Kurdish leaders commemorate 40 years since Anfal genocide
Shafaq News / Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, along with the President of the Kurdistan Region and his government, issued a statement to mark the passing of four decades since the Anfal genocide perpetrated by the former Iraqi regime against the Barzanis.
Barzani stated, "Forty years ago, the Ba'ath regime callously arrested eight thousand young and elderly Barzani men, aged between nine and ninety years, and brutally exterminated them in the deserts of southern Iraq. This crime is part of a series of tragedies and sacrifices organized to destroy and oppress the people of Kurdistan, from the disappearance of twelve thousand Fayli Kurds, to the Anfal in Karmian, and the chemical attacks on Halabja and other parts of Kurdistan, to the Arabization and demographic change of certain regions."
He continued, "Four decades have passed since this atrocity, but unfortunately, we still witness chauvinism, ill-will, and attempts to harm and oppress the Kurdish people in the imagination and actions of some individuals and parties. This problem itself is the main challenge for our people in confronting the inhumane mentality that causes misery and instability in Iraq and the region."
President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, paid tribute to the victims of the Anfal, saying, "Today, we honor the memory of 40 years since the massacre and disappearance of eight thousand young, youth, men, and elders of Barzani in forced camps. They fell victim to a brutal and arbitrary campaign executed by the Iraqi authorities during the period from the end of July to mid-August in 1983, and they were left in camps in Kushtaba, Bahirka, Harir, and Soran and other areas without fathers or brothers, and thousands of Barzani women remained widowed, facing an unknown and difficult fate, resisting dozens of forms of suffering and deprivation."
He further added, "These women became the breadwinners for their children, earning a living for them and raising them with dignity. They endured hardships and struggles with a strong spirit, raising a national generation committed to the cause. I kiss the hands of these compassionate and devoted mothers one by one."
The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, also released a statement, saying, "Today, we commemorate the 40th anniversary of one of the most heinous crimes committed by the former Iraqi regime, the genocide that claimed the lives of thousands of innocent Barzanis, for no reason other than being Kurds and Barzanis. They were arrested, detained, and buried alive in the deserts of Iraq."
He emphasized, "This major crime was part of a racist campaign launched by the ousted Ba'ath regime against the people of Kurdistan, hiding and annihilating the Fayli Kurds, and Anfalizing the regions of Barzan, Garmyan, and Badinan, in addition to the chemical bombing of Halabja and several other areas in Kurdistan. Sadly, after four decades of this tragedy, there are still those who carry the same chauvinistic mentality and the era of the Anfal campaigns, seeking to violate the legitimate rights guaranteed by the constitution to the people of Kurdistan and deprive them of those rights. Yet, the people of Kurdistan will not relinquish their national and patriotic identity."
The Anfal campaign, which occurred on July 31, 1983, was declared a "crime against humanity and genocide" by the Iraqi High Tribunal on May 3, 2011. It was a tragic chapter in Kurdish history that showed the resilience and determination of the Kurdish people in the face of adversity and oppression.
