Authorities release man arrested over Kurdish sign in disputed region

Erbil, Kurdistan Region- Authorities on Tuesday released a Kurdish man arrested a day prior in the disputed town of Khanaqin, in eastern Diyala province, over his addition of Kurdish signage to his shop, the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) Khanaqin office told Rudaw. 

Star, father of two and a blacksmith by trade, was arrested on Monday after adding Kurdish to his shop's billboard. “I visited Rebin blacksmith’s father in the morning and assured him that the Iraqi Minister of Justice worked on his release, Karwan Yaraways, head of PUK’s office, told Rudaw on Tuesday. 

Rebin Star changed the sign above his shop following a campaign launched on August 23 by Rudaw's flagship program Lagal Ranj - with Ranj in Kurdish - to promote Kurdish language use in Khanaqin.

Iraqi security forces arrested two activists and issued arrest warrants for 14 others on Monday following calls for protests against what locals and Kurdish officials described as Khanaqin’s “Arabization.” The demonstration was “suspended” at the last minute, with demonstrators citing “lack of adequate protection measures” behind the suspension.

In a Tuesday statement, the PUK faction in the Iraqi Parliament expressed concern over the events in Khanaqin. “Civil and peaceful action are rights enshrined in the constitution, particularly in relation to the implementation of the constitution and Article 140,” read the statement. 

Article 140 was due to be implemented by the end of 2007 to normalize conditions and the demographic composition of several areas, including the entirety of Kirkuk governorate, and areas of Nineveh, Salah al-Din and Diyala governorates after having undergone “Arabization” campaigns by the now-toppled Baathist regime. 

In addition to calling for the immediate release of all arrested activists and civilians, the PUK called for an end to administrative changes that could result in demographic change. 

“Demographic change, the elevation of Jalawla and Qarata into districts, and the removal of Saadiya and Qaratapa as sub-districts need to be stopped,” the PUK said. 

Other Kurdish factions in the Iraqi Parliament voiced similar concerns. The head of the Kurdistan Islamic Union, Musana Amin, labeled decisions to enact administrative changes cutting off Jalawla, Qaratapa and Saadiya subdistricts from Khanaqin as part of a wider campaign “aiming to decrease Kurdish presence.” 

“Some security issues have prompted the population to leave their areas. This has had an impact on the demographic composition of the area, and unfortunately, there have been no serious responses to this systemic Arabization,” Amin said. 

Kurdish presence in the Diyala provincial council has seen a noticeable decrease over the years, down from 3 to only one. 

From 2013 to 2019, only three out of the council’s 29 members were Kurdish. In the 2023 provincial council elections, the number of the council’s seats was capped at 15; Kurdish parties managed to secure one seat which fell to a representative of Arab descent. 

Sherwan Dubardani, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) member who also holds membership in the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, told Rudaw that his committee would conduct a field visit if the need arose. 

Khanaqin and much of the disputed territories fell under the control of the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces up until October 16, 2017, following an Iraqi offensive to retake the areas prompted by the independence referendum two weeks earlier, after which Peshmerga forces withdrew. 

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