June
26, 2007
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region (Iraq), Jun
26, -- Polishing the picture of her husband hanging
on a wall, Samira Jabbar, 44, was euphoric after an
Iraqi judge handed the death sentence to several men
for the massacre of tens of thousands of Kurds in
the late 1980s.
Samira lost her husband and four other close
relatives in April 1988 when Iraqi army units raided
their village Qafade, east of Kirkuk, as part of a
large-scale offensive against the Kurdish
population.
"Our men asked the women and children to leave the
village so that we wouldn't fall into the hands of
the army," said Samira. "We ran away and never saw
them again. My baby never saw his father."
Sentiments run high among Kurds over the sentencing.
"They deserve to be hanged," said Samira, who still
wears black clothes 19 years after her husband
disappeared. "I feel like my unhappy life has ended
today. I would love to dance out of joy."
Samira and other survivors are now looking for
compensation. |
Ali Hassan al-Majid, first cousin of executed
dictator Saddam Hussein and also known as 'Chemical
Ali' sentenced to death over Kurdish genocide, AP |
|
After 61 sessions starting last August, Iraq's
special tribunal sentenced to death three of Saddam
Hussein's former aides, including his cousin Ali
Hassan al-Majid, better known as 'Chemical Ali' for
his use of poisonous gas against Kurds.
Former defence minister Sultan Hashem Ahmad and
former deputy chief of military staff Hussein Rashid
were also sentenced to hang. Two other co-defendants
were sentenced to serve life imprisonment, and one
was released for lack of evidence.
The defendants were convicted for their involvement
in the Anfal operations carried out in eight stages
from February to September 1988.
Anfal is a Quranic term meaning "spoils of wars",
and was picked to inspire Iraqi army forces in an
offensive that killed up to 180,000 people, mostly
civilians. More than 3,000 villages were razed,
orchards were burnt down and even
animals were killed.
The defendants said in court that they were
targeting Kurdish insurgents who were fighting the
Iraqi government during the 1980s.
International rights groups criticised the course of
the trial, saying that basic standards had not been
met.
But in the eyes of Kurds the verdicts were fair
enough. Public celebrations were held in many towns
across Iraq's northern Kurdistan region. People
danced on the streets and cars drove around carrying
Kurdish flags.
But the extent of jubilation was less than expected.
This was noticeable particularly in Halabja town,
southeast of regional capital Erbil, where around
5,000 people were killed by chemical gases.
'Chemical Ali' got his nickname mainly because of
gassing this town.
"People were happy that 'Chemical Ali' was sentenced
to hang," said Omar Halabjayi, 28, a schoolteacher
from Halabja. "But because 'Chemical Ali' was not
sentenced over the Halabja gassing and because our
city is neglected in terms of public services,
people didn't show that much enthusiasm."
The Halabja trial will be run separately, and al-Majid
will be one of the main defendants in that case as
well – unless he is executed first. The verdicts
will be sent automatically for appeal within a month
before a panel of judges.
The court ruled unanimously that the convicted
defendants were involved in genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes. The verdict appeared a
significant gain for Iraqi Kurds.
But despite the rulings Sunday, the Anfal case has
not ended, and there is a long list of people
accused of complicity in the operations who will be
called for investigations by the tribunal.
Among these are Kurdish collaborators, known as
Mustashar, who were heading paramilitary forces at
the time and closely assisting the Iraqi army in
carrying out the operations.
Many in Kurdistan insist that justice will not be
done unless these people are put on trial.
"It was not only these six people in the dock that
carried out Anfal," Shwan Mahmoud, 29, a university
graduate from Erbil told.IPS. "The verdicts today
are only part of the justice, and whoever was
involved has to face the families of the victims in
the court."
IPS
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