1988Al-Anfal CampaignWar Crimes Against the Kurdish People of Iraq

Peter ElsesserDavid DinhMy Hunynh

Isaac Roldan

Key Political Leaders

• Saddam Hussein • Ali Hassan “Chemical Ali” Al-Majid

News Headlines

• Editoral Desk, “Kurds of Iraq Fighting for Survival." New York Times 05 Oct 1987, Late City Final Edition: A22.

• Trainor, Bernard E. In Gulf War, Death Seems Only Winner." New York Times 14 Jun 1987, Late City Final Edition: Section 1 Page 4.

• Cowell, Alan. “Iraqis Are Facing a Growing War From Within." New York Times 22 Sep 1987, Late City Final Edition: A6.

Quotes

• "Some were blind; some could not reach our village. The spirit left them on the way; they were all black."  -- Na'ima Hassan Qader of Galnaghaj, describing the exodus of villagers from the chemical attack on the neighboring village of Goktapa, May 3, 1988.

• "This was the first time people were taken away to end them."  -- farmer of Golama village, Qader Karam. 

Quotes

• "It was like the Day of Judgment; you stand before God."  -- survivor of the poison gas attack on Halabja, March 16, 1988.

• "Each era is different. Everything changes. But Saddam Hussein is worse than Tamburlaine of 600 years ago."  -- Abd-al-Qader Abdullah Askari of Goktapa, site of chemical weapons attack, May 3, 1988.

Map of Region

Foods of the Kurds

• Lamb/Veal, Chicken

• Onions, bell peppers, green beans, eggplant, dill

• Yogurt

• Sirani a rezan (nuts and dried fruit in gelatin)

Language

• Kurdish, an Iranian language related to the Persian language

• Most Kurdish people also speak their region’s language (usually Arabic, Turkish or Persian) as a second language

Role of the UN

• Western countries supplied arms throughout the campaign, UN involvement was limited.

• In August, 1988 as the Anfal campaign came to a close the United Nations Sub-Committee on Human Rights voted by 11 to 8 not to condemn Iraq for human rights violations.

• In a meeting in May 1987, Proconsul “Chemical Ali” Al Majid declared: “I will kill them all with chemical weapons. Who is going to say anything? The international community? Fuck them!”

UN Members

• Col. Dominguez from Spain, who was dispatched to Iraq merely reported some of what was going on, noting that chemical weapons were indeed being used, but it was difficult to determine the nationalities involved.

Response from International Community

• Western nations aided Baghdad with supplies and weapons for the war with Iran

• A proposed U.S. sanction against Iraq was vetoed by Pres. Bush, who gave Baghdad a billion dollar loan

• France, the most zealous of arms suppliers, issued a general statement condemning the use of chemical weapons anywhere in the world

Summary

• The Kurds are the only ethnic group of people that do not have a nation state. They live scatter between the nations or Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria.

• They have been fighting for their own nation sate for about 7 decades. However, without an organization there has been little success if any.

• During the Iran-Iraq war, Saddam Hussein created a campaign, Al Anfal, that consists of many actions to destroy Kurds.

• The use of chemical weapons to kill of the Kurds and an estimate about 10,000 to 50,000 were killed.

• The genocide finally ended when the United Nations voted 11 to 8 not to condemn Iraq for war crimes.

• However, recently Saddam Hussein as well as 6 other convicted leaders have been charged and are withstanding trial.

• http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk./viewarticle2.aspx?sectionID=55&articleID=1861261

Emblem • The emblem represents the KRG• The KRG stands for the Kurdistan Regional government.• “The Emblem consists of an eagle holding a sun on his wings. The

sun is formed of three colors of red, yellow and green which represents the Kurdish flag (Wikipedia).”

• The eagle represents the emblem the ancient Mesopotamia• The sun represents the ancient Median Empire.• The emblem is also divided into four such as the wings and the

sections of the suns. This is a representation of four divided nations of the Kurds: Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Bibliography

• Quotes– "GENOCIDE IN IRAQ: The Anfal Campaign Against the Kurds."

Middle East Watch Report 1993 <http://hrw.org/reports/1993/iraqanfal/>.

• Images– "1988 Anfal campaign." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 27

Aug 2006, 18:21 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 7 Nov 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1988_Anfal_campaign&oldid=72226214>.

– "Coat of Arms." Wikipedia. 2006. Wikipedia. 9 Nov 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Kurdistan_Regional_Government>.

• Foods– Reiley, Laura. “Not Up on Kurdish Cuisine?" San Francisco

Chronicle 13 Oct 2000, Online ed.: PN-7.

Bibliography

• Languages– "Kurdish language." Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia. 7 Nov 2006, 08:08 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 7 Nov 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kurdish_language&oldid=86232611>.

• Role of the UN/International Response– Nezan, Kendal. “When our ‘friend’ Saddam was

gassing the Kurds." Le Monde diplomatique March 1998 http://mondediplo.com/1998/03/04iraqkn/1998/03/04iraqkn

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