Kurdistan
Graves of victims of the Halabja chemical attack as seen on March 13, 2021. Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Senior Kurdish officials commemorated the 33rd anniversary of the chemical attack on Halabja on Tuesday, calling on the Iraqi government to compensate survivors of the tragedy.
“On the never-forgotten anniversary of the great tragedy that fell upon our people … we affirm, as always, the unity and cohesion of all parties and components of Kurdistan. We demand this for our loyalty to the blood of the martyrs and to not let our people’s efforts and struggle go to waste,” Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said in an official statement.
The president also called on the Iraqi government to compensate the victims of the chemical attack and called on the international community to “work seriously” to ban the use of weapons of mass destruction.
“We call on the Iraqi Federal Government to fulfill its duties and take practical steps to compensate the residents and the destroyed and toxic environment of Halabja province as a legal and moral responsibility,” he added.
Preserving life, environment and civilization “should be the entire world’s concern."
Around 5,000 people, mostly women and children, were killed when the former regime of Saddam Hussein dropped mustard gas onto the city of Halabja on March 16, 1988. The event, which was recognized as an act of genocide by Iraq's High Court in 2010, has left a permanent scar in the historical memory of the Kurdish people.
Many survivors suffered long-term health problems as a result of the attack, which was part of a longer genocidal campaign against Iraq’s Kurds by the Baathist regime.
Both Iraqi President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi issued statements on Tuesday, condemning the attack and denouncing the violence against Kurds.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani says the victims will always be remembered.
“Our efforts are ongoing so that the Iraqi government compensates the families of the martyrs and the injured,” he said, adding that the government is working “to prevent the recurrence of another genocide against the people of Kurdistan or any other nation in the world.”
Barzani announced on Tuesday that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has allocated 30 billion dinars for development projects in Halabja “to build infrastructure, create jobs and boost the local economy.”
The Kurdistan Parliament also held a session to remember the attack.
“The wound is so fresh. Thirty-three years after the chemical attack on Halabja, it looks like the chemical attack happened yesterday,” said Omer Gulpi, an MP for the Kurdistan Justice Group (formerly known as Komal) from Halabja.
Some leaders and MPs have called for action, rather than words, for the city which still lives with the legacy of the chemical attack.
“Let’s decide something here in this parliament. Are we going to just commemorate it the same way next year? How does this lessen the people’s suffering?” said Kurdistan Justice Group MP Abdulstar Majeed, adding that a committee should be formed to follow up on services for the town.
“I wonder what outcomes resulted from all of these statements and posts? Are all these martyrs and bloodshed and wounds not enough to give us a wake-up call?” Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said on Monday, calling for an end to “repetitive statements” on the attack.
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