According to research conducted by the Library of Congress, although Iraqi land rights "evolved over many centuries," by World War I "land titles were insecure, particularly under the system of tribal tenure through which the state retained ownership of the land although tribes used it" (LOC May 1988). Pre-revolutionary laws concerning land tenure granted title to "a number of tribal leaders and village headmen" and the land was "worked by their communities" (ibid.). This resulted in

a system of ownership that increased the number of sharecroppers and tenants dramatically. A 1933 law provided that a sharecropper could not leave if he was indebted to the landowner. Because landowners were usually the sole source of credit and almost no sharecropper was free of debt, the law effectively bound many tenants to the land.

...

On the eve of the 1958 revolution, more than two-thirds of Iraq's cultivated land was concentrated in 2 per cent of the holdings, while at the other extreme, 86 per cent of the holdings covered less than 10 per cent of the cultivated land.

...

The original purpose of the [post-revolutionary] land reform had been to break up the large estates and to establish many small owner-operated farms, but fragmentation of the farms made extensive mechanization and economies of scale difficult to achieve ... [t]herefore, in the 1970s, the government turned to collectivization as a solution (ibid.).

Following the 1991 Gulf War, the Kurds established a "self-governing domain" in northern Iraq (New York Times 28 July 2002) that was split into two "separate rump governments" following the 1994-1996 civil war between the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) (Middle East Quarterly Mar. 1998). The PUK controls the eastern "half" and the KDP the west (New York Times 28 July 2002) with their capitals being Irbil (Arbil) and Sulaymaniya respectively (Middle East Quarterly Mar. 1998)

.

The Research Directorate found no reports referring to a reinstated or new policy of land tenure that (re)introduced feudal-like structures into Iraqi Kurdistan after the Gulf War among sources consulted. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), while claiming authority "over much of the liberated area of Iraqi Kurdistan ...[is led by] the ruling" KDP (KRG n.d.), described by one analyst as a "more conservative, feudal and tribal organization" than THE PUK (Middle East Quarterly Mar. 1998). According to the KDP, the distribution of Iraqi Kurdistan's land among farmers includes both private ownership and contracts to cultivate state-owned lands issued for permanent and seasonal use by farmers (KDP 20 Mar. 2000). Statistically, a greater proportion of KRG administered territory is state, as opposed to privately owned (ibid.).

According to a representative of THE PUK, many of the laws instituted by the Iraqi government remain in force in Iraqi-Kurdistan, although there have been some changes since 1992 (29 Aug. 2002). This source also noted that land title is inherited generationally, although some land was confiscated by Baghdad and redistributed to Arab settlers after 1973 (see below, ibid.). The representative stated that following the Gulf War, some Arab settlers left Iraqi Kurdistan; whereafter, the original title-holders returned in some cases or other Kurds took up residence on the land without title ownership (ibid.).

In addition, some portions of Kurdish northern Iraq remain under central Iraqi control including the Kirkuk, Khanaqin, Sinjar and Mosul districts (Kurdistan Newsline 4 Oct. 1999). Herein, land has reportedly been confiscated from Kurdish farmers as part of Baghdad's arabization policy (Brayati 2 June 2002), a policy reportedly ongoing for twenty years, recently intensifying and, over all, affecting thousands of families (Kurdistan Observer 22 Apr. 2002). For information concerning Iraq's arabization policy, please see IRQ38945.E of 12 June 2002. Arabs who have taken over Kurdish lands were reportedly prohibited from contracting Kurdish farmers to cultivate the land by the Iraqi government and ordered not to do business with Kurds (Brayati 27 June 2002; ibid. 2 June 2002).

The Research Directorate found no reports of extant organizations, unions, movements or collectives for farmers in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, or reports identifying such a group in confrontations with land-owners. The representative of THE PUK did note however, that he was aware of the existence of farmers unions in Iraqi Kurdistan and specifically in the Pishdar Region (29 Aug. 2002). In addition, the website of the Association d'aide aux agriculteurs Kurdes d'Irak (ASSAK) however does mention the existence of a peasant's union in Iraqi Kurdistan (2 Oct. 1999)

Several cases of clashes concerning the issue of land distribution are reported however. A 1 June 1994 report by the Mideast Mirror noted that economic deprivation following the end of the Gulf War

intensified local conflicts over land, water and other resources.... The weakness of the [Kurdish] administration also allowed some local Kurdish leaders who had formerly been in Baghdad's pay to stage a comeback ... exploiting their relative wealth to reassert their authority

The economic situation also fuelled tension between landlords and peasants. Indeed, it was the shooting death of a pro-KDP landowner who had been trying to evict PUK-backed farmers from his land that sparked the present [1994] hostilities [between Kurdish factions].

