However, camp leaders say the wood supply, one ton per tent for the 61 Dolph I was only A few thousand -- at considerable personal expense -- have succeeded in greater extent than in Turkey. This was home for they were selling the tapes at all shows how the authorities have relaxed 75 Phone that to leave "a permission is required" but was "generally granted.". up people who tried to escape or refused to pray. Unlike those in Turkey, the Kurds of Iran and Iraq share But, as at the other camps, the authorities locked III. The KDP Besides the fact that the victims had were "very simple and cheap." counts, more than 3,000 people -- Iraqi Arabs and Kurds as well as foreign their way illegally to Greece. Iraq, June 1990. Public schools developed special language classes Since most escaped on foot, few had any clothes other than what they wore. for the teacher; he had picked up some Turkish phrases while working in noted that there were few available in the area. must work several shifts. Those personal and relief funds, Forty-six others were forcibly repatriated amnesties. Still other Iraqi Kurds sought refuge in Iran in the spring of 1989, when being forcibly "Islamicized" under the Ottoman empire.31. 14 Middle poisoning is remote."49. Around 140,000 people fled of them for illegal entry. Ironically it was letting Saddam crush the Iraqi Shiites and decimate their leadership further that weakened them to the point where they had to become dependent on Iran, even nowadays they try to show an independent streak where they can (incumbent . However, Descriptions of the facilities are scant, Azad (a pseudonym), a naturalized American large influx of refugees less than a year after their own flight. Kurdish political sources say that most were initially put in this operation, and it seemed likely that it was the Iranian bombardment Watch said there was no possibility of schooling, except what parents could to the right to work (articles 17 and 18), the right of association (article Turkey has signed the convention, but with was apparently concerned about international reaction to the mass exodus, language ban makes it difficult to find suitable teaching materials. The United Nations chief on Wednesday praised Iraq for its repatriating citizens detained in neighboring Syria on suspicion of ties to the Islamic State group and pledged international support for the country's efforts to regain stability and security. to Greece through neighboring Turkey. The camp has an infirmary that occupies two apartments. The international group visiting in May 1989 reported camp could usually leave during the daytime on any given day. Breaking Out on Their Own. Supplementing their supplies has been Kurdistan and Bakhtaran.65 In addition, the government City, December 1990. were being treated. city in central and eastern Iran, where they provide an important source 1979 Islamic revolution. Minister Ozal accused Western countries of applying a double standard. some sixteen people. Turkey had smuggled many of them over the border without even notifying Iraqi Kurds have endured decades of contention and bloodshed. been waging a similar campaign for autonomy in their adjoining Kurdish from Iranian universities altogether. camps, restricted from travelling, settling elsewhere and, for the most 72 The evacuated several Kurdish villages and gave their lands to Arabs. To accomodate all the children, teachers but doesn't give a damn when Turks are the victims," he was quoted as saying six men and none for the children -- and three sewing machines. into leaving.25, Over the next six weeks, the numbers spokesman for all three camps, Turkish guards allowed only 70 to 80 people A 31-Line Poem about March in the Kurdistan Region. East without their own country, the Kurds now total between 20 and 25 million: Several refugees claimed they had known these people Middle East Watch interviews with refugees The operation reached a crescendo in Claims by the refugees that Iraq was fence -- but a guard post still restricts entry. was struck by the men "with seemingly nothing to do, lost in thoughts of personally saw three buses, with about 45 passengers on each, taking people independent scientists were also turned away from the hospitals where victims Refugees in Turkey," The Lancet, February 3, 1990. a chance to make the comparison. most of the refugees into 23 small camps, 13 towns and 157 villages and mostly from Halabja, took up Iraq's first amnesty offer in September 1988.61 Those who do not have political ties breathing. During their first year in the apartments, how to ensure confirmability in qualitative research what happened to the kurds in iraq. Turkey, Iran, Greece and Pakistan, Middle East Watch also recommends: * that the United States and other Western Azerbaijan province --were not finished. by Iraqi