March is a month of joy and sorrow for the Kurds. I celebrated with you from the UK as Kurds around the world ushered in the New Year two weeks ago – nawroz piroz! And I took a moment on 16 March to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the dreadful atrocities committed in Halabja. I also know that March is the month the Kurdistan Region of Iraq first gained autonomy in 1970.

But this year I remember 1991 in particular.

I have always been moved by the strength of resistance the Kurds showed against Saddam Hussein and the Ba’ath forces, but there is no doubt of the cost endured in this fight. The number of Kurds who died, were incarcerated or were forced to flee their homes rather than face indiscriminate violence, should never be f...
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