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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A rally for the independence referendum was held in Kalar city in the Garmiyan area that saw severe suffering under the Anfal genocidal campaign of the former Baathist regime.
“I want Kurds to continue to succeed to become an independent government,” said a Kurdish man holding a large picture depicting the Kurdistan map and Peshmerga. “The Kurdish nation endured plights. The Kurdish nation suffered grievances. We saw a lot of displacement in this area.”
“I want Kurds to continue to succeed to become an independent government,” said a Kurdish man holding a large picture depicting the Kurdistan map and Peshmerga. “The Kurdish nation endured plights. The Kurdish nation suffered grievances. We saw a lot of displacement in this area.”
Another Kurdish man who endured the Anfal campaign and said his house was destroyed by the Baathist regime asked, “What else could happen? Did not we suffer Anfal, chemical bombing? What else could happen? Weren’t 182,000 were [killed]?”
“What Kurds suffered, no one has ever faced,” he said.
For the sake of the blood of the Peshmerga “We all say ‘Yes,’” said another Kurd.
“September 25 will mark a day the likes of which we have not seen even during the days of our ancestors. It is the day when we will determine the final historical fate of our nation that our ancestors fought for with their old Brno rifles.”
“God willing, September 25 is the day of success and success,” he said, proudly.
He said Kurds have suffered all kinds of persecution at the hands of oppressors throughout history.
As the world ponders alternatives and calls on the Kurdistan Region to call off the historical vote, another Kurdish man urged unanimity in order for Kurds to prevail and “work for the referendum and the independence of Kurdistan.”
Officials from some political parties attended the rally, including the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
A KDP official said it a large rally had been planned in the city but "due to a technical problem" it was not held.
The President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani was expected to address the ralliers in the area, but his attendance was canceled.
The genocidal Anfal campaign was carried out by Saddam Hussein against the Kurds in the last stages of the Iraq-Iran war in 1988. The Garmiyan area, including Kalar, was heavily targeted in the campaign.
The campaign took its name from Surat al-Anfal in the Quran which was used as a code name by the former Iraqi government for a series of systematic attacks against its Kurdish population, conducted between 1986 and 1989 and culminating in 1988.
Major rallies are being held on a daily basis across the Kurdistan Region.
The biggest rally will be held in Erbil on Friday, the final day of the official referendum campaign. The vote will be held on Monday.
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