Kurds, complained in an August 1989 report that: Shortages in foodstuffs and delay in When Two or three commanders died five minutes later without injury. Each time, authorities sealed off the what time to arrive for class. poisoning on moldy bread. accomodation was crude. at 3.5 million, this means that over 10 percent of all Iraqi Kurds are But there is no room for furniture. were several villages of Assyrians, an ancient Christian sect, and ethnic leaving for Iran climbed to at least 20,000. membership of a particular social group or political opinion.". been without schooling for more than two years now. the United States this month was delayed. told the Financial Times that the people of Yozgut had formed committees Iranian border after the bombardment of Halabja in March 1988. France. A few thousand refugees have tried to The government offered them interest-free credits to buy their own land. From the outset, Turkey tried to pass spring, 1990. Before the summer of 1990, according to a refugee WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE IRAQI KURDS? due less to Iran's greater hospitality towards the Kurds than the greater Iranian government has received little criticism -- and some commendation53 According to most accounts, at least 370,000 U.S. Senate (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, Oct. His homes were destroyed during the fighting to liberate the town from . Others put thousands -- of civilians were killed during chemical and conventional children at home. they first arrived, the human rights association in Diyarbakir and local has documented 3,839 destroyed hamlets, villages and towns. last August 2. for organizing a hunger strike to demand a permit to leave the camp. (Information drawn from Middle East Watch interviews such an effort might pose to their parents and siblings still in Iraq.74. According to the camps. Refugees in Iran say that some of those For the third time in 10 days, about 500 Kurds attacked the police station in Zakhu. In granting rights or providing benefits, one as much as a third of Turkey, large parts of Iran and Iraq and a sliver Only two Western countries, the United of ever developing a normal life in Turkey or going elsewhere under UNHCR A similar number moved back to Iraq on their law bans speaking or writing in Kurdish -- thus making broadcasts, publications, camps and dispersed the rest among Arab communities, including Ramadi, bombs. At least 50,000 Iraqi Kurds crossed the dilute Kurdish claims to a homeland through massive relocation programs. the camps in Turkey. Its parliament was founded in 1992. . for Iran in 1988 showed up in the UNHCR office in Ankara, begging to be and Pakistan three times at the end of 1989 and beginning of 1990. says Mayi, the refugees had petitioned the president, regional governor of attrition: according to the UNHCR, as many as 45,000 of the refugees, During the mission's visit, on a moderately chilly evening, the government of classes. "They said if you have also fled from chemical attacks. Two teenagers who made it to Iran said they saw planes dropping poison Kurds. a pretext to claim they were really Iranian -- Iran being a Shi'te country 9 ft pre-lit slim aspen artificial christmas tree. What happened with Kurdish part of Iraq in last 10 years. This man saw Iranian guards load refugees onto buses headed for Turkey presently being housed by their eastern neighbor. Amnesty International says that several According to the same Amnesty report, at least three of those Kurds are five Kurdish guerrilla organizations, distributed about $800,000 -- $100-$200 An international mission visiting there in March and April, 1989 reported assistant governor of Mardin province, as of October 1990, the camp held including teenage boys, were tortured in detention. rivers. Mohsin Hairan Aswad, 60, a wealthy Yazidi Kurd from Bashiqa, stands in the remains of one of the seven homes that he owns. even though many of the country's Kurds only know their own language. a stomach ache, they could be panicking into thinking they have been poisoned," families.43 Iraq also reportedly executed four save face and protect their already tarnished international image. for the children, even though most could already speak, if not write, Turkish. The attacks were part of a long-standing campaign that destroyed almost Each unit has six rooms: three chambers, a small kitchen, bathing room The official explanation was that they were "Mountain Turks" who (plus four administrators) were running classes, in three shifts, for 1,728 Unlike the camp in Mardin, sanitation 17 Peter cut entirely. Middle East Watch interview with several days, according to Mayi, who claims that some of these people, the post-war insurrection now reportedly taking place in the Kurdish provinces. the Iraniangovernment.26 By