Kurdistan
A graveyard for the victims of the Anfal genocide in Halabja. Photo: Bilind T. Abdullah/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - On the 35th anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s genocidal Anfal campaign against Kurds, Kurdistan Region leaders called for compensation for the victims.
Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region, paid tribute to the victims in a statement, saying that the Region’s autonomy is possible because of their sacrifices. He called for greater international recognition of Anfal to prevent the recurrence of such a tragedy.
“The constitutional status of the Kurdistan Region is the outcome of the struggle of hundreds of thousands of fallen heroes of horrendous crimes such as Anfal, chemical attacks and the sacrifices of the people of Kurdistan,” read his statement.
The Anfal campaign, named after the eighth surah in the Quran, was the codename for Saddam Hussein’s genocide that killed around 182,000 Kurds.
The president urged the Iraqi federal government to reimburse victims and their families, adding that the survivors should be provided with “greater and better services.”
The Iraqi parliament recognized Anfal as genocide on April 14, 2008. The military commanders who carried out the campaign were handed death sentences. Ali Hassan Majeed, known as “Chemical Ali,” was hanged in 2011.
Yet 35 years after the massacre, Anfal survivors say they still have not received compensation from Iraq.
Read more: ‘They are all dead’: Anfal survivor haunted by genocide
“The Anfal crime, was a brutal genocide, not only against the people of Kurdistan, but rather against all human and moral values,” said Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani in a statement on Friday.
Anfal: the genocidal campaign against the Kurdish people. pic.twitter.com/taw2nJLEZn
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) April 14, 2023
The Kurdish premier also called on Baghdad to carry out “its moral and constitutional responsibilities” by compensating the victims and helping Erbil to provide greater services for their families.
Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid said the anniversary is a time for solidarity to consolidate a democratic state that works towards serving the interests of the people.
Diplomatic missions in the Kurdistan Region also shared statements of commemoration.
“We affirm our duty to remember this genocide & other horrific events, [including] ISIS genocide, so that we can make sure they never happen again,” tweeted the US consulate general.
“This April 14, we honour the memory of the victims of the Anfal operations, a campaign to exterminate the Kurdish population by the Baathist regime,” tweeted French Consul General Olivier Decottignies.
Britain's Minister of State for the Middle East Lord Tariq Ahmad said "We must never forget the inhumane nature of Saddam Hussein’s monstrous crimes. My thoughts are with the families of those who were killed and the survivors who are still living with unimaginable, life-changing consequences."
The Garmiyan phase of the campaign began on April 14, 1988 in the southernmost reaches of the Kurdistan Region and that date is used to commemorate the anniversary of Anfal each year.
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