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LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/ KURDISTAN

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Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/ KURDISTAN

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sat Nov 16, 2024 9:07 pm

Governor calls for people of Kirkuk
    to return ahead of census
Kirkuk Governor Rebwar Taha on Saturday urged people originally from the disputed province to return to their Kirkuk homes for the national census later this week

“I call on the people, the families, who are not in Kirkuk, to start returning to their own city, be among your household, be among your relatives. This is for you, for your future, in order to not be stripped of your rights and entitlements and be included in the 2024 census,” Taha said during a press conference in Kirkuk.

“This process is for all the residents of Kirkuk and for Iraqi people in general, and there will not be any other reasons behind it,” Taha said.

Iraq will conduct a population census on November 20 and 21 for the first time in decades. The process has raised concerns among some Kurdish officials about how suspected demographic shifts in disputed areas will be reflected in the count.

A census could contribute to the resolution of many problems like Baathist-era Arabization, the status of the disputed Kirkuk province, and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) share of the federal budget.

    In a bid to address the Kurdish concerns, earlier this month the Iraqi government approved a KRG request to conduct the census based on residents’ place of origin rather than their current place of residence, using information from the Iraqi migration ministry and the 1957 census for reference in the disputed areas
“Regarding the general population census, it’s a general development census. The form presented to the family via the tablet device will be devoid of ethnicity, devoid of sectarianism, devoid of anything that shows an ethnic property,” Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim, director general of the administrative and financial department of the Iraqi planning ministry, said during the press conference.

Despite the emphasis on development and not ethnicity, calls for people to return to their places of origin have crescendoed, especially from parties representing minority groups.

In a Saturday post on X, the Assyrian Democratic Movement (Zowaa), called on Assyrians and Chaldeans to return to “actively contribute” in the census and help “to draw a better future for Iraq.”

“We also call on our people, the residents of Nineveh and the Nineveh Plains, that are in other Iraqi provinces, to be present at their places of origin on the census days and register from there, for it has great national importance,” read the statement.

Preliminary results of the count are expected to be announced within 24 hours, Abdulzahra al-Hindawi, spokesperson for the Iraqi planning ministry, told Rudaw on Saturday.

"The preliminary results will include the population counts at the national and provincial levels, as well as the number of males and females, along with some other details,” he said, adding that they will need more than two months to release the final results.

The Iraqi government has announced a two-day nation-wide curfew on the days of the census. Airports and border crossings will remain open for tourists and commercial movement, according to Mahmoud Osman, executive director of the population census in the Kurdistan Region.

Iraq last conducted a census in 1997, excluding the provinces of the Kurdistan Region. The last census involving the Kurdistan Region was in 1987.

Estimates put Iraq’s population at around 50 million. A census planned for 2020 was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/16112024
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Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/ KURDISTAN

PostAuthor: Anthea » Mon Nov 18, 2024 10:05 pm

Kurdish language and identity

Rudaw’s Bestoon Othman hosted Kirkuk Governor Rebwar Taha on Bestoon Talk show, discussing a wide range of topics in the disputed province, including the state of the Kurdish language in the province, the province’s previous administration under former acting governor Rakan al-Jabouri, investment projects, environment, and the controversial provincial council session during which he was elected

The following are key topics from the conversation:

Kurdish language

The restriction on the use of the Kurdish language in the official settings was one of the main questions the Kirkuk governor was asked, Taha said that he, as someone who is from Kirkuk, would prefer if everyone in the city used the languages of all the components of the city, and he has worked to remove the traces of Arabization in the province.

“I would love for everyone from Kirkuk to be able to speak all four languages [Kurdish, Arabic, Turkmen, Syriac], or at least the three main languages … It is true that there has been Arabization in the city. You can look at the history and the decisions in the Iraqi parliament, which I was a part of. They solidify the fact that Arabization had taken place,” Taha said.

Regarding complaints about insufficient aid for the Kurdish language in universities and schools, in terms of translating textbooks and exam questions into Kurdish, Taha said that there are specialized committees in the university to take care of the matter.

“There are specialized committees in the universities to translate the questions into Kurdish too, and they are obliged [to do so]. It is not a decision taken now, whoever wants to answer in Kurdish, let him do. The deanship of the faculty, or the institute, is obliged to hire teachers to translate and fix it [the questions] in the language you answer with,” Taha said, denying the existence of any obstacles against this practice, stating that it is a matter protected by the Iraqi constitution.