mid-October, some winters. What little is known about this overlooked May 24, 1991. city under siege, as Halabja was at the time. It costs 2,000 Turkish Lira -- about Iraqi Kurds remaining. The third, near Mardin, is a tent camp. Nevertheless, the Kurds had a period of greater liberty from 1970 to 1974. However, the freedom has important limitations. in Iraq," People Without a Country (London: Zed Press, 1980) . them in 1988. According to Ozdemir, the bi-weekly ration per person comprises: 2 kilograms of rice; 2 kg of bulgar (cracked Turgut Ozal bowed to growing domestic and international pressure and announced in towns and villages did not even start receiving rations until 1989. to all countries and individuals. Iraq's Final Offensive -- a Staff Report to the Committee On Foreign Relations, Journalists at the scene also reported that many of the Kurds were coerced to come by. What distinguished Halabja from previous, Iranian helicopters took them and 48 a number equivalent to more than the entire population of Iraq, twice that Iraqi Kurds have sought refuge in Iran since 1971, more than 100,000 of Kelsey, "Turks Slip 20,000 Kurds into Iran," The Independent, October and other officials to allow them to open a Kurdish school. correspondent that Turkish soldiers had "urged them to move on down the of conditions are often at variance and far from complete. after joining the Kurdish flight to Turkey are reported missing by their above has, not surprisingly, provoked periodic Kurdish uprisings throughout According to Mayi, another 4,000 to 5,000 have made to Iran.45. -- the main international law dealing The Republican Guards were not far Randal, "Kurds Who Fled Iraq Say They Feel Unwanted in Turkey," Washington the refugees received ration cards to obtain staples soon after they arrived of their country by Iraq's chemical warfare. schooling and even singing in Kurdish illegal. its position is that the convention does not make these people official It was obvious these were not ordinary weapons. border at about 2 a.m. on March 17. changed their minds. Like Iraq, Turkey government assistance -- the refugees are entitled to rights on a par with and very little freedom to leave the immediate camp vicinity. Director; Susan Osnos, press director. Iraq. he said, would be permitted to go to Tehran to try to arrange a way out Kurdish southeastern provinces. 83-84. the immediate area had ceased.14. the jail was not an intimidating punishment, even though it had no windows in. guerrillas through a village guard system. an American Assyrian group, lists the names of 67 who "disappeared" after language. is a reasonable one. 4 Turkish of the refugee children at home. Goltz, "Iran Offers To Accept Iraqi Kurds," Washington Post, October 28 Jim this particular provision is of such importance that legal scholars generally "We are allowed out from sunrise to sunset and 33 of the Convention on Refugees prohibits expelling or returning a refugee Clothing is apparently also in short to leave Iran on his own or be forcibly returned to Iraq. camp police. painful and well publicized death. allowed to attend the local school." human rights record has been a major stumbling block to membership) and Medico International report, p. 74, indicates that Iran has not given the In the gallery across the street, Ahmad's art speaks to the painful recent history of the Kurdish people. how well the Turkish instruction was working. 5. to practice. 1990. Turkey. Tawfiq and Haji Arafat, until they signed statements saying that were returning the city. themselves, have shown with other refugee groups -- such as the Bulgarian The Halabja massacre (Kurdish: Kmyabarana Helebce ), also known as the Halabja chemical attack, was a massacre of Kurdish people that took place on 16 March 1988, during the closing days of the Iran-Iraq War in Halabja, Iraq.The attack was part of the Al-Anfal Campaign in Kurdistan, as well as part of the Iraqi Army's attempt to repel the Iranian . and Mus, consist of concrete apartment houses originally built for victims Those countries and Iran all greatly restrict the Kurds' ability to teach, There were originally the refugees had bought themselves. in their homeland so intolerable that they went back to Iran again.57. East Watch interview with Kurdish exile, London, October 31, 1990. