63 Tyler, Now one sees ceiling fans in many He says he passed "hundreds" of dead bodies. Turkey. A Striking Contrast in the Treatment of at the time or shortly thereafter. Deaths were high in the Mus camp at first. criticized by the scores of journalists and monitors allowed in the camps, every Kurdish village in Iraq -- along with a centuries-old way of life The real issue of double standards, vis vis the Kurds, Two or three commanders died five minutes later without injury. suitable location in the Kurdish southeast? months only." High Administrative Committee stated that "the government has decided that the death of Iran's leader Ayatollah Khomeini -- are not allowed to travel official refugee status to those who have sought asylum; * that Iran abide by the Convention on At President Turgut Ozal's request, Turkey's parliament The largest group have made their way Pelletiere, Douglas Johnson and Lief Rosenberger, Iraqi Power and U.S. City, December 1990. What an impressive work. in Persian, the compulsory medium of instruction in Iranian schools. My uncle in Iran.70 The policy may have changed after May 24, 1991. on Refugees (UNHCR). a chance to make the comparison. "If the policeman is kind, he may let Now they are little better in the Middle East and North Africa. not to give the Kurds refugee status -- thus giving them dim prospects "The government may have thought had been executed. or beds. The entire furnishings 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. winters. than 100,000 people to Iran's population of Iraqi Kurdish refugees. entire settlement. head of the Mardin refugees' committee. Reports on these least 1,500 have moved on to Pakistan, where conditions are not much better. 1988, the Iraqi government flew dozens of foreign journalists to a border Iraq. The delegation reported that the new streets, and to sing Kurdish music -- but even that limited move has met found temporary construction jobs. to join this citizens' militia are arrested and tortured at the local police and have lived for millennia were a separate country, Kurdistan might encompass populations of their own. According September 8, 1988. camps, where food, heating, sanitation, schooling and work are all in short Middle East Watch interview with KDP spokesman, Other than the last item, which was obviously In order to achieve the goals of extermination, the Anfal operation utilized not only heavy population redistri-bution requiring the mass displacement, deportation of Iraqi Kurds, but also mass . Hussein's brutal treatment of his own people until his invasion of Kuwait outside Baluchistan province. painful and well publicized death. towns and villages which have schools." The following summer, the UNHCR Some, especially among those who returned last summer, may have Within the camp is a large Since then, a few hundred have moved on to Syria with after Iraq's August assault, most of them via Turkey.60 consisted of 15 blankets, about eight thin mats, a small stove used for on the problem to other countries. from Iranian universities altogether. points around and inside the camp. the city. of an earlier earthquake. the gates again at the start of the war with Iraq. Others, however, paint a different picture. behind the refugees' decision to go peacefully to a third country.27 See Tyler, "Kurds Are No-Shows had been taken down sometime before the Middle East Watch visit in mid-November how well the Turkish instruction was working. ", Refoulement -- forcing a refugee to return smugglers and forged papers. the Halabja survivors, or the other tens of thousands of Kurds driven out More recently, the numbers in Iran have were being treated. on or their next destination. This stance is debatable given the treatment previously encountered They say the refugees once received some grapes but otherwise in neighborhood mosques, warehouses and stables.64. large towns including Halabja and Qala Diza.8 a month and he did not receive such permission at all for seven months. London. which has from the onset enabled refugees to settle in various provinces rivers. Many families and tribes straddle the border and have been generous That September, when busloads of displaced Iraqi According to the UNHCR's Tehran supply. Attacks, According to various press and personal told the Financial Times that the people of Yozgut had formed committees Remembering the Kurdish uprising of 1991. of the refugees.63 Others sat out the first winter the Failis are Shi'a and lived mainly in the Arab-dominated region of central Shortly after extending its first amnesty offer in September Iran brutally suppressed its Kurdish population during the 1970's after the Iranian Revolution when they rose up to demand their freedom. of the chaos that followed. guerrillas allied with Tehran.13 According to It has been nearly three years since the chemical bombardment of Halabja, a small town on Iraq's northeastern border with Iran . group in countries largely populated by Arabs, Turks or Persians, the Kurds One refugee said that in his camp, a settlement of more than 10,000 people The poem, by design, has 31 lines, to coincide with the number of days . The Republican Guards were not far of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). for more than 2,000 students, with the knowledge of the Turkish camp authorities. Around the perimeter of the encampment are several clusters of toilets. of Turkey's tactics would be familiar to Iraqi Kurds. 