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On 17 October 2005, 512
bodies of Barzani tribesmen deported and killed in
1982 were returned to Irbil from mass graves in
southern Iraq to Kurdistan where they will receive a
fitting burial. The same day, RFE/RL's Radio Free
Iraq (RFI) interviewed Muhammad Ihsan Ramadan,
minister of human rights in the Kurdistan Regional
Government, whose ministry has been in charge of
transferring the bodies.
Ramadan: This is a result of two years'
earnest work by several agencies that have
interviewed eyewitnesses and people who worked for
the regime, serious fact-finding, and visits to the
sites of mass graves. We have managed to uncover the
mass graves and to identify the bodies. We have
documented approximately 284 mass graves relevant to
Kurds. We started with a documentation visit at the
mass grave of the Barzanis because it was located in
the most distant place of Iraq [in the desert, close
to the borders with Saudi Arabia] and they were
among the first victims of the widespread killing
practiced by Saddam Hussein's regime. These 512
bodies are the first group [of relics of the
Barzanis, arriving for burial in Kurdistan].
A complete criminal investigation, in accordance
with both Iraqi and international standards to be
applied in he trial of Saddam Hussein, must set an
end to the waiting of the families that has lasted
for over 23 years.
RFI: Was the
timing of returning the Barzani men's bodies
coordinated with the beginning of the Saddam Hussein
trial?
Ramadan: I do not think this has been
planned. We were eager to see Saddam Hussein before
trial one day, and the files of the [killing of the]
Barzanis and the [anti-Kurdish policy known as]
Anfal are among the crucial files in the trial with
Saddam Hussein.
RFI: Will the
Kurdistan Regional Government try to return the
bodies of all known victims of the Anfal campaign to
Kurdistan?
Ramadan: There is absolutely no doubt about
that. All the victims of Anfal, all bodies that are
found [should be returned to Kurdistan]. We have
searching for the bodies and returning them to their
families, and providing them with a proper burial.
This operation has continued despite all possible
difficulties and risks but it is our moral,
political, and also legal responsibility.
RFI: Has each
body [of the Barzanis] been identified?
Ramadan: Very, very few of them. Based on
their clothes and [other distinctive features], it
has generally been determined that they are from a
particular area, most of them belonging to Barzani
[tribal confederation]. There has been a group of
fairly many [who have been identified].
RFI: Are the
perpetrators of these acts known?
Ramadan: Yes, all the people who took part in
the actions [are known]: from drivers to those who
were covering the graves up, and from supervisors to
those who were fulfilling their commands. There has
been a whole dossier [of names], starting with the
apex of the pyramid and ending with the tanker
driver who was threatening the [victims] and
collecting money from them.
RFI: Will this
ceremony of returning the bodies have a wider
impact?
Ramadan: I believe that this kind of
ceremonies should be [reflected] everywhere in Iraq,
on all levels. These issues of injustice must be
revisited so that we have justice in Iraq. We will
forever continue to pursue the people who had some
position in this [legal] case.
Let people come and see the mass graves. If they are
[after that] proud of Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath
Party rule, that would mean that they are alien to
all human values and to their own humanity.
(Translation by Petr Kubalek and Abdelilah Nuaimi)
www.rferl.com
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