kurds in Kirkuk.

The Western democratic model of elections is the real issue in Middle East

[Anthea]

In the UK, as in most countries, when someone steals another's home or land they are evicted and sent to prison

The thieves are NOT allow to remain in the property and certainly NOT allowed to claim voting rights from that property

Their is a marked resemblance between Iraqi actions against the Kurds and Israels actions against the Palestinians

Over the years, Iraqis have used extreme violence against the Kurds to remove them, not just from their homelands but from the very face of the earth

Over the years, Israelis have used extreme violence against the Palestinians to remove them from their homelands

Both the Palestinians and the Kurds deserve to live in peace on their lands

Iraqis MUST be removed from lands they have stolen from the Kurds

Israelis MUST be removed from lands they have stolen from the Palestinians

[Anthea]

Iraqi Army Raids Kurdish Villages in Kirkuk

Several units from the Iraqi army overnight raided a number of villages in the Sargaran area near the disputed Kurdish city of Kirkuk, and arrested some Kurdish farmers

The army arrested seven Kurdish farmers, accusing them of doing agriculture on farmlands belonging to local indigenous Kurdish farmers in the disputed Kurdish province of Kirkuk, Kurdistan 24 reported, quoting an eyewitness and farmer from the Palkana village.

Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk province have consistently been facing discriminatory treatment from the Iraqi army and provincial authorities in recent years. They have on multiple occasions reached out to Kurdish and Iraqi lawmakers, urging the Iraqi army to stop encroaching on their farmlands, some of which have already been militarized

In 2017, the Iraqi military took control of disputed Kurdish territories, including Kirkuk. The military intervention reignited the process of Arabization, which involves the resettlement of Arab families in these areas. Consequently, tensions between Kirkuk's Kurdish and Arab communities escalated, heightening concerns about further demographic changes in the province.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/831429

[Anthea]

KDP Opened Office in Kirkuk

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) opened one of its branches in the disputed Kurdish city of Kirkuk on Sunday.

Today, KDP officials will be joined by fans and members to open a party's branch in the city of Kirkuk. The move comes ahead of the upcoming provincial elections across Iraq, including in disputed Kurdish territories.

Earlier this month, KDP officials handed over the party's leadership headquarters in the city to Kirkuk university, a decision made by the KDP leadership recently following the recent unrest in the city.

In September of this year, Kurdish citizens in Kirkuk city staged peaceful protests demanding that the road connecting the city to Erbil reopen. The road was shut down earlier by supporters of the pro-Iran Hashd al-Shaabi militia in response to the recent transfer of KDP headquarters to the party.

During the protests, Iraqi security forces opened fire on protestors killing four of them and injuring 16 others. This indiscriminate shooting of peaceful protestors drew criticism from human rights organizations, including from the Human Rights Watch.

The KDP left Kirkuk after the province was captured by the pro-Iran Hashd al-Shaabi militias in October 2017. The return of the party to the city is widely described as a significant morale boost for local Kurdish populations ahead of the country's provincial elections in December.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/831428

[Anthea]

BCF Hand of Cooperation Project

The Kirkuk office of the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) has announced the distribution of cash, food baskets and school supplies to 30 poor families in the disputed Kurdish province

“We announced the 'Hand of Cooperation' project in Kirkuk today. We distributed cash, food baskets and school supplies to 30 low-income families,” Rebwar Mohiuddin, head of the Kirkuk office of the BCF, told Kurdistan24 on Tuesday.

“Like all other organizations, we plan a number of projects every year and propose them to the head of the agency, Mohiuddin noted.

Under the auspices of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, the BCF pays special attention to the people of Kirkuk, the Kurdish official said.

"Last year, more than two billion dinars worth of aid was distributed to the citizens of Kirkuk, including food baskets, school supplies, clean water and many other things," he added, pointing out that they are currently planning for 2024 to serve the citizens of Kirkuk in the “best way”.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/831744

[Anthea]

Kurdish families prevented from reclaiming homes

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – For the past six years, more than 160 houses belonging to Kurdish residents of Kirkuk in the Mahaskar Khaleed neighborhood have been confiscated and given to Shiite Turkmen. The Turkmen Brigades – an Iraqi Turkmen armed group formed as part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) – have prohibited the Kurdish families from returning to their homes

The neighborhood of Mahaskar Khaleed has historically been ethnically Kurdish. After Oct. 16, 2017, the name of the neighborhood was changed to Badr, and many Kurds either fled or were evicted

One of those whose house had been confiscated told Kurdistan 24 "After October 16, they came to us by force, occupied our houses, and then sold them. I own a house in the neighborhood. It has been occupied for many years, but I have not been able to return to it."

All Kurdish iconography has been erased from the neighborhood, and in an utter act of humiliation, the occupying forces have also draped the Peshmerga statue in the town square of the city with an Iraqi flag. Erected in the summer of 2017, the statue was constructed to celebrate Peshmerga's victories in the war against ISIS, only to have it later seized by the occupying PMF.

The Kurds see victory in the Iraqi provincial council elections as the only solution to end Arabization and prevent demographic change in the city.

Ahang Anwar, the candidate of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) for the Kirkuk provincial council elections, said: “We are trying to take serious legal steps to resolve any such issues through the courts.”

