Rebwar Talabani, the acting head Kirkuk provincial council, said he has sent an official letter to Iraq’s prime minister and parliament speaker, calling on them to help normalize the situation in Kirkuk, which was taken over by Iraqi forces in mid-October, but "they have not responded to me."
He has set dates for the council to convene four times, but every attempt failed. "The Kirkuk issue, like the airport, crossing border and other issues, should be discussed with Baghdad,” said the Kurdish politician.
After disputed areas were controlled by Iraqi forces backed by the Hashd al-Shaabi, some Kurdish officials were removed from their positions including the mayors of Mandali and Tuz Khurmatu and the head of agriculture department.
The position of Kirkuk governor was given to an Arab, replacing Kurdish governor Najmaldin Karim, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) who was ousted by Baghdad because of his support for the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum and decision to raise the Kurdistan flag alongside the Iraqi one over government buildings.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has not returned to Kirkuk since leaving the city in October, calling it “occupied,” making it difficult for the provincial council to convene and choose a new governor.
"If the council does not convene, you cannot regain the governor. If you do not regain the governor and there is no council, you cannot oversee anything or defend yourself or your rights," said a PUK official in Kirkuk who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
"We are disappointed the KDP has not returned,” he added. “They want to have an agreement with Baghdad government [and then] return, which is difficult at the moment."
But the KDP maintains it is not safe for them to return.
“How can we return to Kirkuk? Our offices are 100 metres away from PUK ones, but ours have been turned into military bases while they [PUK] are working in their offices without any problem,” said Mohammed Kamal, head of Kurdish-led Brotherhood bloc in the council as well as the KDP bloc in Kirkuk.
“They say Hashd al-Shaabi is not present in Kirkuk. No, they are there under other names. Hashd are residing in Irfan Kirkuki's and my house now,” he claimed.
Kirkuki is a member Turkmen People's Party and of the Brotherhood faction, which has the majority in the council with 26 seats. Arabs and Turkmens have 14 seats in the council and currently hold many high positions in the province.
Of the 26 members of the Brotherhood bloc, just six now live in Kirkuk, according to Rebwar Talabani.
After reports of the renewal of Arabization policies in Kirkuk, Kurds fear that normalizing the situation in the province will be difficult.
Mahdi Mubarak, the former head of Kirkuk’s agriculture department who was also removed from his post, said he has information that some Arabs are appealing to court to reclaim lands given to them by Baathist regime, seeking to undo efforts to reverse the Arabization process.
They "have returned to Yayci, Laylan, Daquq, Sargaran, and even Pirde, but few of them have plowed their lands, and a number of families have come from Diwaniyah province but it is not easy to re-register the land in their names," Mubarak explained.
In Dubiz and Daquq, towns in south of Kirkuk city and home to Kakei Kurds, some Arabs have plowed lands, he claimed. “Generally, the governor does not have the authority to return the lands to them, the court does."
Iraq will hold provincial and parliamentary elections on May 12.