“There might have been instances of teachers abusing their positions, thinking or acting harshly against a student, but we cannot apply that on all the teachers,” he said.

Days following assuming his position as the governor of the multiethnic city of Kirkuk, Taha issued a directive for the province’s administrative units to include the usage of the Turkmen and Syriac languages alongside Kurdish and Arabic in all official documents.

The decision was a “confirmation of the (brotherhood) identity of Kirkuk and the diversity of its esteemed components,” according to a statement from his office at the time, and it applies to all province’s governmental, administrative, and departmental offices and units.

A Kurdish language ban was imposed in Kirkuk under Saddam Hussein, as a part of his regime’s efforts to convert the oil-rich territory into a predominantly Arab region. After Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003, Kurdish education was restarted.

Officials in Kirkuk have voiced concerns over the negligence of Kurdish education in the province, citing inadequate government support and challenges which leave Kurdish students at a disadvantage compared to their peers in the diverse city.

Hiwa Hassan, a member of the Kurdish education administration in Kirkuk, told Rudaw’s Ranj Sangawi in a program last week that while the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had invested in Kurdish education in the city after 2003, the current situation is less favorable.

“It is not very good,” he remarked, adding that there are many Kurdish children across neighborhoods and streets who are now enrolled in Arabic education. “People have lost trust in Kurdish education.”

In Arabic schools, the Kurdish language is only taught to upperclassmen.

Taha did not deny the unfair distribution of resources among the schools providing education in Kurdish and those providing education in Arabic.

“During the reign of [former prime minister] Adel Abdul Mahdi, more than 44 school projects by Chinese firms were announced for Kirkuk, but only two of them were in Kurdish populated areas, the remaining 42 were for other areas. This is injustice against the Kurdish people … this is stripping a Kurdish child of the right to be in a new building,” Taha said.

Opportunities in Kirkuk

The Kirkuk governor was asked about the equal distribution of employment opportunities in the public sector in the province among Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens - 32 percent each.

Taha said to establish such a system, they require a budget to be provided by the federal government, noting that it is not realistic at the moment.

“We can use the 32 percent principle for dividing the posts. When we established this administration, we made the national principle the criterion for Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians who participated in this administration. I agree with this idea and I ask my Arab and Turkmen brothers to help me in this. This is in my interest as a Kurd, and for you as other components of Kirkuk,” he said.

Taha said that despite his affiliation with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), he is prioritizing the public interest ahead of the party or national interest while being in his position.

Jalal Talabani, late leader of Taha’s PUK, was one of the staunch supporters of the 32 percent distribution idea.

Inheriting a 'ruined' office

Taha lamented that he had inherited a crumbling administration from the former acting governor Jabouri.

“I do not want to talk about the previous administration. I seriously get mad talking about them … We inherited a ruined administration … At first, I thought that it was an issue between Kurds and Arabs, but later I found out that they were having institutional fights - they have ruined institutions in Kirkuk” he said.

According to Taha, every administrative unit in Jabouri’s administration acted independently and disregarded his powers, resulting in chaos in the province.

“We do not have a budget. We have some petro-dollar funds which we are investing properly in the projects,” Taha said, urging people not to judge them with the status quo but the results of his projects for the province.

“We have prepared very good programs and our plans are really nice. We need to implement them step by step,” he said.

Taha pledged that the residents will start to see a greener Kirkuk by planting thousands of trees in the Kirkuk, and will fix the roads in every street in Kirkuk, adding that he will make it an obligation for every company that wants to invest in Kirkuk to plant at least 1,000 trees.

“During Rebwar’s tenure, no company will receive a project if it does not plant 1,000 trees,” Taha said.

Kurdish flag, representation

A student lamented that Kurds feel alienated in the city in terms of their cultural representation, saying that the Kurdish flag and traditional clothing are no longer spotted in the city - unlike the flags of Iraqi and Turkmens. Taha was asked if he could resolve this issue.

“Every citizen in Kirkuk is free to have the flag that he wants in his hands or on his shoulders,” Taha said, noting that in the past few days, a street theater festival took place in the city and the Kurdistan flag was raised during the festival, without being prevented by anyone.

