Newly-established Kurdish Faili National Movement: A call to raise awareness of massacres against Failis
Shafaq News/ On Saturday, political,academic, and social figures from the Faili Kurds announced the establishmentof the Kurdish Faili National Movement (KFNM) to "end divisions andconflicts and clear the political atmosphere."
At a press conference held inBaghdad, the head of the movement, Judge Munir Haddad, stated, "Followinga meeting of Faili Kurdish figures, we are announcing the establishment of theFaili Kurdish National Movement as a political organization dedicated tounifying and securing the independence of the Faili political discourse anddecision-making, free from external influences and pressures."
"The movement aims to rebuildthe internal unity of the Faili Kurds and genuinely represent their political,economic, and social interests, along with their constitutional, legal, andhuman rights," he confirmed. "It seeks to fulfill their aspirationsfor a dignified life, while ensuring their representation and active role inthe Iraqi political landscape, with respect for their voting bloc and popularbase."
Moreover, Haddad expanded on themovement’s goals, affirming it aims to "establish an organized framework,joint coordination, and constructive dialogue among all active parties in Iraqisociety, strengthen Faili political presence, and ensure their participation innational consensus, with genuine, non-marginalized representation in Iraq’sconstitutional institutions and public authorities." He added that thiswould be achieved with the support of the Federal and Kurdistan RegionalGovernments, and influential political parties involved in the politicalprocess.
Haddad further highlighted that themovement "is committed to internationalizing the Faili cause through theInternational Criminal Court, seeking an international and UN resolution, andpresenting the issue at global forums, organizations, and conferences, to raiseawareness of the systematic oppression, injustices, massacres, and atrocitiescommitted against the Failis.”
“The ultimate goal is to secureinternational recognition of these crimes as acts of genocide."
Faili Kurds
Faili Kurds are an ethnic group thathistorically inhabited both sides of the Zagros mountain range along theIraq-Iran border. Currently, they hold one seat in the Iraqi parliament.However, in the Kurdistan Region’s Parliament, the Faili Kurds have not beengranted their rights under the quota system, unlike other minorities such asChristians and Turkmen, with the reasoning being that they are consideredKurds.
During Saddam Hussein's regime,which spanned nearly three decades, thousands of young Faili Kurds wereforcibly relocated to undisclosed destinations, their fates shrouded inuncertainty, with indications suggesting that many perished in custody or weresubjected to extrajudicial executions and buried in mass graves.
The Ba'athist regime initiated aconcerted campaign in the late 1970s and early 1980s to uproot the Faili Kurds,stripping them of their Iraqi citizenship and seizing their assets. Theyendured deportation, displacement, arrests, and executions during the tenuresof former Presidents Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr in 1970 and 1975, followed by SaddamHussein in 1980.
In December 2008, the caseconcerning the Failis was forwarded to the Iraqi High Criminal Court. Following44 hearings in 2010, the court officially recognized the genocide of theFailis. In 2010, the Supreme Criminal Court rendered its verdict on the crimesof displacement and confiscation of rights perpetrated against the Faili Kurds,unequivocally designating them as acts of genocide.
