PUK Politburo: Anfal families deserve a better life

Kurdistan 09:46 PM - 2021-04-13

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On Tuesday, the Political Bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) issued a statement on the 33rd anniversary of the notorious Anfal campaigns.

 

The following is the full text of the statement:

 

"Thirty-three years ago, as part of the policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide against the people of Kurdistan, the Saddam Baathist regime, through eight stages, attacked the villages of Kurdistan, and the campaigns resulted in the martyrdom of tens of thousands of innocent citizens, including children, women and the elderly, and after their physical and psychological torture, they were buried alive in the deserts of Iraq and 5,000 villages were looted and destroyed.

 

The aim of the Baath in his crime was not only the liquidation of tens of thousands of Kurdish people, but also the aim of other operations such as "arabization, displacement, ambassadorship, chemical bombardment", changing the demographics of Kirkuk and The Kurdistan regions, destroying the economic structure of Kurdistan, and moving ethnic cleansing to a dangerous stage.

 

After 33 years of this genocide, we affirm:

 

First, with Iraq's Supreme Criminal Court defining campaigns as genocide and war crimes and against humanity, all other measures related to the file, such as "arresting wanted persons and compensating those who harm" are not completed.

 

Secondly, the families of the exiles and survivors of the Anfal campaigns deserve a better living, the provision of residential land, services, within their primary rights and the priority of the duties of the federal governments and the Kurdistan region. As part of this framework, the Kurdistan Regional Government's decision to "distribute a number of residential land to the families of the exiles in Kermian, with the efforts of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan team", hoped to take further steps.

 

Thirdly, the scale of the Anfal crime has not been defined as crimes of genocide internationally, so the Kurdistan government, parliament and political parties should activate their efforts in this direction.

 

Fourthly, the genocide of Yazidis by ISIS terrorists proves that the mentality that gave legitimacy to the Anfal campaigns remains, and has not aborted the environment and ground of genocide.

 

The injury of the loss of 10,000 of our loved ones in the Anfal campaigns will never be in our conscience, and will remain alive in our history.

 

The Anfal, the chemical bombing, the victims and the tragedies that have befallen our people must become a source of real reform, anti-corruption and the provision of a different, advanced and more careful model in the administration, in order for the Kurdistanis to be fully prepared.

 

 

 

PUKmedia