Christians urge Iraqi PM to halt Nineveh land distribution

Shafaq News- Nineveh

Three Christian political parties on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi and Nineveh Governor Abdul Qader Al-Dakhil to halt ongoing land distribution measures in the Nineveh Plains, a historic homeland for several of Iraq's Christian communities, warning they could lead to demographic change in the area.

The appeal came in a formal protest memorandum submitted by the Assyrian Democratic Movement, the Beth Nahrain Patriotic Union Party, and the Assyrian Patriotic Party through acting Tel Kaif District Commissioner Yasser Al-Assaf. The parties argued that the land distribution process and related measures violate Iraq's Constitution and applicable laws.

Rejecting any policies they said could alter the region's demographic composition, the parties cautioned that such practices would undermine the rights of its indigenous communities, social cohesion, and the rule of law. They urged the federal government to uphold constitutional provisions, particularly Article 23 (Third) (b), which prohibits property ownership for the purpose of demographic change.

Read more: Christians of Iraq: Where did they go?

The memorandum follows a lawsuit filed before Iraq's Federal Supreme Court by Qusay Abbas, a lawmaker representing the Shabak community, a minority group concentrated in the Nineveh Plains east of Mosul, against the head of the Nineveh Provincial Council. The suit accuses the council of seeking to engineer demographic change in areas surrounding Mosul within the Nineveh Plains, after it voted to authorize the Mosul municipality to begin subdividing and distributing residential plots and issuing building permits in expansion zones.

Read more: Nineveh Council lifts building restrictions on Mosul outskirts amid demographic dispute