|
On the "Kurdish Holocaust" and the Crisis
of Conscience
29.4.2008
By Jordanian Reformist Shaker Al-Nabulsi
|
|
|
April 29, 2008
Jordanian Reformist Shaker
Al-Nabulsi on the "Kurdish Holocaust" and the Crisis
of Conscience
The prominent Jordanian-born reformist Dr. Shaker
Al-Nabulsi is known as a forceful advocate for
secular democracy and human and civil rights in the
Middle East. Dr. Nabulsi, who now resides in the
U.S., has published writings on the issues of civil
society, contemporary politics and society, the
media, and Islam, and has been a harsh critic of
Islamist extremism.
In an essay posted April 24, 2007 on the Arab reform
website Aafaq.org, Dr. Al-Nabulsi marked the 20th
anniversary of the attacks launched by Saddam
Hussein against Iraq's Kurds - attacks that Saddam
and his associates labeled the "Anfal" ("Spoils")
campaign. His essay is a meditation on the lessons
and meaning to be drawn from the Saddam's "Kurdish
Holocaust," and on the duty to stand with the
victims of dictatorship and tyranny. He compares
Saddam and Hitler,www.ekurd.net
and observes that in the case of
both tyrants, the world's conscience awakened
belatedly (for the original Arabic version of this
essay on Aafaq.org, visit http://www.aafaq.org/masahas.aspx?id_mas=1707
).
The following is the translation of the essay:
"Dictatorships Leave Behind Only Tragedies,
Disasters, Destruction and Ruins"
"1. It is the 20th anniversary of the infamous Anfal
campaigns led by the tyrant Saddam. Much has been
said in the past 20 years about these campaigns -
eight campaigns in all - which began in the spring
of 1988 and continued until the end of 1989. That
is, the regime was not satisfied with one or two
campaigns, or a month or two of attacks on the
peaceful and innocent, but sent wave after wave of
death and destruction, month after month, campaign
after campaign.
"2. We do not want to go into the history or the
details of these campaigns, because writers and
intellectuals of different tendencies and
inclinations - including a small handful of
honorable Arab writers - have written about them at
length. What is important about this holocaust, and
the lesson that must draw from it and always
remember, is the certainty that dictatorships leave
behind only tragedies, disasters, destruction and
ruins. And further, it is the duty of all of mankind
- not only of those directly afflicted by
dictatorship and who tasted its tyranny and
oppression - to fight dictatorship, and to stand
firmly against it for the benefit of all of
mankind."
The World's Silence Emboldened Both Hitler and
Saddam
"3. Had it not been for the silence of the European
conscience, and the world's conscience, at the Nazi
crimes inside Germany and the preparation for the
Jewish holocaust, Hitler would not have risked
invading Europe and [carrying out] the destruction,
killing and imprisonment of millions...
"Likewise, had it not been for the silence of the
Arab conscience, and the world's conscience, at the
crimes of the later Nazi, Saddam Hussein, and the
crimes he committed in Iraq before the Anfal
campaigns - the arrests, the killing of the elite of
society, and expulsion of others of the elites from
Iraq - he would not have risked carrying out the
Anfal campaigns or the holocaust against our Kurdish
people, and the repetition of what Hitler did.
"4. Hitler regarded the aggression and tyranny that
he carried out after the holocaust of the Jews as
proper, and he devastated Europe and parts of
Africa, and if the conscience of the world had not
been awakened, and America had not intervened in
World War II and stopped the Nazi advance, Hitler
might have overrun the whole world, with the
exception of North America."
"Saddam Hussein Read This History, But He Did Not
Understand It - Or Understand It Well"
"Saddam Hussein read this history, but he did not
understand it, or understand it well. And his
example in this is the same as that of many Arab
leaders who did not benefit from the study of
history. Among them was Mu'awiya bin Abi Sufyan [the
caliph who succeeded Ali, and the first caliph of
the Umayyad dynasty], who used to read a history
book every night and put it under his pillow, but in
the morning, did the opposite of what he had read.
Saddam Hussein did likewise.
"5. The silence of the Arab conscience, and then of
the world's conscience, at the crimes of the Anfal
campaigns in 1988-1989 emboldened Saddam Hussein to
press on with his criminality [and] to advance with
his invasion of Kuwait and eastern Saudi Arabia,
hoping to overrun the whole Arab Gulf after that,
swallowing it up like a tasty morsel.
"Kuwait was fortunate in that it was an essential
source of petroleum in the world, and the conscience
of the world was awakened in defense of its
interests in Kuwait, and America took over the
leadership of the allies - as it did in World War II
- in defense of its interests in preserving the
security of energy sources in the Gulf,www.ekurd.net
and expelled
Saddam from Kuwait and liberated it. And if Iraqi
Kurdistan - aside from Kirkuk - had been a producer
of petroleum like Kuwait, would it have been more
fortunate in its security and in awakening the Arab
and international conscience - and especially of
America?"
"What Is Important Is Not to Awaken the Conscience
of the World.... [But] to be Vigilant"
"6. Twenty years after the "Kurdish holocaust,"
America was able to retaliate against Saddam and
against those who carried out these heinous crimes
in Iraqi Kurdistan. But that was after these crimes
were committed and hundreds of thousands of innocent
victims died...
"What is important is not to awaken the conscience
of the world - what is most important is to be
vigilant, and to deter the criminals before they
commit their crimes."
Copyright, respective author or news agency, memri
org
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 