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Kurdish Victims of Halabja Chemical Attack
Still Suffer 19 Years Later
16.3.2007 |
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March 16, 2007
Friday March 16 marks the 19th anniversary of Saddam
Hussein's chemical weapons attack on the Kurdish
village of Halabja. For the first time, Iraq's
central government has marked the occasion by
calling for a minute of silence to remember the
victims. But VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Erbil
that many of the victims continue to suffer and some
blame the government for not doing enough to help
them.
On this day in 1988, Iraqi military forces attacked
the mainly Kurdish village of Halabja, using bombs,
mustard gas and other chemical weapons to kill some
5,000 people.
The attack was part of a much larger plan called "Anfal,"
meaning "Spoils of War," that sought to dominate
Iraq's Kurd majority-north - where the people had
long resisted central government control.
The punishing military campaign and forced
relocations drove tens-of-thousands of Kurds from
their homes, but the attack on Halabja remains one
of the most notorious acts committed by Saddam
Hussein's military.
Locals in Iraq's Kurdistan region Friday marked the
bomb attack with five minutes of silence. And, for
the first time, Iraq's central government announced
it too would memorialize the attack with a minute of
silence.
Falah Bakir is director of the office of foreign
relations of the Kurdistan Regional Government in
(Northern Iraq), or KRG.
"This is a clear sign that there has been a change
in Iraq and the days of the old dictatorial regime
are over now, and it's a new system in Iraq," he
said.
But while the attack on Halabja is gaining wider
recognition, some victims are blaming the government
for not doing enough to help them. Thousands of
people still grapple with the health consequences of
the chemical attacks. Birth defects and miscarriages
are high in Halabja. Some fear the soil remains
contaminated.
In recent months, many Halabja residents have
denounced Kurdistan's regional government, saying
officials remember the victims on the anniversary,
but do little to help them the rest of the year.
Falah Bakir acknowledges the government needs to do
more to help the victims.
"We understand the needs of the people of Halabja.
We understand that their cause has been recognized
internationally, but still Halabja has not been
rebuilt," he said. "Therefore, the KRG has
determined in the coming year or two to put more
focus on Halabja and other affected areas, so that
we can do something at least to change the difficult
lifestyle that they have in order to work for a
better future."
Falah Bakir says Kurdish officials hope, in the
future, the Halabja attack will be remembered less
as a symbol of Saddam Hussein's oppression, and more
as an event that helped unify the Iraqi people.
voanews com
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