Barzani HQ: Faiyli Kurds still seeking justice 43 years after forced displacement
Shafaq News / Ali Al-Faily, the official responsible for the affairs of the Faiyli Kurds in the Barzani headquarters, stated that despite the fall of the previous regime 20 years ago, the Faiylis are still suffering and have not been compensated for their lost rights.
He urged the Iraqi government to fulfill its moral and humanitarian duties towards this important sector of the Iraqi people.
Speaking to Shafaq News Agency, Al-Faily said, "Today marks the forty-third anniversary of the mass genocide and forced displacement of the Kurdish Faiyli on April 4, 1980, when the former regime displaced more than 600,000 Kurdish Filis for no reason other than being part of the Kurdish people from the cities of Khanaqin, Khanah, Mandali, Badra, Jassan, Zurbatiyah, Ali Al-Gharbi, Kut, Numaniya, and Baghdad."
He added that "this displacement was motivated by political and economic reasons, as well as demographic change in the above areas, which were mostly Kurdish, and to control the money of the Kurdish Filis who represented the backbone of the economic life in Iraq, where their movable and immovable property was seized."
Moreover, he continued, "approximately 22,000 young Kurdish Faiylis who were serving in the military were also involved in this displacement. They were subjected to biological weapons tests and buried alive in mass graves. Until now, this wound has not healed because their remains have not been handed over to their families."
Despite 20 years passing since the fall of the former regime, Al-Faily stressed that the Faiyli Kurds are still suffering from the effects of this operation and have not been compensated for their lost rights. "Even their properties, which were seized by the former regime and its cronies, are still subject to property disputes estimated at 100,000 properties, including residential and commercial properties."
Al-Faily demanded that the Iraqi government "fulfill its moral and humanitarian duties towards the Kurdish Filis, who are an important sector of the Iraqi people, and to provide them with compensation for their lost rights."
It is worth mentioning that the former regime, led by Saddam Hussein, forcibly displaced thousands of young Kurdish Faiylis to unknown places, and their fate is still unknown. They are believed to have died in detention centers or buried alive in mass graves.
The Ba'athist regime began a massive campaign to displace the Faiyli Kurds and revoke their Iraqi citizenship, seize their properties, and confiscate their movable and immovable assets in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The Kurdish Faiyli were also subjected to deportation, forced displacement, imprisonment, and murder during the rule of former President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr in 1970 and 1975, and later under Saddam Hussein's regime in 1980. Historians believe that the displacement was due to their sectarian and national affiliations.
The High Criminal Court issued its verdict in 2010 on the crimes of displacement, disappearance, and confiscation of the rights of the Kurdish Faiylis, which were considered genocide.
On December 8, 2010, the Iraqi government issued a decision committing itself to remove the negative effects of targeting the Kurdish Faiylis, which was followed by a decision from the Council of Representatives on August 1, 2010, considering the forced displacement and disappearance of the Faiylis a crime of genocide.
The 43rd anniversary of the massacre and displacement of the Kurdish Faiylis is a reminder of the injustice they faced and the urgent need for the Iraqi government to take responsibility for their lost rights and provide them with compensation.
