“We Will Not Be Silent”: Kurdish Lawmaker Vows to Reclaim Farmers’ Lands in Kirkuk

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a forceful and unequivocal declaration that targets the very root of the long-festering land disputes in Kirkuk and other Kurdistani territories, Dr. Shakhawan Abdullah, the Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, has vowed that he "will not be silent" until every last parcel of agricultural land is returned to its rightful Kurdish owners and the anachronistic contracts of "imported Arabs" are definitively nullified.

His powerful statement, backed by the revelation that he has already initiated a formal investigation through the Ministry of Agriculture into the illegal renewal of these Ba'ath-era contracts, signals a new and more assertive phase in the legal and political battle to reverse the legacy of decades of systematic Arabization and to finally deliver justice to thousands of dispossessed Kurdish farmers.

This uncompromising stance, articulated in a public post on Friday, comes at a critical moment, with the campaign for the Iraqi parliamentary elections reaching its climax. It elevates the deeply emotional and historically charged issue of land ownership to the forefront of the political discourse, positioning the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), for which Abdullah is a leading candidate, as the primary and most determined champion of the farmers' cause.

His direct intervention with the federal ministry is a clear demonstration of a strategy that combines grassroots mobilization with high-level political leverage, a two-pronged approach aimed at achieving a final and irreversible resolution to the crisis.

In his public statement, Dr. Abdullah was resolute. "We said we will not be silent until all the land of Kurdish farmers is returned and the contracts of the imported [Arabs] are nullified," he declared. He then revealed the specific and immediate actions he has taken to address a blatant and ongoing violation of the law in Kirkuk.

"After receiving information that the Kirkuk Director of Agriculture is still renewing the contracts of the imported Arabs, we sent three letters to the Minister of Agriculture," he explained.

The response from Baghdad, he confirmed, was swift and decisive. "He, in turn, notified Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salah al-Din for an investigation to be conducted on the matter, because those contracts have been nullified according to the law and the lands are returned to their [original] landowners."

This intervention is a direct response to a deeply frustrating and persistent problem that has plagued Kurdish farmers for years, particularly since the events of October 2017.

Despite the fact that the Iraqi Parliament has passed laws annulling the Ba'athist-era decrees that dispossessed Kurdish families and transferred their lands to Arab settlers, local officials in Kirkuk have, in many cases, continued to act as if those old laws are still in effect.

Abdullah's move to trigger a federal investigation is a clear attempt to break this cycle of local impunity and to force compliance with the laws passed in Baghdad.

The struggle of Kirkuk's Kurdish farmers is a painful and multi-faceted one, a daily battle fought not only in the fields but also in the courtrooms and in the face of state-backed intimidation. As recently as September, representatives of these farmers issued a powerful and impassioned public plea, decrying the political divisions that they argued were undermining their fight.

"Thousands of Kurdish farmers are still deprived of their agricultural lands, which were seized decades ago, and they continue to knock on doors to no avail," their statement read, a poignant cry for a unified political front to defend their rights.

Their plea was rooted in the harsh reality of on-the-ground conflicts, such as the one that has repeatedly flared up in the village of Tapa Sawz in the Khurmatu district.

There, Kurdish farmers have been defiantly resisting attempts by Arab settlers, often with the support of the Iraqi army, to seize their properties using the very same defunct Ba'ath-era contracts that Dr. Abdullah is now working to have officially nullified.

In a pattern of legal coercion, Kurdish landowners have faced arrest warrants for the "crime" of defending their own ancestral lands. One farmer from Tapa Sawz captured the spirit of this resistance, declaring, "I will not go before the court in any way, nor will I sign any pledge. We will not give up the land of our forefathers."

This pattern of harassment is not limited to land seizure attempts. Just this past week, in another stark example of the precarious situation faced by Kurdish farmers, Iraqi security forces arrested two men, Samad Karim and Nashat Rahman, in the village of Shanagha while they were simply plowing their fields.

Their agricultural tractors were also confiscated. While the two men were later released on bail following the intervention of local KDP officials, the incident served as yet another reminder of the constant state of tension and vulnerability that defines life for many Kurds in the Kurdistani territories.

It is this long and painful history of dispossession, legal harassment, and systemic marginalization that has made the issue of land rights so central to the current election campaign.

Dr. Shakhawan Abdullah, in his role as Deputy Speaker of Parliament and a leading KDP candidate in Kirkuk, has made the reversal of these injustices a cornerstone of his political platform. In a previous interview, he framed his campaign as a continuation of a long and arduous struggle, and anchored his appeal to voters on a simple but powerful pledge: "As always, we fulfill our promises and do not make a promise that we cannot fulfill."

His track record lends significant weight to this claim. He has been instrumental in the legislative efforts to annul the Ba'athist-era decrees and, as the former Chairman of the Committee on Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, he was pivotal in reviving the long-stalled article, which led to the resumption of compensation payments for displaced families.

His direct intervention to launch a federal investigation into the illegal renewal of settler contracts in Kirkuk is the latest and most forceful example of this commitment to turning legislative victories into on-the-ground reality.

As the election on November 11 approaches, the KDP's campaign in Kirkuk and other Kurdistani territories is being framed as a critical battle for the preservation of Kurdish rights and identity. The party is mobilizing thousands of displaced families, providing transportation to enable them to return to their hometowns and cast their ballots in what is being described as a "carnival" of democratic and national expression. 

For the KDP and its supporters, a strong showing at the polls is essential to sending a powerful and unified Kurdish bloc to Baghdad, one that can effectively protect their rights and ensure that the promises of the constitution are finally fulfilled.

Dr. Shakhawan Abdullah's vow to not remain silent is, therefore, more than just campaign rhetoric. It is a declaration of intent, a promise to the farmers of Kirkuk that their long and lonely fight is now being championed at the highest levels of the Iraqi state, and a clear signal that for the KDP, the battle for the land is a battle for the very soul of Kurdistan.