Governor Rebwar Taha answers questions on Kirkuk, Kurdish language and identity

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Rudaw’s Bestoon Othman hosted Kirkuk Governor Rebwar Taha on Bestoon Talk show, discussing a wide range of topics in the disputed province, including the state of the Kurdish language in the province, the province’s previous administration under former acting governor Rakan al-Jabouri, investment projects, environment, and the controversial provincial council session during which he was elected.

The following are key topics from the conversation:

Kurdish language

The restriction on the use of the Kurdish language in the official settings was one of the main questions the Kirkuk governor was asked, Taha said that he, as someone who is from Kirkuk, would prefer if everyone in the city used the languages of all the components of the city, and he has worked to remove the traces of Arabization in the province.

“I would love for everyone from Kirkuk to be able to speak all four languages [Kurdish, Arabic, Turkmen, Syriac], or at least the three main languages … It is true that there has been Arabization in the city. You can look at the history and the decisions in the Iraqi parliament, which I was a part of. They solidify the fact that Arabization had taken place,” Taha said.

Regarding complaints about insufficient aid for the Kurdish language in universities and schools, in terms of translating textbooks and exam questions into Kurdish, Taha said that there are specialized committees in the university to take care of the matter.

“There are specialized committees in the universities to translate the questions into Kurdish too, and they are obliged [to do so]. It is not a decision taken now, whoever wants to answer in Kurdish, let him do. The deanship of the faculty, or the institute, is obliged to hire teachers to translate and fix it [the questions] in the language you answer with,” Taha said, denying the existence of any obstacles against this practice, stating that it is a matter protected by the Iraqi constitution.

“There might have been instances of teachers abusing their positions, thinking or acting harshly against a student, but we cannot apply that on all the teachers,” he said.

Days following assuming his position as the governor of the multiethnic city of Kirkuk, Taha issued a directive for the province’s administrative units to include the usage of the Turkmen and Syriac languages alongside Kurdish and Arabic in all official documents.

The decision was a “confirmation of the (brotherhood) identity of Kirkuk and the diversity of its esteemed components,” according to a statement from his office at the time, and it applies to all province’s governmental, administrative, and departmental offices and units.

A Kurdish language ban was imposed in Kirkuk under Saddam Hussein, as a part of his regime’s efforts to convert the oil-rich territory into a predominantly Arab region. After Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003, Kurdish education was restarted.

Officials in Kirkuk have voiced concerns over the negligence of Kurdish education in the province, citing inadequate government support and challenges which leave Kurdish students at a disadvantage compared to their peers in the diverse city.

Hiwa Hassan, a member of the Kurdish education administration in Kirkuk, told Rudaw’s Ranj Sangawi in a program last week that while the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had invested in Kurdish education in the city after 2003, the current situation is less favorable.

“It is not very good,” he remarked, adding that there are many Kurdish children across neighborhoods and streets who are now enrolled in Arabic education. “People have lost trust in Kurdish education.”

In Arabic schools, the Kurdish language is only taught to upperclassmen.

Taha did not deny the unfair distribution of resources among the schools providing education in Kurdish and those providing education in Arabic.

“During the reign of [former prime minister] Adel Abdul Mahdi, more than 44 school projects by Chinese firms were announced for Kirkuk, but only two of them were in Kurdish populated areas, the remaining 42 were for other areas. This is injustice against the Kurdish people … this is stripping a Kurdish child of the right to be in a new building,” Taha said.

Opportunities in Kirkuk


The Kirkuk governor was asked about the equal distribution of employment opportunities in the public sector in the province among Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens - 32 percent each. 

Taha said to establish such a system, they require a budget to be provided by the federal government, noting that it is not realistic at the moment.

“We can use the 32 percent principle for dividing the posts. When we established this administration, we made the national principle the criterion for Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians who participated in this administration. I agree with this idea and I ask my Arab and Turkmen brothers to help me in this. This is in my interest as a Kurd, and for you as other components of Kirkuk,” he said.

Taha said that despite his affiliation with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), he is prioritizing the public interest ahead of the party or national interest while being in his position.

Jalal Talabani, late leader of Taha’s PUK, was one of the staunch supporters of the 32 percent distribution idea.  

Inheriting a 'ruined' office 


Taha lamented that he had inherited a crumbling administration from the former acting governor Jabouri.