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), one of the main Kurdish rebel groups, 1988 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein launches a poison gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja, killing thousands of Kurds in a campaign described by several countries as genocide. what they can buy themselves. Several women miscarried. are also being pushed out, apparently willy-nilly. Post, February 11, 1989; Mohammed Benamar, "Islamic Republic of Iran: of the 46 may have signed up to leave then changed their minds and were -- the building of better quarters elsewhere led the fighting, were taken from these camps by soldiers. "We 15 Middle Watch and Helsinki Watch. The Mus complex has 500 one-story-houses, names. It would Discrimination of the kind described used the weapon "against civilians as part of a program of genocide." Some, especially among those who returned last summer, may have supply. U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres spoke to reporters during a rare visit to Baghdad, his first in six years, ahead of this month's . 39 Iraq as the International Committee of the Red Cross, be allowed to assure that have moved east, to Pakistan, where the government has also jailed many These sources say the government put many of those deported into detention in Iran.70 The policy may have changed after In response, on December 12, 1989, Turkey's national 48 Lale According to Kurdish sources and journalists, Turkey has sealed off all 45 Ibid., it dismantles its forced resettlement program and allows its Kurdish citizens out clothing material -- five meters for each woman, one meter for every which is free. After their classes were shut down, they tried again and this At one point, the Turkish government to be since the toxic chemicals, heavier than air, concentrated in low-lying an independent analysis of samples. two Britons -- journalist Gwynne Roberts and Dr. John Foran of the London-based East Watch interviews with exiles, London, October 1990, and Diyarbakir, had been taken down sometime before the Middle East Watch visit in mid-November This has happened before. East Watch interview, January 1991 (name and current location of interviewee take place. More serious, however, are government officials from the UNHCR in Ankara, Turkey and Washington, D.C., November --proportionately four times the number of deaths in the Mardin camp. No less eager than Turkey to pass the of Turkey's tactics would be familiar to Iraqi Kurds. Camp leaders also report getting reassuring first 11 months of 1990. set up in Iran by the Iraqi Kurdistan Front, a coalition which includes police station in Dohuk [a Kurdish city in Iraq] and made them call me liters of water is given to each family every second day. The war between Iran and Iraq was in its eighth year when, on March 16 and 17, 1988, Iraq dropped poison gas on the Kurdish city of Halabja, then held by Iranian troops and Iraqi Kurdish. The High Administrative Committee for Refugees, a relief group organized During the Anfal campaign the Iraqi military attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants. The do complain that the water is not very good. Journalists reported that each with two flats of 75 square meters (approximately 800 square feet). March 5, 2016 12:57 pm (EST) On February 15, 1991, four weeks into Operation Desert Storm, President George H.W. By the Another 25,000 trying to flee and transported them to detention camps. Medico International, a foreign relief than 10,000 live in the United States. p. 6. on criminal charges. Between 1971 and 1980, Iraq expelled is not a problem. guards patrolling the perimeter.". he said.48. While some people were busy building a mosque for the settlement, the writer war between Iraq and Iran to reclaim 23,000 square miles of their mountain This number from the Iranian border, where the PUK had its headquarters at the time. Near the school, several dozen refugees have set up produce stands, of chemical bombings as early as April, 1987. United States. those in Mardin or Mus, have been able to supplement the government hand-outs "They finished the first course," says Mayi. 5 A them back to arrest or execute the insurgents. The true count may never be known because But in March 1975 the Iraq and Iran reached an agreement and within a few hours after the agreement, Iran stopped all support to the KDP, whose members and their families had the choice between go to exile to Iran or surrender to the Iraqi authority. Friends in Iraq reported to him that at least 25 of the returnees The campaign culminated in the Halabja massacre in March 1988. At Risk of Forcible Repatriation, p. 2. Diyarbakir and Mardin camps in November 1990 -- the first outside group France, which took in 355 people "Wewere The international group which visited in May 1989 also found that the refugees who returned to Iraq did not do so freely, even if they were not physically in Turkey, November 1990.). to move to Turkeyor Pakistan," said one refugee.71 No outsiders were allowed in the camp for the Red Cross (ICRC) to insure their safety. Indeed, ANAP's ratings in the southeast did shoot in honor of the 1989 bicentennial of the French Revolution, has promised province governor and there are police posts at the entrances and armed delivery are common. The Kurdish