Sulaimani uprising: Memories of betrayal, torture by Baathists still fresh
SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — Nearly three decades after the popular uprising against the former Iraqi regime, the bitter memories of an officer who drove the youth of Sulaimani into hiding are still fresh in Kurdish minds.
The image of the officer killed and hung at the Sulaimani’s Sara Square stands as a symbol of the March 7 uprising in 1991 against the Iraqi government following the first Gulf War.
The site where the body of Officer Shamal was hung after he was killed in March 1991. Photo: Rudaw TV
Mofawaz or Officer Shamal, a mechanic-turned police officer, was a native of Sulaimani. Despite his low position in the police force, locals say he had absolute authority to interrogate and humiliate people — unusual for a police officer.
“Officer Shamal was one of those who deprived the Sulaimani’s youth of life,” Mohammed Merdan, a Kurdish man in Sulaimani who also took part in the uprising said of his memories of the Kurdish officer.
People in Sulaimani city rose up against Baathists two days after the Peshmerga began the uprising in Raniya.
“What he did was for the enemy,” said Merdan. “Only if he had served his nation with the same determination, he would now be remembered as a hero. But he chose the path of treason, and oppressing the youth to the extent that he drove most of people to live in hiding.”
Adil, Shamal’s brother, said their family was told that their son was killed in the uprising, and his body was shown at the main square in the city, but that at the time, nobody — not even his family — dared to take him for burial.
“They [the people] would have killed us if they knew that he was our brother,” Adil said.
For Sulaimani artist Azad Penjweni, a slap on the face and a broken pen is a reminder of the Saddam-era.
“We were sitting in a shop one day, chatting about daily life. He [Shamal] came in and slapped each of us on the face,” Penjweni said.
“He turned to me, and asked, ‘What is this pen and paper in your hands? Do you want to write [against Iraq] and want to organize against the government?’ I said, ‘No. I am an artist and work in this field.’
“He said, ‘You are a worthless individual, everyone with you is worthless, and everyone who lives in this city is worthless,’ ” Penjweni said, adding: “He broke my pen.”
After joining the Kurdish uprising against the Iraqi regime, some in Sulaimani took up arms and attacked the security forces in the city including at the infamous Amna Suraka or the Red Security.
Amna Suraka was used by Iraqi intelligence for torture, holding, and interrogations. It has now been turned into a museum. Etchings and writings on the walls, bullet holes, torture cells, and other items remain preserved as evidence of the Baathist-era atrocities against the people of Sulaimani.