Makhmour district, located 60 kilometers southwest of Erbil city, is part of the disputed territories between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government. It was previously subjected to an expansive Arabization campaign under the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and over 20 years later, locals claim that Arabization is rapidly taking shape again.
“Part of the issue stems from the fact that Makhmour lacks Kurdish representation in Iraq’s parliament. I challenge any Kurdish MP in Iraq to stand up against Arabization in Makhmour. If we, as Kurds, do not act now, the consequences could be dire,” Mohammed Kakayi, the head of the security and defense committee of the Nineveh Provincial Council, told Rudaw’s Ranj Sangawi on Sunday.
Among the issues pushing Kurdish residents away from their villages are the lack of security and inadequate services.
Shakhawan Khalid, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) politburo, claimed that dozens of Kurdish villages in the area have been deserted due to Arabization and security threats.
“Unfortunately, more than 50 Kurdish villages have been deserted. Until Peshmerga forces return to the area, these villages will not be rebuilt,” he said, attributing their decline to Islamic State (ISIS) cells roaming the area.
He also criticized the lack of action by Kurdish representatives in Baghdad, stressing that the issues of the Kurdish people in Makhmour must be brought before Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court.
A local resident stated that while the Arabization process had previously been gradual, it is now accelerating rapidly. Another resident mentioned that Arabization is no longer only about confiscating farmers’ lands but has now extended to renaming Kurdish villages with Arabic names.
Meanwhile, Kakayi stated that intra-Kurdish disputes between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the PUK are fueling the problem, with an unstable political climate in the Kurdistan Region intensifying Arabization in the disputed areas.
“We, alongside our KDP brothers, are standing against Arabization. If we were united, we could address this issue more effectively. Unfortunately, at times, our divisions embolden those pushing for more Arabization,” Kakayi, from the PUK, lamented.
Sirwan Makhmouri, an expert on the disputed territories, highlighted that Makhmour is a fertile region and is vital to Iraq’s food security, which makes it more attractive to Arabization.
“This year alone, 20,000 tons of wheat were harvested from Makhmour, making it one of the key contributors to Iraq’s food supply. Additionally, the Khurmala oil fields, rich in oil, are also located in this region,” he said.
Abdullah Abdulrahman, a cleric from Makhmour, also criticized the Kurdistan Region’s ruling parties for failing to push for Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, which would address the status of disputed territories like Makhmour.
“The KDP and PUK work separately in Nineveh, which harms our interests,” he lamented.
Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution has been one of the most controversial topics relating to the disputed areas in the war-torn country since the drafting of the constitution in 2005, as the failure to fully implement it has been cited as one of the main reasons for the continued attempts at demographic change in these areas.
The Article calls for the disputes over territory in the provinces of Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Salahaddin to be resolved, and includes measures aimed at rectifying Arabization policies implemented under the rule of the former Iraqi dictator. It specifies that this process needs to be implemented by no later than the end of 2007, yet it remains to be fully applied around 16 years after that date.
