March 16

On March 16, 1988 Saddam’s regime dropped chemical weapons on the Kurdish town of Halabja, killing over 5,000 civilian people. This was a final act of his campaign of eradicating Kurds in Iraq. This campaign was called Al-Anfal in Arabic, which means “the Spoils of War.” It is a Sura in the Quran. This campaign lasted from 1986 to 1989. During this campaign the Baath regime in Iraq killed 180,000 Kurds. Many Kurds were deported into Arab part—south—of Iraq to depopulate Kurdistan. The Iraqi Kurds have been fighting the Arab regimes for decades for their autonomy and democracy. The Kurdish fight began in Iraqi-Kurdistan when the Iraq was a mandate of Britain in the 1920s. They revolted many times against the British government. After the British left, the Arabs came to power to govern Iraq. Since the founding of Iraq the Arab regimes have vehemently fought to deny Kurds their rights of self-government.

The Anfal campaign was an eye opening for us Kurds. Countries in the U.N Security Council did not believe such an attack by Saddam on the Kurds and they dismissed it. There was nothing to be done. Saddam was offering all the countries lucrative businesses, e.g., acquiring military hardware from cash greedy military-industrial companies. There was no one to file complaints against because we did not have any power to get countries behind us to do something for injustice. It was like being a homeless person on the street without any protection from hunger, cold, and heat. We will remember those days for ever. We will remember that there was no help when we were attacked with chemicals. We will remember those days when no one came to heal our wounds. Therefore we will not give up what we have achieved in Iraq-Kurdistan. We will be a beacon of freedom in the Middle East.

Click on the link below to view a slide show about Halabja

http://www.netkurd.org/nuce.asp?id=6165