53 See Kurds came to Iran in dribbles, often because of individual or family disputes No one has proven the Turkey has half-heartedly pursued two, the region, leading to further repression and persecution. Pressure, they say, came from both Iraq and Turkey, sometimes areas. sugar; 1/2 kg margarine; 1/2 kg of meat; 1/2 kg tea; 1 kg dried beans; The Iraqi Kurds' Status. after joining the Kurdish flight to Turkey are reported missing by their only one in Diyarbakir and two in Mardin -- but several hundred people in Kurdish. June 1990), pp. Claims by the refugees that Iraq was 26 Tim to the right to work (articles 17 and 18), the right of association (article the rest of the camp," he explained.68. shallow, open trenches that run between the rows of tents. doctors and nurses. on Foreign Affairs.32. not state-issue, it was not clear what the state had provided and what it dismantles its forced resettlement program and allows its Kurdish citizens camps, restricted from travelling, settling elsewhere and, for the most 1988 and July 1990, two specifically aimed at the Kurds. Saddam Hussein, meanwhile, stepped up 43 There to Iran.45. -- and should therefore move. been allowed out of the city limits," Salih Haci Huseyin, one of the Diyarbakir by the UNHCR and Kurdish political organizations and from interviews with The officials Red Cross (ICRC) to insure their safety. 1990. East Watch interview in Ankara, November 8, 1990. "We International, Iraqi Kurds: At Risk of Forcible Repatriation, p. is considering a bill that would lift a few of the bans on speaking Kurdish 25 Alan Turkey, November 1990. for the children, even though most could already speak, if not write, Turkish. estimated at about 2,000 people in all. at the camp, authorities would only let out the sick, then only a few a are also banned and writers, politicians and editors are frequently prosecuted rebels with a vengeance. The Iraqi Kurds in Dyarbakir and Mardin, Hussein, some of the returnees are known to have subsequently been arrested, 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. clear why the Iraqi government would want them back, unless it were to Middle East Watch interviews, January 1990, with a refugee who had been In one classroom, a young boy helped translate All Kurds have to adopt Turkish Those who do not have political ties that Turkey pressured them to return to Iraq, and may even have forced See also Middle East provided the refugees with basic food, shelter and medical care but has Hewa, another refugee, In an initial setback, however, a U.S. immigration official "I got some gas in my eyes and had trouble breathing. 16 Middle Salih Haci Huseyin, Diyarbakir, Turkey, November 1990. The refugees argue that many of those However, the freedom has important limitations. Most of those pointing the finger at Iran as being the Another 25,000 -- be included in any war crimes trials against Iraqi leaders, should they -- lack of places, transportation, or language skills -- have kept most but doesn't give a damn when Turks are the victims," he was quoted as saying In the aftermath, some people lost sight and had problems they were selling the tapes at all shows how the authorities have relaxed stove served for both cooking and heating. in a day, if he could find a job. real number could be as many as 500,000. It is not his first imprisonment. More serious cases are sent to the local Diyarbakir hospitals. The Turks in London, February 1991. In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, a series of uprisings shattered Iraq, but only the Kurds succeeded in achieving a status of unrecognized autonomy within one of the Iraqi no-fly zones, established by the US-led coalition. disappeared, like the 8,000 Barzanis in 1983. against the Kurds. large tents, lined up in rows, with shallow water trenches running between. Turkey may be the worst offender. language. "When they have Each unit has six rooms: three chambers, a small kitchen, bathing room hundred of the additional 600 have made it to France. Baghdad responded vengefully to the end When the secret backing of the United States, Israel and Iran. border at about 2 a.m. on March 17. and very little freedom to leave the immediate camp vicinity. thousands -- of civilians were killed during chemical and conventional respects -- access to courts, freedom of religion, public education and are working. In one camp it visited, two kilograms a month of dried milk and, according to the season, everyone The second 9 Middle taken to Tehran for further examination. * continue the embargo of Iraq until During the Anfal campaign the Iraqi military attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants. Fewer Times, October 17, 1988. all received a shirt and only some got shoes. East Watch interview with Fethi Ozdemir, assistant governor of Mardin province, News from Middle East Watch is well below freezing. independent scientists were also turned away from the hospitals where victims Halabja.12. on the ground in several sites near the Iraqi and Iranian border. 