“I do not want to talk about the previous administration. I seriously get mad talking about them … We inherited a ruined administration … At first, I thought that it was an issue between Kurds and Arabs, but later I found out that they were having institutional fights - they have ruined institutions in Kirkuk” he said.

According to Taha, every administrative unit in Jabouri’s administration acted independently and disregarded his powers, resulting in chaos in the province.

“We do not have a budget. We have some petro-dollar funds which we are investing properly in the projects,” Taha said, urging people not to judge them with the status quo but the results of his projects for the province. 

“We have prepared very good programs and our plans are really nice. We need to implement them step by step,” he said. 

Taha pledged that the residents will start to see a greener Kirkuk by planting thousands of trees in the Kirkuk, and will fix the roads in every street in Kirkuk, adding that he will make it an obligation for every company that wants to invest in Kirkuk to plant at least 1,000 trees.

“During Rebwar’s tenure, no company will receive a project if it does not plant 1,000 trees,” Taha said.

Kurdish flag, representation


A student lamented that Kurds feel alienated in the city in terms of their cultural representation, saying that the Kurdish flag and traditional clothing are no longer spotted in the city - unlike the flags of Iraqi and Turkmens.  Taha was asked if he could resolve this issue.

“Every citizen in Kirkuk is free to have the flag that he wants in his hands or on his shoulders,” Taha said, noting that in the past few days, a street theater festival took place in the city and the Kurdistan flag was raised during the festival, without being prevented by anyone.

Following the October 17, 2017 events during which Kurds lost control of the city to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi), the use of the Kurdish flag was prohibited. Kirkuk’s Kurds had to obtain special permission to celebrate national festivals such as their New Year, Nawroz, but the ban on the Kurdish flag remained in place. 

The PMF also replaced the Kurdistan flag, initially placed in the left hand of a famous Peshmerga statue in the city, with the Iraqi one.

Taha said he will wait for decisions to be made in Baghdad regarding the flag used in the provincial institutions, however, he stressed that every citizen is free to use the flag they desire to raise.

“Let anyone use Kurdistan’s flag, and I will interrogate anyone who interrogates them [the citizens],” he said.

Regarding the restoration of the Kurdistan flag for the Peshmerga statue, Taha said he will “resolve” the issue without elaborating. 

Controversial council session

Taha was appointed as the governor of the disputed province in August following a controversial Kirkuk provincial council session that took place in Baghdad. Nine out of the 16 members of the council were in attendance: all five PUK members, three Arab members, and the winner of the Christian minority quota. The meeting was not attended by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) or Turkmen members.

Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hafidh of the Qiyada Alliance, an Arab party, was nominated for the post of council chief.

Taha rejected accusations of having compromised the Kurdish identity of Kirkuk in return for his appointment.

“We have not promised anything … Neither I nor my party has done something like that, and no one has taken a similar step. I am responsible for what I tell you,” Taha said, on rumors of having promised their provincial government ally to not raise the Kurdish flag, or say the city is Kurdish.

He also denied having compromised Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution during the local government talks, saying neither he nor his PUK has the right to make any decisions on the matter. 

“The people of Kirkuk can decide this,” he said. 

Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution details steps to resolve a dispute between the federal and regional governments who both claim jurisdiction over disputed areas of the country such as Kirkuk province. Successive federal governments have failed to implement the article.

Population census


Iraq will conduct a population census on November 20 and 21 for the first time in decades. The process has raised concerns among some Kurdish officials about how demographic shifts in disputed areas will be reflected in the count.

A census could contribute to the resolution of many problems like Baathist-era Arabization, and the status of the disputed Kirkuk province.

In a bid to address the Kurdish concerns, earlier this month the Iraqi government approved a KRG request to conduct the census based on residents’ place of origin rather than their current place of residence, using information from the Iraqi migration ministry and the 1957 census for reference in the disputed areas.

The census will also not gather information on ethnicity.

Taha reiterated that the census will be used for development purposes only, and will contribute to the allocated budget to the province, which can be used for improving the city.

“Some of the concerns regarding the census are right and valid,” Taha said, “we need to be meticulous on this matter, and make sure that all the promises given to our brother in the KRG’s planning ministry, and us, are implemented and executed.”

The Kirkuk governor also reiterated his support for the return of the people of Kirkuk to their city during the days of the census in order to be counted as a resident of the disputed province.