Shafaq News/ On Monday, Shakhwan Abdullah, Iraq’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament, announced that the parliamentary leadership has ordered an investigation into last week’s events concerning a law aimed at returning agricultural lands to their rightful owners.
Speaking at a press conference attended by Shafaq News, Abdullah clarified, “The parliamentary presidency has directed an investigation into the incidents that occurred last week during the reading of the draft law to repeal the decisions of the now-defunct Revolutionary Command Council and the Northern Affairs Office of the dissolved Baath Party. Misunderstandings arose regarding some clauses in the draft law, which fall under Parliament’s jurisdiction. Certain groups mistakenly interpreted these provisions as measures that would lead to the displacement of Arab settlers, but this is inaccurate. The lands are owned by Kurds and Turkmen, and what the farmers need is legal authorization to classify the land and integrate it into the agricultural plan. The claim that this law would expel Arab settlers is entirely unfounded.”
Abdullah stated that “the Shiite forces, Kurdish and Sunni blocs agree on the law to cancel the decisions of the dissolved Revolutionary Command Council regarding agricultural lands, especially in Kirkuk, which is not the case, but the political agreement between all is to restore the land rights of Kurds and Turkmen, which were returned to them after 2003 and the fall of the Baathist regime.”
He also dismissed rumors that the legislation would lead to the seizure of lands associated with oil infrastructure or defense assets, stating, “On the contrary, these areas will remain unaffected.”
Amendments made to the original law, which fall within Parliament’s authority, were misunderstood by some Sunni MPs. “Yet, there is an agreement to pass the law with the agreement of all political blocs. There was ambiguity on this law and we will continue to legislate and enact the law in the coming sessions in agreement with everyone,” he declared.
Parliament is set to invite the Minister of Agriculture to discuss obstacles preventing the return of agricultural lands to their rightful Kurdish and Turkmen owners, which has been unresolved for over 20 years since the fall of the Baathist regime, according to Abdullah. “Restoring these lands is a crucial step in ensuring justice for all communities,” Abdullah added.
In this context, Turkmen MP Farib Askar told Shafaq News, “This is part of the political agreement for forming the government, and the parliament is proceeding with the law to annul the decisions of the dissolved Revolutionary Command Council. The return of agricultural lands to the Kurds and Turkmen is a priority, and we are committed to enacting this law to restore the rights of all communities in Kirkuk.”
Meanwhile, Kurdish activists and farmers in Kirkuk called on Parliament over the weekend to expedite the vote. At a rally near Kirkuk Castle, activist Rikan Fereidon said, “We, a group of activists, are gathered to support the return of agricultural lands to Kurdish farmers, seized during the Baath regime’s Arabization campaign. We back our MPs in their efforts to abolish the Baath-era laws.”
The Kirkuk Governorate Department of Agriculture has confirmed that 300,000 dunums of farmland remain outside the agricultural plan, as they are covered by Article 140 and their fate has not been decided.