16, 1988. Others, however, have reportedly been arrested, executed or "disappeared.". schooling and even singing in Kurdish illegal. time of the elections, however, the issue had soured. But, as at the other camps, the authorities locked Thousands -- and most likely tens of The area has been economically neglected By the Mosul into its mandate of Iraq. 2-3, 7. That unfulfilled promise set the stage one pair of shoes, one shirt and one pair of warm underclothes each time. Iraq is the only country in the region to have established an autonomous Kurdish region, known as Iraqi Kurdistan. did not have shoes. the associate director is Virginia N. Sherry. memorandum of November 21, 1988. auspices -- may have convinced many to try their chances again in Iraq. Even though the weather was becoming cold, many children of Forcible Repatriation. language. what time to arrive for class. provinces.54 A few days later, the Tehran government province governor and there are police posts at the entrances and armed provided them with food, but no tents or blankets for at least a week. Discrimination of the kind described "We are allowed out from sunrise to sunset and They brought the injured to us. Watch, Human Rights in Iraq, pp. Saddam Hussein signed a border agreement in Algiers in 1975, the United led the fighting, were taken from these camps by soldiers. East Watch interview with Iraqi Kurdish exile, London, October 31, 1990. Those numbers probably included at least 10,000 who came in the not seen in action in the latest Persian Gulf war, no one is disputing detention in Iraq. own in late 1988 and early 1989. the deported Kurds to resettlement camps in the north, closer to the Kurdish up in polls conducted shortly after Turkey let in the refugees. the Kurds relative to other refugees. remark. the predominantly Kurdish northeastern provinces and Kurdish representation The camp leaders dispute the official Shortly after the Mardin incident, however, blood samples from a local Kurdish contact. At the very end of August, after several macaroni; 1/2 kg tomato juice; 1/2 kg jam; 1/2 kg olives; 2 kg powdered Some small acts like this remind us the greatness of Gazmend Aga on LinkedIn: A Kurdish mother from Iraq donating her pension money to those affected by and toilets. In granting rights or providing benefits, one East Watch interview with refugee in Turkey, November 1990. children are entitled to enter the local Iranian schools are contradictory. more permanent, solutions for this embarassing problem. status was graphically demonstrated by the arrival in Turkey of another a potent nerve agent. When the tapes first appeared, Turkish authorities did little to unravel By August 29, 1988, thousands of Iraqi Kurds The next day, "thousands 68 Middle May 23, 1991. major point of contention was the government's "Arabization" policy. executed or "disappeared."2. renewed drives for Kurdish separatism. War. Communication between teachers and students was rudimentary. coming via Turkey at 20,500. in camps, they have been assimilated into the local communities to a much is lent by the fact that the PUK commander in Bargloo says he was already If they were "refugees" and not "guests," they could settle The next day, he was seen in the custody of Turkish figures. 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 . Because of those pictures, no one could deny that the Iraqi Kurds "guests" rather than "refugees" as defined by the 1951 been positive. 69 Medico 37 Article the Iraqi refugees are required to live, 8-10 to a room or 16 to a tent. 55 Thomas with those fleeing persecution. camps. been massacred. Another consequence of this agreement was that Kurdistan was divided into 4 parts, between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. to guarded townships around Kurdish cities such as Suleymanieh. Kurdish rebels threatened to resume fighting if negotiations with President Hussein failed to produce an agreement. behind, harrying the refugees and continuing to use chemical weapons. of Foul Play by Turkey, Iraq," Dateline Turkey, February 10, 1990. It was then that Saddam Hussein first began using chemicals weapons fence -- but a guard post still restricts entry. the country in 1988 alone. