Kurdistan's PM calls for compensation on Barzani genocide anniversary
Shafaq News/ On the anniversary of the"Barzani genocide," Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani underscoredthe need for "compensation for the victims' families affected by theformer Iraqi regime.
In a statement, Barzani reflected on the impactof the genocide, saying, "On this anniversary, we honor the victims of theBaathist regime's racist campaign, which subjected them to one of the mostbrutal acts of ethnic cleansing. This marked the start of a series of Anfalcampaigns targeting the Kermanshah and Badinan regions, including the chemicalbombing of Halabja and mass killings across Kurdistan."
Barzani emphasized that the Barzan region, ahistorical stronghold for Kurdish resistance, faced "relentless attacks ofdestruction and extermination throughout the past century. Despite theseefforts to eradicate their spirit, the people of Barzan have maintained theirresistance and aspirations for freedom. Today, the region continues to stand asa bastion for the national and collective rights of the Kurdish people."
The Prime Minister also highlighted the KRG'songoing commitment to ensuring that the families of the victims receive “appropriatefinancial and moral compensation.” "In all our negotiations with thefederal government, we have consistently stressed the right of these familiesto compensation that reflects their suffering," Barzani stated.
In 1983, an uprising against Saddam's regimeerupted in the Kurdistan Region, leading to the Anfal campaign. Saddamappointed General Ali Hassan al-Majid al-Tikriti, the Secretary of the North inthe Baath Party, to oversee the Anfal campaign. On March 16, 1988, al-Majidordered chemical attacks on Halabja and surrounding villages, an actionrecognized as "genocide."
The campaign targeted the Barzan area, where8,000 individuals were arrested, transported to the deserts of southern Iraq,and executed. Their bodies were buried in mass graves.
On May 3, 2011, the Iraqi High Criminal Courtlabeled the Anfal campaign as a "crime against humanity andgenocide."
Following the fall of Saddam's regime in 2003,several key figures, including Saddam Hussein and Ali Hassan al-Majid, weretried and convicted in connection with the Anfal campaign, with some receivingdeath sentences.
