The protest, led by the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ZOWAA), took place outside the Tel Keppe District Administration building after the parties had formally notified the authorities in accordance with Iraqi law. Organizers accused local authorities of obstructing the peaceful demonstration by preventing participants from entering the town.
The demonstration marked the latest stage in a campaign by the three parties opposing land distribution policies in the Nineveh Plains, which they argue threaten the demographic balance of the Assyrian town.
The protest centered on longstanding disputes over land ownership in Tel Keppe and other parts of the Nineveh Plains.
The three parties argue that land distribution measures and administrative decisions rooted in policies introduced under Iraq's former Baathist regime continue to undermine the constitutional rights of indigenous residents despite the fall of Saddam Hussein's government.
According to the organizers, these policies have contributed to demographic change in historically Assyrian areas and threaten the long-term presence of the community in its ancestral homeland.
The demonstration follows weeks of growing criticism by Assyrian organizations over land distribution procedures in Tel Keppe. The three parties argue that the measures violate Article 23 of Iraq's Constitution, which prohibits property ownership intended to alter the demographic composition of an area.
The protest comes one week after the three parties submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi and Nineveh Governor Abdul Qader Al-Dakhil urging them to halt ongoing land distribution measures in the district. The memorandum argued that the policies violate both the Iraqi Constitution and existing property laws and warned that they risk altering the demographic composition of one of Iraq's historic Assyrian heartlands.
