Prime Minister Barzani's statement on thirty-first anniversary of Anfal genocide campaign

Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani made a statement on the thirty-first anniversary of the Anfal genocide campaign.

Below is the text of Prime Minister Barzani's statement:

Once again, after more than 30 years, we commemorate the victims and families of the brutal Anfal campaign to extinguish all life in villages, towns, and cities of our dear Kurdistan by annihilating women, men and children, including the elderly.

The chauvinistic policies of the Baath regime towards our nation, in addition to the destruction, intimidation, and imposition of the terrifying power of the Iraqi government, ended the lives of more than 180,000 people with heavy weapons and poisonous chemical bombardments from the skies of Kurdistan.

As a nation, it is our duty to provide full assistance and support to the surviving families so they may reconstruct their communities and improve their living conditions, and not only to commemorate the Anfal victims.

In addition to all the complexities and political difficulties in the country, healing the wounds of Anfal and compensating family of victims for their losses should be the priority of the Iraqi government. This is their moral and historical responsibility.

In order to prevent similar crimes against our nation in the future under any racist, religious, or any political ideologies, we must not forget the Anfal victims and their families. Let us remember them today, tomorrow, and every day.

Nechirvan Barzani

Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region

14 April 2019