Concerning arabization, a letter written by the Governor of Duhok, Iraq to the United Nations Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq referred to a conflict between Kurdish peasants and Arab landholders occurring on 24 October 1998, such that

a quarrel and a scuffle took place between the two sides. We [the Kurdish Governor's office] on our parts have advised the Kurdish farmers to refrain from further action until a solution is found. However, on the same day of the incident the Arab tribes set up a 12.5 millimetre gun in Kribany and began firing at the inhabitants of the Sharia collective and our inspection points. This was repeated twice later (KRG 19 Nov. 1998).

The Research Directorate was unable to find reports of clashes concerning land distribution occurring in the Pishdar region of Iraqi Kurdistan. Pishdar is located in the region controlled by THE PUK (Kurdistan Newsline 24 Aug. 1999; Hawlati 8 July 2002) and was highlighted by one 1993 report as an area where the Kurds "returned to the land, farmed and rebuilt the villages that Saddam had destroyed ... " (The Washington Post 25 Jan. 1993).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Association d'aide aux agriculteurs Kurdes d'Irak (ASSAK). 2 October 1999. "Le Kurdistan d'Irak." http://wwwusers.imaginet.fr/~alphatel/kurdes.htm [Accessed 28 Aug. 2002]

Brayati [Arbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, in Sorani Kurdish]. 27 June 2002. "Government Tells Arab Settlers not to do Business with Kurds." (FBIS-NES-2002-0628 27 June 2002/WNC)

_____. 2 June 2002. "Iraq Reportedly Confiscates Kurdish Land Near Kirkuk, Hands it to Arab Settlers." (BBC Monitoring 4 June 2002/NEXIS)

Brayati is published by the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

Hawlati [al-Sulaymaniyah, in Sorani Kurdish]. 8 July 2002. "PKK Said to be Deploying Forces in Kurdish PUK Areas." (FBIS-NES-2002-0710 8 July 2002/WNC)

Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). 20 March 2000. "Agriculture in Kurdistan." Hosted on the KDP Representation to Ankara Turkey website. http://www.kdp-ankara.org.tr/agriculture.html [Accessed 27 Aug. 2002]

Kurdistan Newsline. 4 October 1999. "Iraq Continues With Ethnic Cleansing Campaign." http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/hastings/894/newsl8.htm [Accessed 28 Aug. 2002]

_____. 24 August 1999. No. 5. "A Hive of Activity: Development Projects in Pishdar Region." http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/hastings/894/newsl5.htm [Accessed 28 Aug. 2002]

Kurdistan Observer. 22 April 2002. "The Unknown Future of the Forcibly Displaced Kurds." http://home.cogeco.ca/~kurdistanobserver/22-4-02-unknown-future-forcibly-displaced.html [Accessed 28 Aug. 2002]

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). 19 November 1998. "Statement on Iraq's Policy of Arabization from KRG Spokesman." http://www.krg.org/news/1998/arabization.asp [Accessed 28 Aug. 2002]

_____. n.d. "About KRG: Structure and Mission. http://www.krg.org/about/background.asp [Accessed 27 Aug. 2002]

Library of Congress (LOC). May 1988. Iraq- A Country Study. http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/iqtoc.html [Accessed 27 Aug. 2002]

Middle East Quarterly [Philadelphia]. March 1998. Michael M. Gunter. "Turkey and Iran Face Off in Kurdistan." http://www.meforum.org/pf.php?id=384 [Accessed 27 Aug. 2002]

Mideast Mirror [London]. 1 June 1994. "Why the Iraqi Kurds Need Fresh Elections and a Political Rethink."

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Canadian Representation. 29 August 2002. Telephone interview.

New York Times. 28 July 2002. "John F. Burns. "Kurds Savor a New, and Endangered, Gold Age."

The Washington Post. 25 January 1993. Jonathan C. Randal. "Kurds' Winter of Discontent: Aid Helps Them Survive but not to Stand on Economic Feet."

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

NEXIS

Kurdistan Regional Government, United States Representation, Washington

Unsuccessful attempt to contact the Kurdistan Regional Government, Arbil Iraqi Kurdistan

Internet sites including:

American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)

Arabic News

BBC

Country Assessments (1999-2002)

Country Reports (1999-2002)

Encyclopaedia of Kurdistan

Foreign Policy in Focus

Hellenic Resources Network

Humanrights.de

Kurdish Information Network

Kurdistan Regional Government

Kurdistan.htm

Library of Congress Country Studies

Middle East Review of International Affairs

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

POGAR, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region

World News Connection