The Kurdistan Region’s Halabja province has established a “peace committee,” following a meeting of local authorities, representatives from religious leaders and civil society activists, some of them behind the daily demonstrations that have continued in the province.
The committee, in coordination with political parties and authorities, is tasked with spreading the message of peace in the province.
It comes at a time when the Kurdistan Region has gone through week-long violent protests in Sulaimani province earlier this month. Five demonstrators were killed and at least 150 injured.
The committee announced its support for “civil” demonstrations launched by “public employees and citizens” for their rightful demands.
The initial plan for the task force was to go beyond the provincial border, perhaps Kurdistan-wide, but limited resources made that impossible.
“We thought if we continue to preserve the peaceful nature of Halabja demonstrations, then we would achieve our goal,” said Renas Ali, a demonstration organizer and member of the committee.
He feared if they overstretch to other cities, they might compromise their peace message. Nonetheless, he said, Halabja could become an example for the region.
The Peace Committee has asked the political parties to avoid intimidating statements in the media. It also called on political parties in Halabja to sign an oath to keep the city’s atmosphere of peace.
Halabja has staged demonstrations for more than two weeks, but the province has been relatively peaceful all along, except for some minor incidents.
The organizers changed their strategy more than once to avoid “bloodshed” between the protesters in one side, and the security forces and political parties’ offices on the other.
On October 10, some protesters began hurling rocks at the local office of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). But the civil activists and the religious leaders who were in a meeting at the time sent a delegation to discourage violence. They formed a human shield between the protesters and the security forces, close to a KDP branch in the city.
“I was afraid for my life, and police used tear gas,“ said Ali, who talked to the violent protesters and helped secure the party’s main office.
The next day the organizers, accompanied by well-known religious leaders, staged protests at the city’s Martyrs Memorial, where those who lost their lives in the 1988 Halabja chemical attack, are honored.
The religious leaders called for an end to the political divide. They said violence and internal divisions endanger Kurdish achievements earned at a heavy price in recent history. They also called on President Masoud Barzani to listen to the people’s rightful demands.
Meanwhile, the Islamic clerics used Friday prayer sermons to spread the message of peace among all parties.
Mala Jamal, head of Halabja’s Union of Islamic Scholars and also a member of the committee, said the union continues to support peace in the city.
For several days, during the peak of the violence in Kurdistan, Halabja demonstrations took the shape of rallies, giving the organizers more crowd control.
The demonstrations have continued in Halabja and Sulaimani to this day. The public servants constitute the largest portion of demonstrators, in particular teachers demanding two more unpaid salaries for August and September. Teachers received their July salaries on Monday.
The school year began on October 1 in Kurdistan, but teachers in Sulaimani and Halabja provinces have so far refused to teach without receiving their unpaid salaries.
The director of Halabja Police and head of KDP’s office both thanked the people and civil activists in Halabja for keeping the demonstrations peaceful.
The Kurdish parliament named Halabja the capital of peace in September 2014 for its sacrifices for the Kurdish cause. The city’s population has since taken pride in the new title.
The committee also asked the Kurdish parliament “to hold its first ever peace and understanding meeting in Halabja’s Peace Memorial.”