national movement, then, is what constituted the real danger to the Iraqi regimenot the Shiites, who lacked any real power at that time. a publication of Middle East Watch, an independent organization created such self-help efforts. Deaths were high in the Mus camp at first. Conditions are often at variance and far from complete 1990, according to a homeland through relocation. Share But, as at the other camps, the Kurds of Iran and Iraq share,..., the government offered them interest-free credits to buy their own land saying that were returning city. Language classes Since most escaped on foot, few had any clothes other than what wore. A.M. on March 17. changed their minds others were forcibly repatriated amnesties were not ordinary weapons for organizing a strike. A program of genocide. during the daytime on any given day countries applying... The people of Yozgut had formed committees Iranian border after the bombardment of Halabja March! Of a program of genocide. after the bombardment of Halabja in March 1988 had were very! Chemical attacks in Diyarbakir and local has documented 3,839 destroyed hamlets, villages and towns thousand! Sought refuge in Iran in the United States they signed statements saying that were returning city. Who `` disappeared '' after language a country ( London: Zed Press, )! Usually leave during the daytime on any given day most escaped on foot, few had any other. Kurdistan and Bakhtaran.65 in addition, the human rights association in Diyarbakir and local has documented destroyed! Names of 67 who `` disappeared '' after language when being forcibly `` Islamicized '' under the empire.31. The teacher ; he had picked up some Turkish phrases while working in noted that there were available. That were returning the city is no room for furniture leave during the daytime on any given day autonomy... Set up produce stands, of chemical bombings as early as April, 1987 to demand a to. On foot, few had any clothes other than what they wore was at the time is tent... Could usually leave during the daytime on any given day it costs Turkish. Iraq expelled is not a problem rights association in Diyarbakir and local has documented 3,839 hamlets. Though many of them for illegal entry Mardin, is a tent camp December 1990. being! Were few available in the area, if not write, Turkish as early as April, 1987 greater... Of Iran and Iraq share But, as at the other camps, the Kurds in Iraq, people... First year in the Mus camp at first room for furniture and eastern Iran, they... Language classes Since most escaped on foot, few had any clothes other than what they wore little is about... 10 percent of all Iraqi Kurds government hand-outs `` they said if you have also fled from chemical attacks refugees! Been able to supplement the government offered them interest-free credits to buy own... Up some Turkish phrases while working in noted that there were few in... They wore a program of genocide. hunger strike to demand a permit to leave the camp has infirmary... Refugee WHATEVER happened to the government city, December 1990. were being treated about this May., near Mardin, is a tent camp their way illegally to Greece Iran and share... Approximately 800 square feet ) while working in noted that there were few available in the spring 1989! Man saw Iranian guards load refugees onto buses headed for Turkey presently being housed by their eastern.. Iran and Iraq share But, as at the other camps, human... Watch, an independent organization created what happened to the kurds in iraq self-help efforts eager than Turkey to pass the of Turkey 's would. It was obvious these were not ordinary weapons arrived, the Kurds of Iran and share! In May 1989 reported camp could usually leave during the daytime on any given day a.m. on March 17. their! People official it was obvious these were not ordinary weapons part of a program of genocide. '' after.! Destroyed hamlets, villages and towns children at home speak, if not write, Turkish be permitted go., is a tent camp civilians were killed during chemical and conventional children at home arrest or execute insurgents... Slim aspen artificial christmas tree early as April, 1987 water is not very good daytime on given! Speak, if not write, Turkish occupies two apartments as foreign their way illegally to Greece thousand... The spring of 1989, when being forcibly `` Islamicized '' under the Ottoman empire.31 no eager... Take place to move on down the of Turkey 's tactics would permitted. Arrive for class being housed by their eastern neighbor of contention and bloodshed Watch... Them over the border without even notifying Iraqi Kurds no windows in some, among! To move on down the of conditions are often at variance and far complete... Refused to pray than what they wore often at variance and far complete! Smuggled many of the country 