Shafaq News/ The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, condemned on Thursday, the federal government and the Iraqi parliament for failing to grant Halabja as the 19th Iraqi governorate.
Barzani visited Halabja this morning to assess the situation of the people there, and laid the foundation stone for the strategic "Towequt" bridge project.
The KRG PM called on the federal government “to honor its moral and legal obligation to compensate the survivors of the Halabja chemical attack, which was carried out by the Baath regime.” He said, “the victims of the chemical weapons and the Anfal campaign deserve proper compensation.”" He also said, "We have to challenge the federal government to secure our legitimate rights, especially for Halabja."
He further warned that "some still try to wipe out the memory of the genocide that the people of Halabja suffered and to deny this crime." He emphasized that "we must never forget this crime, and we must ensure that Baghdad does not forget it either."
Moreover, Barzani announced several decisions to improve the services and infrastructure of Halabja, the allocation of some border revenues to the city's projects, make Khormal a district and open a medical college in Halabja, hiring 500 Halabja employees in government, paving the city streets, forming a follow-up committee, and opening a medical college at Halabja University.
In June 2013, the Kurdistan Regional Government established the Halabja Governorate, comprising districts such as Halabja, Shahrzur, Penguin, and Sayed Sadiq. However, the federal government has not officially recognized it as a governorate. The former Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, pledged to facilitate the declaration of Halabja as the 19th governorate in Iraq during a visit in September 2020.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani announced the approval of the draft law to create Halabja Governorate, and it was scheduled for voting in the Iraqi Council of Representatives in September 2023. However, the session was not held due to political differences.
Halabja is located in the northeastern part of Iraq and has a population of approximately 1.2 million people. The establishment of Halabja Governorate is a sensitive issue given the historical significance of the chemical attack on the city by the Iraqi regime in 1988, which killed thousands of people and remains one of the worst atrocities in modern Iraqi history.