You are here: Home » Comment »

Iraq, Genocide and the Kurds

July 16, 2012 4:32 pm

Author:

Tags:

Share this Article

Labour people used to have a very good understanding of the injustices suffered by the Iraqi people under Saddam Hussein. The Labour Party’s Socialist International sister party in Iraq is the Kurdish Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, whose leader is Jalal Talabani, the current President of Iraq.

The intervention in Iraq was probably the most divisive issue internally in the Labour Party in the last 15 years. Sadly this has meant that many members shy away from looking at the longer-term issues in Iraq. We need to put the debate about the Iraq War to one side – as does Labour Friends of Iraq – in favour of something we can all agree is an important priority – supporting and showing solidarity towards Iraqi democrats, trade unions, and civil society.

Amongst those who suffered most under previous Iraqi dictatorships were the Kurds. As a councillor in Hackney where there is a large Kurdish community (in Hackney’s case Kurds from Turkey rather than Iraq) I am acutely aware of the suffering the Kurds have endured and impressed by the way the Kurdish community here in the UK engages positively in political life.

The Iraqi Kurds endured decades of demonisation, discrimination and eventually full-blown genocide in which Saddam sought to eliminate them as a people. Most horrifically this included the use of mustard gas and nerve gas against the town of Halabja in 1988 in which up to 5,000 people were murdered, 7-10,000 more injured, and thousands more have died of subsequent medical complications.

In the last two years of that decade some 182,000 Kurdish men, women and children were slaughtered and their agricultural base was deliberately destroyed.

They are not a backward looking people and, as the reports at the website of the all-party group on Iraqi Kurdistan show, they are rebuilding and seeking a democratic, pluralistic and forward looking society.

But the past hangs heavily and it is a matter of elementary justice that the world acknowledges what was done to them.

Now there is an e-petition urging the UK Government to recognise all this formally as a genocide. I would urge all those who care for the Kurds and the whole country of Iraq taking its rightful place in the world to sign this and help the cause of justice. You can sign up in a few quick clicks here.

Related posts:

  1. To really understand the war, the Iraq inquiry needs to take evidence from the ground
  2. There is much to celebrate but still much to worry about for Iraq
  3. Time to turn over a new leaf on Kurdistan and Iraq?
  4. At last, Conservative Friends of Iraq
  5. Genocide, intervention and defending our indefensible institutions
  • Brumanuensis

    As an unstinting and bitter opponent of the Iraq War, I agree with Luke Akehurst.

    The key question is what role will the Kurds play in a future Iraqi state? Much of the present violence in the country stems from the conflict between the Arab Sunni and Shia sections of the population. In this environment, the Kurdish area has attained a large degree of de facto autonomy, bordering on independence. However the Kurdish ‘problem’ is greatly complicated by the influence of Turkey, who would never tolerate the creation of an independent Kurdish state. Given the international political issues this raises, limiting discussion of Kurdish issues to Kurds within Iraq might be an unhelpful limitation.
    I have both Turkish and Kurdish friends, so I recognise this is a very sensitive and complex matter. If a future Kurdish state does request recognition from the UK, we will be placed in an awkward position. Hence why I suggest we address this from a pan-Kurdish perspective.

  • Pingback: Iraq, Genocide and the Kurds - IKJ News

  • Khoshnaf Al-Kadi

    Dear Luke
    Your article should serve as a reminder to Iraq`s new government not to return the country to the dark days of Iraq`s brutal regime of Sadam and the Baath Party and shows thecontinues  struggle our people in Kurdistan has to endure not only to help and establish the building of pluralistic democratic forward looking societies not only for them selves but also to the nations they share the country with. Please keep up your support, more so at the present time because of the volatile situation in Iraq and the rest of the region and count on our support.

    Dr Khoshnaf Al-Kadi

Latest

  • Featured We must challenge the biggest welfare myth of all

    We must challenge the biggest welfare myth of all

    By Simon Danczuk

    Who can forget Gordon Brown’s meeting with Gillian Duffy? Nothing has come close in recent years to symbolising the disconnect between the Westminster bubble and the working class. As someone who had to endure every painful minute of Duffygate it’s a lesson I’ll never forget. Mrs Duffy’s memorable intervention on the campaign trail means it’s now widely accepted in our party that calling someone racist simply for raising concerns about immigration putting pressure on public services or pushing down wages [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment The culture of high risk credit is being exploited by betting shops

    The culture of high risk credit is being exploited by betting shops

    By Matthew Zarb-Cousin

    Since the financial crisis, the perfect storm of recession and banks restricting access to credit has led to the rise of payday lenders. Our high streets are slowly deteriorating from the vibrant, diverse places they once were into an abyss of pawnbrokers, payday loan shops and bookies. The three feed off of each other, targeting some of our most deprived areas and perpetuating a cycle of despair driven by the need for extra income. Research carried out by Geofutures found [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Should people be asked if they are party supporters when they register to vote?

    Should people be asked if they are party supporters when they register to vote?

    Chris Clark and Rav Seeruthun on a small change that if adopted, would free activists to spend more time on community work Every year at party conferences we hear professional politicians eulogise hard-working party volunteers. And there’s no activity more often evoked than that of ‘knocking on doors’. It’s a common delusion that the purpose of doorstep canvassing is to ‘persuade’ voters. Having taken part in our fair share of Labour canvassing sessions, we’ve both had the dispiriting experience of [...]

    Read more →
  • Europe Featured You can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe

    You can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe

    By Douglas Alexander

    Europe is not often the issue which comes top of people’s concerns on the doorstep. Nor do opinion polls suggest that Europe is a priority for voters when compared to issues like the economy or jobs. But you can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe. This week saw over a hundred Conservative MPs rebel and vote against their own Queens Speech. They were angry that it hadn’t included a bill which would [...]

    Read more →
  • News Seats and Selections Vicky Foxcroft selected as Labour’s PPC for Lewisham Deptford

    Vicky Foxcroft selected as Labour’s PPC for Lewisham Deptford

    Vicky Foxcroft has been selected by Lewisham Deptford CLP as the party’s candidate for 2015 at a selection meeting this afternoon. Here’s a brief biography: Vicky grew up in the North West in a single parent household, and was the first person in her family to go to university. She has held many positions in the party including Chair of Labour Students, has sat on the National Policy Forum and is currently a local councillor and is Chair of Lewisham [...]

    Read more →