|
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nordic
Representation remembers the brutal massacre of 5
000 Kurdish civilians in the town of Halabja, 16
March 1988.
The KRG Nordic remembers this day 18 years ago, when
the civilian inhabitants of the Kurdish city Halabja
in Iraqi Kurdistan, suffered a grotesquely horrific
fate under severe chemical attacks by the Iraqi
regime led by Saddam Hussein. The attacks on Halabja
were the first in the large scaled genocidal Anfal
campaign systematically designed to achieve, at very
least, the partial extinction of the Kurdish
population in Iraq.
The attacks, which consisted of a cocktail of
chemical and biological nerve and mustard agents,
caused its victims DNA mutations, physical
malformations, cancer, paralysis, immediate and
long-term neuropsychiatric damage, or, as was the
case with 5 000 victims, merciless and immediate
death. The images of the people of Halabja, frozen
in the position where they were struck by the
poisonous gas, continue to be a brutal reminder of
the innocence of the victims of the Ba'ath regime.
Despite an abundance of evidence of the crimes of
Saddam Hussein's regime against the Kurdish
population in Iraqi Kurdistan the successive
Governments of Federal Republic of Iraq since the
fall of Saddam Hussein have failed to show due
commemoration and recognition of the deceased and
living victims of the Anfal campaign. The Kurds have
yet to receive an official apology from the Federal
Government of Iraq for Halabja. If it does
materialise, this apology could effectively
contribute towards proving to the Kurds, and indeed
the observing international community, that the new
Iraq will be one in which Kurds can enjoy a sense of
security and protection against further atrocities.
The hitherto lack of effective steps in this
direction by Iraqi administrations is proving a
revealing display of the Federal Government of
Iraq's approach to the devastating fate that the
Kurds suffered under the Ba'ath regime.
Halabja and the future of Iraq
The reconstruction of Halabja can become a strong
symbol for the commitment of the Federal Government
of Iraq to federalism and democracy. In a public
statement the KRG Nordic Representative Mr Taha
Barwary expresses his concern for the situation in
Halabja, "I sincerely hope that we do not have to
witness yet another anniversary of Halabja without
at the same time experiencing the rightful
reconstruction and rehabilitation of the town and a
fair compensation to the victims and the victims'
families."
Mr Barwary continued "There is no doubt that the
attacks against Halabja and other areas were a crime
against humanity, but to ignore these areas and not
reconstruct and compensate them to the fullest is an
unacceptable sign, this could, and should, have been
rectified for some time now."
Today on the 18th anniversary of Halabja the KRG
Nordic Representation calls on the forthcoming
Federal Government of Iraq to set the tone for the
reconciliation of the peoples within Iraq by taking
a set of crucial steps to this end.
The trial and conviction of Dutch businessman Franz
van Anraat for complicity in war crimes for
supplying the Saddam Hussein regime with chemicals
used in the attacks on Halabja is of immense
importance for all Kurds as this was the first trial
to deal with crimes against Kurds. The KRG Nordic
demands that all accomplices involved in the attacks
on Halabja and other areas are brought to justice
through an exhaustive investigation into Halabja,
with the purpose of uncovering the details of the
attack and the identities of all involved parties.
The question of compensation is one which needs be
addressed sooner rather than later by the Federal
Government of Iraq. This is not a question unique to
Halabja and the Iraqi Government. Even to this day
Holocaust survivors received reparations from the
various governments for the suffering inflicted upon
them during the Holocaust. The KRG Nordic demands
the immediate reconstruction and rehabilitation of
Halabja and other areas that suffered a similar fate
through the designation of earmarked federal funds
for the implementation of reconstruction and
rehabilitation in the relevant areas.
Iraq must inevitably face up to the reality of its
modern history. The KRG Nordic urges that the modern
history in Iraq must be rewritten to reflect the
true history of Iraq; to reflect the genocidal
campaign and other atrocities committed, among
others, against the Kurds.
The KRG Nordic stresses once again that it is the
responsibility of the political leadership of Iraq
to ensure that Halabja does not become the symbol of
Iraqi political cant. The attacks on Halabja were
real; the Ba'ath regime's programme of annihilation
was real; it is therefore now time that the
retribution and compensations for these crimes
become a reality for the victims who were attacked
18 years ago and are left suffering to this day.
www.krg.org
Top |
® 