Politics

Kurdish leaders ask Baghdad to compensate victims of Badinan Anfal genocide

“We reiterate that it is the legitimate right of the Kurdish people, especially the relatives and victims of the former Iraqi regime, to be adequately compensated.”

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2023/08/25 11:51

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani (Photo: KRG)

Kurdistan PM Barzani Anfal Campaign Masoud Barzani Nechirvan Barzani Badinan Anfal

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On the 34th anniversary of the last stage of the ethnic cleansing campaign known as the Badinan Anfal, Kurdish leaders called on Baghdad to compensate the victims of the former Baathist regime.

Today, we honor the victims of the Anfal genocide in Badinan by the Ba’ath regime.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) August 25, 2023

“Unfortunately, Article 132 of the constitution, which provides for compensation to the victims and relatives of the victims of Anfal and the crimes of the Ba'athist regime, has not been implemented yet,” Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said in a statement on Friday.

“On this occasion, we reiterate that it is the legitimate right of the Kurdish people, especially the relatives and victims of the former Iraqi regime, to be adequately compensated and assured that they will not face genocide again,” he added.

Also Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani called for the victims to be compensated by Baghdad.

“On the anniversary of the Anfal in Badinan, we salute the souls of the martyrs and Anfal victims and emphasize that the Iraqi state must compensate for the genocide and the crimes and oppression committed against our nation,” KDP President said.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani underlined in a statement that the crime of Anfal is recognized by the Iraqi High Criminal Court as genocide, crime against humanity and war crime.

“Therefore, we reiterate that the Iraqi government must compensate the families of the victims as soon as possible; more services must be provided to the families of the victims and every effort should be made to document the crime of Anfal and make it internationally recognized as genocide.”

“The best way to honor the victims of the Anfal is to provide better services to the families of the victims, to strengthen our internal solidarity and unity, to prevent the repetition of crimes such as Anfal and to work for its further international recognition,” he concluded.

The 1988 campaign in the Badinan region in the present-day Kurdistan Region saw more than 2,000 Kurdish men and women forcibly taken from Duhok province. The majority of them were killed and their remains have never been found.