Kurd & Turkmen Lands in Kirkuk Remain Confiscated

Agencies

Press conference of civil society organisations and activists.

Civil society organisations and activists in Kirkuk express their stance towards the confiscated lands of the Kurdish and Turkmen communities, stating: "We insist that the lands of the Kurdish and Turkmen communities not be yielded to a chauvinistic ideology or the resolutions of a defunct dictatorial regime, whose inequitable decisions persist."

Civil society organisations in Kirkuk held a press conference in Kirkuk, stating: “As civil society organisations and activists in Kirkuk and out of our concern for the democratic system and the return of confiscated lands, we felt it necessary to express our concern about the attempts to obstruct the passage of the bill that cancels the decisions of the Revolutionary Command Council.”

They said, “Unfortunately, despite the agreement and the absolute majority, problems are being created in an uncivilised manner for this important process. We insist that the lands of the Kurdish and Turkmen communities not be yielded to a chauvinistic ideology or the resolutions of a defunct dictatorial regime, whose inequitable decisions persist."

The Iraqi Parliament has so far held several sessions to pass several of the Property Restitution Bill sought by Kurdish representatives. The bill, which is yet to be passed and is supported by the five Kurdish blocs in the Iraqi Parliament, aims to overturn Baath Party-era decisions regarding agricultural lands in areas covered by Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution. 

These decisions, made in the 1970s, led to the confiscation of lands from Kurdish and Turkmen farmers, which were then redistributed to Arab settlers, primarily in Kirkuk. The bill seeks to return these properties to their original owners and address the ethnic imbalance caused by the Baathist regime's policies.



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