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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A US congressman has submitted a draft resolution to Congress, to be discussed on Friday, honouring the bravery of Kurds on the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide Comfort, shielding Kurds from Baath persecution.
The draft resolution, seen by Rudaw English, was submitted by Republican politician Michael Waltz, of Florida, on Wednesday. Waltz recently co-authored another bill calling for special immigrant status for Syrian Kurds who worked with US forces.
The resolution recognizes and honours the nearly two million Kurds “ who struggled to survive starvation and exposure, and who welcomed the aid that came and embraced the opportunity for a new life,” and US personnel who assisted in the operation.
"As a Green Beret and veteran of the Global War on Terrorism, I'm proud to introduce this resolution today to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide Comfort by honoring the many heroic American and allied soldiers who fought to keep the Kurdish people safe," Waltz said in a statement shared with Rudaw's Roj Eli Zalla.
"This mission was the foundation for our enduring relationship and friendship with the Kurdish people," he added.
The US-led Operation Provide Comfort delivered humanitarian aid to fleeing Kurds and enforced a no-fly zone to protect civilians from the Baathist regime.
"Overwhelmed by the Hussein regime's superior fire-power, and having already experienced the genocidal death of some 200,000 Kurds, along with the wanton destruction of 4,500 Kurdish villages and deadly chemical bombardment, hundreds of thousands of Kurdish men, women, and children fled to Iraq's northern and eastern borders, fearing that the regime would use poison gas against them, as during the Anfal campaign and in Halabja only three years before," the resolution said.
The operation saved the lives of thousands of people and paved the way for the autonomous Kurdistan Region, which, the resolution said, “serves as one of the world's largest safe havens for those fleeing conflict and religious and political persecutions."
The document also calls on congress to “reaffirm the strong American-Kurdish partnership,” and depicts the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Peshmerga as the most dependable and steadfast partners of the US in the fight against extremism and terrorism.
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani spoke about the US-led operation in a Wednesday webinar.
"After the implementation of the no-fly zone resolution, the people of Kurdistan were able to establish their own administration, have legitimate institutions, hold elections, and have parliament and government," said Barzani.
Two streets, Safe Haven Street and Sir John Major Street, were named in early April in Erbil to commemorate UK aid in establishing the no-fly zone.
Additional reporting by Roj Eli Zalla
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