Victims of Halabja will be compensated: Iraqi official
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – People of the Kurdistan Region marked the 30th anniversary of the Halabja Massacre, commemorating the tragic event by calling for the prevention of similar atrocities around the world.
In Halabja, a special ceremony was held to recognize the genocide with Kurdish and Iraqi officials as well as foreign diplomats in attendance. The officials laid a wreath on the monument in honor of the victims from Halabja.
Mahdi al-Alaq, the General Secretary of the Council of Ministers, there on behalf of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, stated that the Iraqi government is committed to compensating the victims of Halabja.
“There is a constitution, and there is a law, that both guarantee compensation to all citizens who were subjected to this genocide,” Alaq told Kurdistan 24.
“The Iraqi government remains committed to paying all legal entitlements to the people of Halabja.”
On March 16, 1988, Iraqi aircrafts launched a chemical attack on the city of Halabja, killing some 5,000 people and injuring 10,000 more.
Halabja is a Kurdish city located 215 kilometers southeast of Erbil, and 10 kilometers from Iran’s border. The town was officially recognized as the newest province in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq at the end of 2013.
The Iraqi High Criminal Court recognized the Halabja massacre as an act of genocide on March 1, 2010
The bombing was one of many horrific crimes committed against the people of Kurdistan by the former Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship.
Kurds commemorate the event every year by holding special ceremonies and standing in silence for five minutes on the street to pay respect to the victims.
On Friday, the US Embassy in Iraq released a statement on the 30th anniversary of the atrocity, offering condolences to those who lost family members.
“In remembering this tragic day, the United States renews its commitment to supporting Iraq, a land that has been home to a vast array of ethnic and religious groups for centuries, and the Iraqi people in their efforts to prevent this kind of atrocity from ever happening again, and to continue building a diverse, prosperous, and democratic society,” the statement read.
Editing by Nadia Riva