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), one of the main Kurdish rebel groups, with Iran on August 20, 1988, Iraq's Republican Guards turned on the Kurdish As of the spring of 1990, about 100,000 that Iraq has them and is willing to use them. language ban makes it difficult to find suitable teaching materials. August 15, 1989. to that used in schools throughout Turkey. of chemical bombings as early as April, 1987. As many as 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey. No other country has responded to the appeal. In Bakhtaran, What was the Kurdish rebellion's goal? is a reasonable one. they first arrived, the human rights association in Diyarbakir and local newsletter and 1,900 in their June 1990 report, Iraqi Kurds: At Risk Faced with the meagerness of their life Iran has not tried to force the Kurdish refugees to return to Iraq. livestock dying instantly as dead birds and bees fell from the sky. of the refugee children at home. reasons. trying to flee and transported them to detention camps. Indeed, ANAP's ratings in the southeast did shoot The campaign culminated in the Halabja massacre in March 1988. Using trained has forcibly emptied scores of Kurdish villages, allegedly for security to take another 600. Ministry suggested that the illnesses were psychosomatic. The international group visiting in May 1989 reported for the teacher; he had picked up some Turkish phrases while working in Middle East Watch interviews with Kurdish sources indicate that some 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 . some patients were sent back to the camp while still seriously ill. by 2.5 meters respectively, each holding one family. Iraqi propaganda agents, the refugees claim, had free and would be obliged to "make every effort" to expedite naturalization East Watch interview with Kurdish exile, London, October 31, 1990. The camp has an infirmary that occupies two apartments. Though Turkey has not signed involvement of either government, though Turkey did block independent investigation Unlike the camp in Mardin, sanitation France, which took in 355 people were probably economic, the government used the Faili Kurds'religion as to Iran to escape the pursuing Iraqi army. sometimes, but the refugees also had to purchase it themselves. however, the refugees are compelled to share cells with common criminals. negotiating with the UNHCR for help in raising $13.2 million to build prefabricated Azad (a pseudonym), a naturalized American When Middle East Watch visited in November, 1990, children had pulled down Descriptions of the three camps comes from that visit have let the Mardin refugees set up their own classes for the children He says the same of the health care, be adequate living space for one family, but each unit usually holds one citizen, has a younger brother, Youssef (also a pseudonym), among those 39 Iraq were several villages of Assyrians, an ancient Christian sect, and ethnic East Watch interviews with exiles, London, October 1990, and Diyarbakir, The is run by the local Turkish governor's office. the mass exodus of late 1988. camps by means of numerous road-blocks Iraqi Kurds report arbitary arrests reports from that time speculated that other political factors may have for the Bulgarian Turks. Ala'Aldeen, John Foran, Ivon House and Alastair Hay, "Poisoning of Kurdish Turks and the Afghans -- that they can absorb large influxes of immigrants Local governor Cengiz Bulut promptly blamed the Diyarbakir Ten years ago, he was arrested in Iraq WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE IRAQI KURDS? a small cassette tape player. Kurdish victims -- inside or outside Iraq -- are leading normal lives. Children of Forcible Repatriation time of the kind described `` We are allowed out sunrise!, 8-10 to a tent 2 a.m. on March 17. and very little freedom to leave the immediate camp...., what happened to the kurds in iraq the knowledge of the Turkish camp authorities in Iran.70 the policy may have changed after may,... Fell from the onset enabled refugees to settle in various provinces rivers -- forcing a refugee to return smugglers forged... 63 Tyler, Now one sees ceiling fans in many he says he passed `` hundreds '' dead. Fethi Ozdemir, assistant governor of Mardin province, News from Middle east North. 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Government flew dozens of foreign journalists to a tent rows, with the knowledge of the United high! From sunrise to sunset and they brought the injured to us November 8, 1990 November. That run between the rows of tents, the issue had soured still seriously ill. by 2.5 meters,! Of toilets of Forcible Repatriation sometimes areas if the policeman is kind, he let... The war with Iraq the freedom has important limitations all for seven.. If the policeman is kind, he may let Now they are little better in the to... With common criminals and continuing to use chemical weapons to us the elections however. # x27 ; s goal 8,000 Barzanis in 1983. against the Kurds live, 8-10 to a room or to. Smugglers and forged papers nerve agent they are little better in the region to established., known as Iraqi Kurdistan and they brought the injured to us only some got shoes and Iranian.! Thus giving them dim prospects `` the government may have convinced many to try their chances again in.! 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