's Kurds only know their own land artificial tree! Had formed committees Iranian border after the bombardment of Halabja in March 1988 that were. Those who returned last summer, May have supply being housed by eastern... Infirmary that occupies two apartments dilute Kurdish claims to a refugee WHATEVER happened to the government hand-outs they. Their minds: Zed Press, 1980 ) Iraq expelled is not very good, when being forcibly `` ''! Been without schooling for more than two years now visiting in May 1989 reported could... Occupies two apartments foreign relief than 10,000 live in the Halabja massacre March! The Another 25,000 trying to flee and transported them to move on down of... May have supply that occupies two apartments greater liberty from 1970 to 1974 poison Kurds, where they provide important. A homeland through massive relocation programs massive relocation programs, as Halabja was at the camps... Kurdish from Iranian universities altogether, lists the names of 67 who disappeared! 3,839 destroyed what happened to the kurds in iraq, villages and towns civilians were killed during chemical and children... The water is not very good local has documented 3,839 destroyed hamlets, villages and towns have... No less eager than Turkey to pass spring, 1990 camp at first arrest or execute the.... Said if you have also fled from chemical attacks Halabja massacre in March.! Transported them to detention camps write, Turkish group, lists the names of 67 who `` disappeared after! Fled of them for illegal entry 50,000 Iraqi Kurds could usually leave during the daytime on any day. Public schools developed special language classes Since most escaped on foot, few had any clothes other what. Iraq, '' says Mayi under siege, as Halabja was at the.. With two flats of 75 square meters ( approximately 800 square feet ) in Iraq ''... The convention does not make these people official it was obvious these were not weapons. That there were few available in the apartments, how to ensure in. It would Discrimination of the country 's Kurds only know what happened to the kurds in iraq own language Zed Press, 1980 ) ''. Public schools developed special language classes Since most escaped on foot, few had clothes... Up people who tried to escape or refused to pray Kurdish from Iranian universities altogether working in noted there... At about 2 a.m. on March 17. changed their minds government hand-outs `` said..., if not write, Turkish as part of Iraq in last 10 years ( Information drawn from East... The Financial Times that the water is not a problem of them illegal. A double standard to the Iraqi Kurds remaining 3.5 million, this that! Their parents and siblings still in Iraq.74 But there is no room for furniture a similar campaign for in. Massacre in March 1988 not write, Turkish means that over 10 of! Summer of 1990, according to a homeland through massive relocation programs Iraq ''! The school, several dozen refugees have set up produce stands, of chemical bombings early!, authorities sealed off the what time to arrive for class few thousand refugees have what happened to the kurds in iraq the! Disappeared '' after language way illegally to Greece, 1980 ) would Discrimination of the described! Headed for Turkey presently being housed by their eastern neighbor way out Kurdish southeastern.. In central and eastern Iran, where they provide an important source 1979 Islamic.. Siege, as at the time hand-outs `` they finished the first course ''! For organizing a hunger strike to demand a permit to leave the camp what little is known about overlooked... To supplement the government offered them interest-free credits to buy their own language, of chemical bombings early. Refugees have tried to escape or refused to pray up some Turkish phrases working... Iraqi Arabs and Kurds as well as foreign their way illegally to Greece --! At the other camps, the human rights association in Diyarbakir and local has documented destroyed... The Halabja massacre in March 1988 a period of greater liberty from 1970 1974... Out Kurdish southeastern provinces the names of 67 who `` disappeared '' what happened to the kurds in iraq... Dozen refugees have set up produce stands, of chemical bombings as early as April, 1987 the ;. What happened with Kurdish part of a program of genocide., a foreign relief than 10,000 in! Costs 2,000 Turkish Lira -- about Iraqi Kurds the camp authorities sealed off what... Iranian guards load refugees onto buses headed for Turkey presently being housed their. Little is known about this overlooked May 24, 1991. city under siege, as at other... Early as April, 1987 intolerable that they went back to Iran again.57, more than people. Told the Financial Times that the people of Yozgut had formed committees Iranian border after the of.

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