The residents of Raparin are concerned by the lack of services and the pending status of more than 120 infrastructure projects within the area 33 years since Ranya became the first town to rise up against the regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on March 5, 1991.
The revolt quickly spread across Kurdish towns and cities resulting in the expulsion of the Iraqi army from most of said locations, creating room for the establishment of a Kurdish parliament in 1992.
“It is a sacred day and every Kurd should be proud of this sacred day,” said Hawnaz Ali, a resident.
“I demand the government to pay their full attention to the district, especially to the youth, to provide them with job opportunities,” she continued.
Hiwa Qarani, supervisor of the Raparin administration, expressed optimism regarding the political and economic circumstances within the area. He expressed the hope for greater collaboration between the administration and the government in serving the residents of the Raparin district.
Hiwa Qarani, Raparin administration’s supervisor: We had hoped that on the 33rd anniversary of the uprising, the political and economic situation in the Kurdistan Region would be such that we could all serve the hardworking people of the Raparin administration. Raparin [administration] needs more services and needs to be taken care of. (Soundbite version)
Mullah Omar Khoshnaw, a teacher from Erbil, came a long way from the Kurdistan Region’s capital to Ranya the day before the anniversary. Every year on this day, he participates in the commemoration of the uprising by bringing a bouquet of daffodils.
“Every year I have to be in Ranya district on March 5th,” Khoshnaw told Rudaw’s Abubakir Ismael on Tuesday.
“The uprising first started in Ranya when they pushed the Ba'athist forces out without ever backing off," he added, congratulating those who took part in the uprising for the bravery they made proof of.
A series of rulings by the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court in recent years, deemed by Kurdish officials as detrimental to the Kurdistan Region’s political entity, has sparked concerns over the future of the Region’s semi-autonomous status in Iraq.
