‘The Turkish state maintains the genocide in Halabja’

On the anniversary of the Halabja and Beyazıt massacres, parties and institutions in Turkey and North Kurdistan issued statements.

The Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) stated that “On the 34th anniversary of the Halabja Massacre, which claimed the lives of thousands of people, including women and children, and left tens of thousands injured and ill, and went down as a black mark in human history, we commemorate the victims with respect and mercy. We will continue to defend the rule of law against all human rights violations and the right to live in accordance with human dignity.”

KNK: THE TURKISH STATE MAINTAINS THE GENOCIDE

The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Executive Council recalled that on March 16, 1988, Saddam’s dictator and fascist regime brutally murdered 5 thousand Kurds with chemical weapons, and stated the following:

“With the events that occurred this month, March is indeed a month full of sorrow, struggle, and uprisings for Kurdistan. On March 16, 1988, in Halabja, South Kurdistan, one of the most horrible days of this genocide occurred. In the city of Halabja, the dictator and fascist Saddam dictatorship used chemical weapons to kill almost 5,000 people, including children, women, and the elderly. This horrible massacre is still in the minds and souls of the Kurdish people, and it will not be forgotten. This month, colonial, fascist, and dictatorial states carried out several atrocities and genocides similar to those in Halabja in all of Kurdistan.

Such massacres are not limited to Saddam Hussein’s fascist regime. In its century-long history, the Turkish state has perpetrated several atrocities and genocides using chemical weapons, and it continues to employ chemical weapons indiscriminately against the Kurdish people. In the past two years, the Turkish state has used and continues to deploy chemical weapons on dozens of occasions against freedom fighters and civilians in South Kurdistan.

As KNK, we want the United Nations, European Union, and International Court of Justice to recognize the Halabja atrocity as genocide and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Kurdish people will never forget the massacre in Halabja. The massacre in Halabja will live on in the minds of Kurds for the rest of their lives. May the souls of Halabja’s martyrs rest in peace.”

SALIH: DETERMINATION HAS INCREASED

Iraqi President Barham Salih said that, “The Halabja Massacre, which embodies the pain of the Kurdish people and all Iraqis, is a crime against humanity targeting everybody living in this noble land.”

Barham Salih also gave the following message, “This atrocity, perpetrated through injustice and tyranny, has inspired a determination to fight for the right to live a free and dignified life.”

SYKP: THEY COULD NOT PREVENT THE KURDISH PEOPLE’S RESISTANCE

The Central Executive Committee of the Socialist Re-Foundation Party (SYKP) said, “The 16th of March marks the anniversary of two massacres commemorated in our geography. On March 16, 2007, seven students were killed by a bomb-armed attack at the university gate in Beyazıt Square, and thousands of Kurds were killed by chemical weapons in Halabja. Both massacres were carried out in order to put an end to the struggle and resistance of the oppressed people, workers, and peoples in our region.”

The statement emphasized that, “Saddam Hussein’s genocidal attack, carried out with the assistance of imperialists, could not reverse the Kurdish people’s battle for independence and equality. We remember those who died in the Beyazıt and Halabja massacres with reverence.”

TODAY IT IS ISIS AND THE TURKISH STATE WHO ARE ATTACKING

On the 34th anniversary of the Halabja Massacre, the Human Rights Association (IHD) Headquarters and Istanbul Branch issued a written statement.

The ISIS attacks were highlighted in the statement, which emphasized that attempts to harm and destroy the Kurdish people continue.

“According to international organizations’ reports, tens of thousands of civilians were killed and tens of thousands of civilians were displaced during Turkey’s military operation against Syria’s Afrin region, which began in January 2018 alongside paramilitary groups on the grounds of border security and ended in March 2018. It demonstrates how severe and grave the situation is. For the same reason, tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced as a result of Turkey’s military onslaught against Northern Syria, which began on October 9, 2019.

The ‘Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic’ report dated 28 January 2020, prepared by independent United Nations specialists, thoroughly explored this matter, as well as reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

The statement recalled IHD’s decision to declare March 16 as “Kurdish Genocide Day” and called for “consistent policies from the UN and the Council of Europe to put an end to armed conflict and war”.

ESP: THE GENOCIDERS WILL LOSE

The Kurdistan Organization of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) made the following remarks:

“Halabja is an edict to our people who refuse to kneel in order to preserve their national identity. The Halabja Massacre is one of the most horrific chemical-weapons attacks on humans in human history. There is so much to tell about Halabja, such as the words of a child who is running through the bombs and saying ‘Dayê bêhna sêva tê (Mom, I smell apples)’. This, however, was the smell of chemical gases.”

ESP said that, “Despite the passage of decades, colonialist regional powers’ murderous practices against our people continue. Our mountains are bombarded, gallows trees are set up, our territories are trampled by colonial fascist forces, and the persecution in prisons does not end. Colonist schemes were hatched yesterday in Saddam’s golden mansions and are planned today in Erdogan’s opulent palaces. The perpetrators of genocides and massacres will be defeated, and our people will win.”