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Kurdistan PM: We call for international
recognition of Anfal genocide
29.1.2008
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Prime
Minister Barzani addresses Anfal conference
January
29, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq',--
On Monday in Erbil, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani gave the closing
address at a three-day academic conference on the
Anfal genocide against the Kurds.
Explaining the scope and nature of the Anfal
campaign, the Prime Minister said, “This was a crime
against humanity, it was a savage mass killing, its
goal was to eradicate the existence of the Kurdish
nation.”
He said that the 2007 decision by the Supreme Court
of Iraq was significant because the court
“recognized that three crimes were committed against
the Kurdish people in the name of Anfal: |
Nechirvan Barzani, Prime
Minister of
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) |
The crime of mass
killing with the objective of annihilating the
Kurds; crimes against humanity against tens of
thousands innocent civilians; and war crimes against
the people of Kurdistan.”
The Prime Minister stressed, “It is very important
for the international community to understand that
our views and attitudes today are shaped by and
reflect our history.”
He added, “The consequence and effect of our past is
that we must always be strong and united to protect
our people from persecution and injustice.”
He said that while the Kurdistan Region was
dedicated to being an integral part of a federal,
democratic and pluralistic Iraq, “We cannot allow
the same bitter history to be repeated.”
Prime Minister Barzani said, “We all have to make
the memory of our sacrifices a driving force to
encourage us to build a prosperous, stable and
bright future. Our culture of tolerance guarantees
that we will value the memory of the victims so that
we construct a new ways of working. We are working
hard to build our institutions,www.ekurd.net
to develop our economy
and to advance our freedom and political situation.”
He also talked about reconciliation and tolerance:
"We must keep the memory of this tragedy alive and
protect the rights and dignity of the families of
the victims, but we have to make progress without
allowing hatred or violence in our actions and work.
We want to take these steps within our fine culture
of tolerance, peace and a hopeful life."
The three-day conference set out to find ways to
obtain international recognition for Anfal as a
crime of genocide, document the genocide against the
Kurds, compensate survivors and victim’s families,
and gain support from international institutions and
organisations.
During the conference many national and
international experts and scholars submitted for
discussion academic papers focusing on different
aspects of the Anfal campaign and the genocide. The
KRG-backed conference was organised by a committee
of senior government officials, the Ministry of
Martyrs and Anfal Affairs, the Ministry of Human
Rights, academics and experts.
PM's speech: We call for
international recognition of Anfal genocide
krg org
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