After Oct. 16, many Arab and Turkmen citizens from central and southern Iraq were brought to Kirkuk and settled. The process continues in various ways

The Kurds claim they became marginalized from most administrative positions and replaced by Arabs and Turkmen, which previously represented a minority in provincial councils and elections.

As a multi-ethnic province, ownership of Kirkuk has long been disputed among Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs.

In the 1970s, the former Ba'athist regime began a massive campaign to change the demography of the province, resettling Arabs and seizing lands owned by Kurds

Ratified in 2005, Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution stipulates that the status of the province is to be decided by conducting a census, followed by a referendum, and an ensuing de-Arabization of the area.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/33 ... rkuk-homes

[Anthea]

No Postponement of Elections in Kirkuk

The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a decisive verdict, dismissing a complaint aimed at postponing the Kirkuk provincial council election

The complaint, lodged by various Turkmen and Arab parties, sought to synchronize the Kirkuk provincial council elections with the broader Iraqi provincial council elections.

Multiple special hearings were conducted by the court to deliberate on the complaint before the ultimate decision was reached, maintaining the scheduled date for the Kirkuk provincial council elections. The court officially rejected the plea for postponement on Tuesday.

The backdrop to this legal dispute lies in the fact that Kirkuk has not seen provincial council elections since 2005. The long-awaited elections are set to take place on December 18 in Iraq, including the disputed (stolen) Kurdish province of Kirkuk.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/833211

[Anthea]

Iraqi army raids Kirkuk

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Iraqi Army on Thursday night raided several homes in the Newroz neighborhood of Kirkuk and arrested three Kurds in the neighborhood, according to Kurdistan24 reporter Soran Kamran

The detainees were released the same night.

A resident of the Newroz neighborhood told Kurdistan24 “This has been a Kurdish neighborhood for more than 21 years. They [Iraqi Army] came to occupy our houses.”

"The Iraqi army threatened to hand us over to intelligence agencies," one of the detainees told the media after his release, adding that the armed forces “mishandled” them.

The Kurdistan24 reporter also added that the Iraqi forces said that they had an order from the country’s Ministry of Defense to evacuate the houses, with a large force being deployed to the neighborhood.

Later in the night, after the effort of Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Shakhawan Abdullah, some of the forces withdrew from the neighborhood.

Kirkuk has been a battleground state during the recent provincial elections in Iraq, with Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen all vying for control.

Earlier in August 2023, Shiite protestors blocked the main road from Kirkuk to Erbil after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani notified the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) that they were to hand over certain offices for the return of the KDP. Kurdish counter-protests ensued, and four Kurds were shot dead, drawing strong condemnations from Erbil.

Kirkuk, along with parts of Diyala and Saladin provinces, have been a disputed territory between the Kurds and the Iraqi government for decades. Per the Iraqi Constitution’s Article 140, the status of these areas had to be decided by the local population in a referendum following the de-Arabization process by no later than 2007.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/33 ... -in-Kirkuk

[Anthea]

Iraqi army attempts to forcibly expel Kurds

The Iraqi army on Thursday raided the houses of some Kurds residing in a Kirkuk neighborhood, attempting to forcibly replace them with Arabs despite efforts by Kurdish officials in Baghdad to resolve the issue

A total of 172 families, mostly Kurds, reside in Kirkuk city’s Newroz neighborhood’s 122 houses. They recently told Rudaw that they fear they might be forced out of their homes as the Iraqi army plans to turn the neighborhood into a military base.

The army, which has been present in the neighborhood for days, began forcibly expelling some families on Thursday, locals told Rudaw.

At least three people were arrested by the army for resisting the eviction attempts.

A Kurdish man told Rudaw’s Hardi Mohammed that the army had “attacked” Kurdish residents of the neighborhood with the aim of replacing them with Arabs.

“This is like Anfal,” he said, referring to the massacre of over 182,000 Iraqi Kurds by the Baath regime decades ago. He called on Kurdish officials and politicians to rush to their aid.

“They take our people into humvees and beat them,” claimed the elderly man.

Another Kurd, whose brother is among the arrested, told Rudaw that the army did not have any documents from the court legitimizing the raids it carried out.

“They forcibly expelled Kurds only because they are Kurds,” said another local.

They refused to leave their houses. “We are not leaving here. This is the place of our ancestors,” said one of them.

Iraq’s Justice Minister Khalid Shwani, a Kurd, told Rudaw over the phone that he has spoken to relevant authorities in Baghdad to resolve the issue.

“I spoke with the prime minister [Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani]. I also sent him footage [of the expulsion]. I told him that these violations are unacceptable and are a grave attack on Newroz residents,” he said, adding that the defense minister has ordered the force currently stationed in Newroz to withdraw from the neighbourhood.

According to Rudaw reporters on the ground the withdrawal has now been seen through.

The houses in the Newroz neighborhood were previously inhabited by members of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath party. After the fall of the regime, Kurdish families from Kirkuk who had been displaced to other parts of the country, returned to the neighborhood and took up residence in those houses.

Paul Bremer, the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority which oversaw Iraq after 2003, issued a decree to register these houses as property of the finance ministry.

A decree issued by the former Kirkuk provincial council granted the families the right to remain in the houses until the federal government provided them with compensation.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/040120244