Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk start harvesting after deal reached

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk on Thursday started harvesting their crops after a delegation from the federal parliament temporarily resolved a land dispute with Arab settlers. 

“Today is like a feast for me,” Salar Omar, a Kurdish farmer in Palkana, told Rudaw on Thursday, hours after he started bringing in his wheat. “This is the case for all the people of Palkana and Kurdistan.”

On ten farms, while the farmers are permitted to bring in their harvest, they are barred from all other activities because of the ongoing dispute. 

Shakhawan Abdullah, deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, on Wednesday led a delegation to Palkana village to mediate a week-long standoff between Kurds and Arabs. As a result of that visit, the harvest ban was lifted.

Fakhir Ismail, another Kurdish farmer in Palkana, said he has already registered his name to sell his wheat to the Iraqi government.  

“We are all the farmers of the government,” he said, adding that the federal government treats them the same way it treats farmers in other provinces when buying their wheat. 

Kurdish farmers have historically cultivated and owned the land in question, particularly in Palkana. They maintain that they have official documents proving their historic ownership. 

The dispute between Arab settlers and Kurdish farmers dates back to the Baathist era. Land belonging to several villages was taken away from Kurdish farmers by the Iraqi government in 1975 on the grounds that they were located in prohibited oil zones. Two years later, under Decree No. 949 issued by the Baath Supreme Revolutionary Court, the land was given to Arabs who were resettled in the area from elsewhere in Iraq.

The Arabization of the province has been a historical flashpoint between Baghdad and the Kurds.

After 2003 and the fall of the Baath regime, Iraq began a policy of de-Arabization within the framework of Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, which aims to reverse the demographic changes carried out by former dictator Hussein. The article has never been fully implemented, however, and land disputes still exist.

Hardi Mohammed contributed to this article.