Many Kakais fought alongside the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga to defend their homeland against the Islamic State (ISIS) extremists from 2014-2017; however in the aftermath of the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum, many Kakais are caught between Iraqi security and Peshmerga forces in the disputed and Kurdistani areas.
Kakai, a lecturer who specializes on genocide at the Lebanese French University in Erbil, sat down with Rudaw English on May 27, 2019, to discuss the string of recent crop burnings in areas around Khanaqin, southern Kirkuk, and in particular Daquq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi downplayed ISIS arsons in these areas during his weekly press conference on Tuesday, but Kakai argues that the Federal Police are not even conducting investigations into the arsons. He and the Kakai community believe the fires are the work of ISIS as some of the militants are known by locals, have demanded Islamic taxes, and speak with Iraqi accents.
Farhad Kakai: Because first they came to us and said we should have to pay a tax to use the land. They said, “If you don’t pay the tax there will be a reaction.” So what they are doing now is burning all the wheat farms of the Kakais for several reasons: one, to discourage Kakais to leave the area; second, as a punishment for being un-Islamic; third to deliver on their previous threats.
So who else is being targeted? Kurdish Muslims? Arab Muslims? Turkmen?
Yes. But we think because they started in Khanaqin with the Kakai villages, then they go to any place where the people do not believe as they do or refuse to deal with them, they’ll burn their farms.
You’ve talked about the jizya, or Islamic tax. Do they talk about conversion, kidnappings, etc? How are they coming into the villages?
They don’t enter formally. They come especially during the nights. What else they do is say, “If you want to pay the tax, call this number.” They try to hide themselves because they are afraid of becoming known to Army operations. So they do it secretly. But you can see the results of their actions.
Who are these people?
They are remnants of ISIS (the Islamic State).
How do you know? Are they recognizable to the locals? Are their Arabic accents Iraqi?
They say they are Daesh. Some are recognizable by locals. They all have Iraqi accents.
So do the local mukhtars and aghas try to negotiate with what you’ve called ISIS?
They do not try to negotiate. They come with force in batches. They don’t negotiate. They say, "You should do that, and then they leave.”
Is the group organized or are their acts random?
They do it randomly, but it depends on the time. Not only are they burning the lands right now, but they put bombs in the way of the people who want to put out the fire so the bombs injure them, and I sent you the photo of the man who was killed last night.
How many villages in the Daquq and Gulala (or Jalawla) areas are Kakai and how many have been targeted?
We have around 7 villages in Khanaqin, 11 in Daquq, 8 in Nineveh [near Khazir]. Most outside of Nineveh have been targeted.
Who is in charge of the security in these disputed areas after the events of October 2017?
Officially, it is Iraq’s government, officially. But in reality there are two groups, the Federal Police and the Hashd al-Shaabi. The Hashd al-Shaabi nowadays aren’t showing themselves much. They are limited, but still exist. But these two groups are in charge of taking care of the people, the lands, and the security of their lands. But they don’t do their jobs.
Why are there so many attacks in these areas now? Last year there were some reports of kidnappings, killings, and extortions, but not crop burnings.
I believe it’s due to two things: the absence of the Peshmerga and second there are arguments, or should I say the disagreements between America and Iran have encouraged them as well because they know the groups who are loyal to Iran will be busier and will leave their areas [of responsibility] which leaves them empty. So [ISIS] has more freedom to do what it wants to do. They were strong [last year], but are emboldened this year.
The Hashd who are in the villages… Are they tied to Iran or are they part of the Iraqi system?
According to my knowledge, 80 percent of the Hashd al-Shaabi belong to Iran — or belong to the commanders who are loyal to Iran. But in regards to what has happened a few days ago, even the Federal Police aren’t conducting follow-up investigations into what is happening to our villages. They don’t send people to write reports. It’s not just that they aren’t stopping the bad people, even they aren’t reporting it. Three bombs exploded targeting the Kakais, but not one report was written by them. They aren’t going to see what happened. That means the forces or battalions are actually encouraging ISIS to do these kinds of things. If they took action, we wouldn’t see this.
Last year in the elections in the Kurdistan Region and in Iraq, there was no minority quota seat devoted to the Kakais. Is there a prevailing thought among Kakais on whether you want to be afforded a minority seat, or are you OK with representation through the current Kurdistani parties like the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)?
Compared the past, we at least have Law No. 5 of 2015 here that recognizes the Kakais as a minority or component in the Kurdistan Region, but we did not see this type of law in Iraq. So it isn’t dependent upon the KDP or PUK, it depends on the two governments. The Iraqi government is avoiding our rights even though we are more in Kirkuk and Khanaqin than Erbil and Sulaimani. So some Kakais get tricked by the Iraqi government. They are told, “You should record yourself as a Shiite” — which is not correct. Some are saying that if you are a minority component then you are more visible and an easier target for terrorist groups.
On the provincial councils we may have only one or two representatives. We need an encompassing law for all minorities, not just for the Kakais. There should be equality between the minorities and religions. For example, if you want to have a judge, according to Iraqi law they should be Islamic and they should be married, so why aren’t non-Muslims allowed to be there? So we don’t necessarily care just about our component, but about an encompassing law to have equality between all people.
There was a lot of popular support for the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum among Kakais in the disputed areas, but then federal forces took over many of those areas in the events of October 2017. What do people in these Kurdistani areas predominantly want now?
Some of those who were visibly supporting and encouraging the referendum are no longer in their areas. Their houses have been exploded or burned down. But those who quietly supported the referendum remain, but their situation is not good because there is no security. Many have lost their jobs. As you can see some cannot collect or harvest from their farms. So now they face bad security and a bad economic situation.
This is a reaction of the referendum. People ask, “Why did you support the referendum?” Even some Arabs, they aren’t saying anything to Kakais, but they allow ISIS to do what they want. Why are only the Kurdish or Kakai areas being burned? Why not others? We have Arab villages, but nothing has happened to them. Why only to Kakai villages? That can’t just be random. It is of course part of a plan.
About how many families or people in Iraq are Kakai?
We don’t have exact numbers, but we estimate around 100,000-150,000.
In Iran?
Around 5 million — more or less. Because Iran is an Islamic state, they have deprived us of our [religious] rights.
For people not familiar with the Kakais, who are they? What is their history in the Middle East?
We have the oldest religion in the world. We have four principles which lead us to not have bad reactions… For example, there is no revenge in our religion. So because we were kings here before, we have lands. But with time we have lost them as our population has become smaller. In my opinion it’s not fair for peaceful religion to be in this situation. According to my religion when we pray, we pray for all other religions then for our religion. That’s our belief.
Also we aren’t encouraging conversion. If you are a Christian, we won’t allow you to be Kakai. We want you to be a good person as a Christian, to work for treating other people well, humanity, animals, and environment. In our religion, trees have rights as well. So this is our message. The international community should take action to keep these people, which are minorities, safe here.
Are you Kurdish?
We are Kurdish. Even our religion is written in the Kurdish language — Macho — it’s similar to the Hawrami dialect.
When did so many Kakais come to Nineveh, particularly around Kalak and Khazir?
Kakais, because we are all relatives, know each other. Even those in England. But here there have been previous genocides. So that distributed us. Similarly to what the Christians faced when ISIS came and some went to Baghdad and some went to Erbil — the same thing has happened to us in the 14th century.
