Echoes of Genocide in Kurdistan: Halabja conference in Washington to mark 30th anniversary

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representation in the United States will hold a conference on March 13, sponsored by Kurdistan 24, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Halabja genocide.

The conference, which will be held at the prestigious Newseum in Washington DC, is titled “Echoes of Genocide in Kurdistan” and includes a group of prominent Kurdish and non-Kurdish speakers.

KRG Representative to the US, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, and officials from the Iraqi government and US Congress are expected to share their comments to mark the momentous day.

Some notable speakers include Andrew Peek, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iran and Iraq at the US State Department, and Thomas A. Kaplan, Chairman of Justice for Kurds and Chairman of the Electrum Group.

The topics which will be discussed are the conflict in the Kurdistan Region and the Middle East, in general, the use of chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria, and the Yezidi genocide at the hands of the Islamic State (IS).

March is a significant month for Kurds in the homeland and abroad as it marks an important time in Kurdish history.

Kurds commemorate positive achievements during this month as well as unforgettable injustice and genocide.

On March 16, 1988, Iraqi aircrafts attacked the city of Halabja with chemical weapons killing 5,000 people and injuring thousands more.

The genocide was one of many horrific crimes committed by the former Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship against the people of Kurdistan.

During Hussein’s rule, thousands of innocent Kurds were martyred, scores of people injured, and many villages and towns destroyed.

According to an official press release, the KRG Representation in the US plans to highlight these past atrocities, “the cycle of genocide, how this impacts politics in Kurdistan and Iraq today, and the imperative for justice and reconciliation.”

Registration for the conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. local time. Attendants can RSVP here.