A commemoration program was held for victims of Halabja, a city of Iraqi Kurdistan, on the anniversary of the massacre carried out by Saddam Hussein with chemical and biological weapons.

Organized in the indoor sports hall in the city of Halabja, the program began with the recitation of the Holy Quran.

The participants, who spoke, later on, drew attention to the fact that despite 31 years of Halabja massacre, the pain of the massacre remains fresh.

In the opening speech, the Governor of Halabja Azad Tewfik stated that the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi Federal Government and international organizations owed great things to Halabja.

"I hope that all three of them will fulfill the demands of Halabja and they will rebuild Halabja," Tewfik said.

Mahmoud Haji Saleh, Minister of Martyrs of Kurdistan Region, said the rights of all those who were wounded in the Halabja massacre and whose rights were taken away must be returned.

"The Halabja massacre happened a year after the Baath regime left Halabja and fled. Then the people had their own military power and stood against the Baath regime," Saleh said.

Stating that this attack was carried out to avenge the patriotic and insurgent people of Halabja, Saleh went on saying: "To put an end to the resistance of the people of Kurdistan, the order was issued under the signature of Chemical Ali. They carried out their plans in this way, as a result, more chemical attacks took place in Balisan, Halabja and several regions."

"At the moment, we see that the highest authority in Iraq, the government and the authorities of the parliament, have joined the program on the occasion of the anniversary of the Aleppo massacre," said Bashir Haddad, Iraqi Parliament second deputy speaker, who also attended to the program.

"We didn't come here just to listen to your troubles and to look at you. We came to say that the jeremiad of the women and children of Halabja did not only destroy a dictatorial state but also shook the world."

"The Halabja and people of Halabja remained honorable, but it was the dictatorship that destroyed in Iraq. A new Iraq was built as a result of the massacres in Halabja."

"If massacres and genocides are tolerated, chemical attacks will happen again in the future"

Hemin Hewrami, Vice President of the Kurdistan Parliament, stated that the Halabja massacre should be handled under three headings: "First of all, we need to look at the level of humanity and international level. Secondly, we need to look at the level of relations between the Kurdistan Region and the Baghdad government, and third, we need to look at the situation in the region."

Unfortunately, in 1988, if the states had not allowed Saddam for their own benefit if they had not supported him and if they had defended the rights of the oppressed people of Kurdistan, there would have been no more chemical attacks on the international level."

"But we see that the chemical attack is taking place again in Syria today because the International states prefer their interests than the interest of humanity. Again, if the interests are preferred to the value of humanity, if the massacres and genocides are tolerated, the chemical attacks will take place again in the future."

"Iraq should not only make promises to the people of Kurdistan but should also make efforts to resolve the moral and material grievances of Halabja and other parts of Kurdistan."

"At least one person from each family was martyred in the attack against Halabja," said Aras Abid, who spoke on behalf of families of martyrs. "In fact, there are 14 martyrs from some families. Dozens of families were destroyed; dozens of children lost their families."

A delegation from HUDA PAR, a political party in Turkiye, consists of Abdurrahman Cens, vice president of the party, HUDA PAR Central Advisory Board Head Isa Aydin, HUDA PAR Central Advisory Council member Abdussamet Yalcin and party members attended to the program.

ILKHA