    Following the October 17, 2017 events during which the traitor Bafel Talabani handed over control of Kirkuk and the disputed areas to the Iraqi Forces, the use of the Kurdish flag was prohibited. Kirkuk’s Kurds had to obtain special permission to celebrate national festivals such as their New Year, Nawroz, but the ban on the Kurdish flag remained in place
The PMF also replaced the Kurdistan flag, initially placed in the left hand of a famous Peshmerga statue in the city, with the Iraqi one.

Taha said he will wait for decisions to be made in Baghdad regarding the flag used in the provincial institutions, however, he stressed that every citizen is free to use the flag they desire to raise.

“Let anyone use Kurdistan’s flag, and I will interrogate anyone who interrogates them [the citizens],” he said.

Regarding the restoration of the Kurdistan flag for the Peshmerga statue, Taha said he will “resolve” the issue without elaborating.

Controversial council session

Taha was appointed as the governor of the disputed province in August following a controversial Kirkuk provincial council session that took place in Baghdad. Nine out of the 16 members of the council were in attendance: all five PUK members, three Arab members, and the winner of the Christian minority quota. The meeting was not attended by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) or Turkmen members.

Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hafidh of the Qiyada Alliance, an Arab party, was nominated for the post of council chief.

Taha rejected accusations of having compromised the Kurdish identity of Kirkuk in return for his appointment.

“We have not promised anything … Neither I nor my party has done something like that, and no one has taken a similar step. I am responsible for what I tell you,” Taha said, on rumors of having promised their provincial government ally to not raise the Kurdish flag, or say the city is Kurdish.

He also denied having compromised Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution during the local government talks, saying neither he nor his PUK has the right to make any decisions on the matter.

The people of Kirkuk can decide this

Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution details steps to resolve a dispute between the federal and regional governments who both claim jurisdiction over disputed areas of the country such as Kirkuk province. Successive federal governments have failed to implement the article.

Population census

Iraq will conduct a population census on November 20 and 21 for the first time in decades. The process has raised concerns among some Kurdish officials about how demographic shifts in disputed areas will be reflected in the count.

A census could contribute to the resolution of many problems like Baathist-era Arabization, and the status of the disputed Kirkuk province.

In a bid to address the Kurdish concerns, earlier this month the Iraqi government approved a KRG request to conduct the census based on residents’ place of origin rather than their current place of residence, using information from the Iraqi migration ministry and the 1957 census for reference in the disputed areas.

Census not gather information on ethnicity

Taha reiterated that the census will be used for development purposes only, and will contribute to the allocated budget to the province, which can be used for improving the city.

“Some of the concerns regarding the census are right and valid,” Taha said, “we need to be meticulous on this matter, and make sure that all the promises given to our brother in the KRG’s planning ministry, and us, are implemented and executed.”

The Kirkuk governor also reiterated his support for the return of the people of Kirkuk to their city during the days of the census in order to be counted as a resident of the disputed province

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/17112024
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Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/ KURDISTAN

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Nov 19, 2024 11:06 pm

Return of Kirkuk Villagers Blocked

Residents of Palkana village in Kirkuk have accused the Iraqi army of threatening to imprison them and preventing their return to their homes, even as they attempt to participate in Iraq’s census process

Several residents told Kurdistan 24 that they were denied access to their village, where many have not resided since the events of October 16, 2017. The Iraqi army reportedly allowed the families a brief window to evacuate but has otherwise barred them from staying or registering for the census.

    "We are about 30 families who came to the village to register ourselves for the census, but the army prevents us from returning to our houses, which are now occupied," one resident told the report. "They only gave us a few hours to leave the village."
Another villager alleged that the army has issued threats of imprisonment should they persist in their efforts to remain. "We insist on staying in the village because it is our home, and we must register here," he said.

The residents have called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Kirkuk’s local administration to intervene and stop the Iraqi army’s involvement in the census process.

    The tensions in Palkana are part of broader disputes in disputed territories such as Kirkuk, where Kurdish residents have faced restrictions since the federal government was given control of the area by the traitor Bafel Talabani following the Kurdish independence referendum in 2017
In recent years, Kurdish farmers in the region have also accused the Iraqi army of blocking access to their agricultural lands during harvest season. These incidents have sparked widespread concern and drawn appeals to officials, including the KRG, the Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, and the Iraqi Prime Minister, for resolution.

The village residents hope for swift action to address their grievances and ensure their participation in Iraq’s census process without further obstruction.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/866960
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