Turkmen language excluded in first official act by new governor in northern Iraq
Demonstrators wave Turkish and Iraqi Turkmen (blue) flags during a protest against the independence referendum in northern Iraq in in Istanbul, Türkiye on Sept. 17, 2017. (Reuters Photo)
In a controversial move, the newly appointed governor of Kirkuk, Iraq, Rebvar Taha, who was elected in a session boycotted by Turkmen, KDP members, and some Arab representatives, signed his first official document without including the Turkmen language. Taha, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), retired Rakan al-Jubouri, who had been acting governor, citing age as the reason.
The omission of Turkmen from the official correspondence, which included only Arabic and Kurdish, drew sharp criticism from the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC). In a written statement, the ITC condemned the exclusion, stating, “The new Governor of Kirkuk has blatantly violated the Constitution by removing the Turkmen language from official correspondence.”
In response to the backlash, a statement issued on behalf of Taha claimed that he had ordered use of the Turkmen language in all official communications across the province.
It’s worth noting that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had previously ordered on March 1, 2023, that Turkmen, alongside Arabic and Kurdish, be used in all official communications in Kirkuk.
