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UK: KRG representation and
parliamentarians launch e-petition on recognition of
Kurdish genocide
14.3.2012
By Kurdistan Regional Government - UK
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On March 16, 1988, after two days of conventional
artillery attacks, Iraqi regime planes dropped gas
canisters on the town. The Kurdish town and
surrounding district were attacked with bombs,
artillery fire, and chemical weapons, the latter of
which proved most devastating. At least 5,000 people
died as an immediate result of the chemical attack
and it is estimated that a further 7,000 people were
injured or suffered long term illness. Most of the
victims of the attack on the town of Halabja were
Kurdish civilians.
March
14, 2012
LONDON, — Kurdistan Regional
Government KRG-UK Representation and
parliamentarians mark Halabja anniversary and
launch e-petition on recognition of Kurdish
genocide.
KRG
The event was held in a packed hall in the
houses of parliament where more than 200 people
from the Kurdish community as well as British
friends of Kurdistan gave their backing to the
petition and spoke out in support of the people
of Halabja. Representatives of the leading
political parties in Kurdistan in Iraq, Iran,
Turkey and Syria gave their parties' support to
the effort to win recognition of the genocide.
The petition is an electronic one that needs
100,000 signatures on a UK government website in
order to trigger a debate in the British
parliament. It calls on Britain, as the home of
freedom and democracy, to recognise what
happened to the Kurds as genocide and to
encourage the United Nations and European Union
to do the same. The petition can only be signed
by British citizens and residents, including
Kurds living in Britain who have that status.
The campaign is being coordinated by the KRG UK
Representation with the parliamentarians and the
Kurdish Genocide Advisory Group.
Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-on-Avon and
sponsor of the e-petition, said, “Genocide is
the worst crime that can be committed by
humanity, and it befell Iraqi Kurds. It is our
duty as a civilised society to remember and
honour the victims. It’s important that our
parliament in the UK leads the way in the
European Union and the United Nations to
recognise the genocide against the Kurds. One
hundred thousand signatures isn’t a big ask for
those who gave their lives for our freedom.”
Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, KRG Representative to
the UK, said, "The chemical attack on Halabja,
which has come to symbolise the entire genocide,
was one savage act among many in the genocide
against the Kurds which included the targeting
of Faylees, the arabisation of Kirkuk, the
disappearance of the Barzanis and the Anfal
campaign."
She added, "I urge every Kurd who is a British
citizen or resident to sign this e-petition and
to encourage their British friends to do the
same. If we get a debate in parliament and then
recognition of the genocide by the British
government, your signatures will have made
history. It's the least we can do for those who
died."
The chairman of the rally, Robert Halfon MP,
Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group
on the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, said, “It is
strange that whilst the world knows much about
modern genocide -- the Bosnians by the Serbs,
the tragedy of Rwanda -- little is known about
the Kurdish story. In fact, their genocide which
is known to most as Anfal, is not even
recognised as a genocide by the United Nations
-- something that I, chairing a committee of
academics, lawyers, and parliamentarians, am
trying to change.
Mr Halfon added, “ There has been little justice
meted out to those responsible for the Kurdish
genocide. The Kurds have waited too long for
justice.”
Ann Clwyd MP, a longtime friend of Kurdistan,
spoke of the efforts she and others had made
over the past two decades to indict leading
figures in Saddam Hussein's regime and to help
the victims of Halabja and the Anfal campaign.
She also spoke of visiting the mass graves in
Iraq. "There is nothing more awful than standing
on the edge of a mass grave to watch the bodies
being dug up and their families looking on,
identifying them, saying this is my husband,
this is my son," she said.
Lord Archer, in a rousing speech, recalled his
first visit to Halabja which he described as a
'ghost town' and said that one of the great
delights of his life was to see justice against
Saddam Hussein. He added, "Let's get those
100,000 names and let the world never forget the
evil that was perpetrated against the Kurds."
In a powerful and moving account, Richard
Beeston, foreign editor of The Times, who was
one of the first journalists to be in Halabja
just after the bombings took place, said,
“Looking down from the helicopter we sensed
something was wrong. There were no people and no
traffic. When we landed we could see the bodies.
I was a young reporter but I knew this was an
enormous crime. I went on to cover many wars but
the memories of Halabja are fresh in my mind."
Mr Beeston also said, “I went back to Halabja
many years later, in the spring, and in the
hills there were young people picnicking, happy.
It was a very emotional moment. It reminded me
of the power of humanity to overcome the worst
of war. Kurdistan is a shining example to others
of what's possible if you take your fate into
your hands and fight for your democratic
rights."
Gwynne Roberts, director of the Kurdistan Memory
Project, showed a short film highlighting the
many communities that were targets of poison
gas.
Other speakers included Hemen Hawrami, the
Kurdistan Democratic Party's head of foreign
relations, and Shahnaz Ibrahim Ahmed, head of
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's UK office.
Other Kurdish parties from Iraq,www.ekurd.net
Iran, Turkey and Syria also had messages of
support. Tom Hardie-Forsyth, a former British
army officer who helped to establish the safe
haven in 1991, Hugo Charlton, a human rights
lawyer, Dr Gregory Kent of Roehampton University
and Laween Atroshi, a healthcare professional,
also spoke.
Several parliamentarians attended the meeting to
show their support for the signatures drive,
including Lord Clement-Jones and Meg Munn MP
calling on everyone eligible to support and sign
the e-petition. Several other messages were read
out at the rally, which were sent from MPs and
peers as well as others keen to help gather
100,000 names.
The written messages sent included statements
from Lord Dubs, Lord Truscott, Baroness Meacher,
Lord Harris, Paul Bloomfield MP, Ian Mearns MP,
Michael Gapes MP, and Fabian Hamilton MP. The
Halabja Chemical Victims Society as well as the
Mayor of Halabja also sent messages of support.
Click here to read all the
messages of support received so far. PDF file.
The petition to the British government says:
“We urge the Government to recognise formally
the Genocide against the people of Iraqi
Kurdistan and to encourage the EU and UN to do
likewise. This will enable Kurdish people, many
in the UK, to achieve justice for their
considerable loss. It would also enable Britain,
the home of democracy and freedom, to send out a
message of support for international conventions
and human rights. The Genocide perpetrated over
decades, known collectively as the Anfal, began
with the arabisation of villages around Kirkuk
in 1963. It involved the deportation and
disappearances of Faylee Kurds in the 1970s-80s,
the murder of 8,000 male Barzanis in 1983, the
use of chemical weapons in the late 1980s, most
notably against Halabja, and finally the Anfal
campaign of 1987-88. Hundreds of thousands of
innocent people perished, families were torn
apart, with continuing health problems, and
4,500 villages were destroyed between 1976 and
1988 undermining the potential of Iraqi
Kurdistan's agricultural resources.”
To sign the e-petition, please go to the link
below. We appreciate your support.
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31014
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