Iraq Genocide Austin, Cindy, Damani

Around the World ● was the Iran-Iraq War, this genocide occurred at the end of the war from ○Known as the Gulf War ○Iraq invaded Iran from the air in 1980 ○war was mainly over border disputes ○was fought very similar to how WW1 was fought, trench warfare ●The people from the Kingdom of Kurdistan, the Kurdish, fought in a series of wars against Iraq from the end of WW1 when the Ottoman Empire fell to 2003 when the United States invaded Iraq. ●Constant conflict between Iraq and the Kurdish. ●On April 26, 1986, the world’s worst nuclear accident occurred in a nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine.

Factors/Environment ●Constant fighting between Iraq and Iran. ●The Iran-Iraq War lead the Kurdish people to rebel against Iraq. ●Both Iran and Iraq were ruthless in the war, which led Iraq to be ruthless against the Kurds when they rebelled. ●The war destroyed Iraq’s economy, which was previously doing well before the war. ○Iraq’s economy depended on oil, and during the war Iraq’s foreign exchange reserves were depleted, putting the country in more than $40 billion in debt ●A bad economy makes people angry, and Iraq was already angry with Kurdistan for revolting, so they took their anger out on them.

Perpetrators and Victims ●Perps: Saddam Hussein, Ba’athist regime, Iraqi government ●Victims: Kurds (ethnic cleansing)

How this Genocide is a Collective Event ●The Ba'athist regime worked closely with Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government to wipe out over 200,000 Kurds from Iraq, Iran, and surrounding countries with Kurdish populations.

Eight Stages of Genocide ●Classification: The Iraqis hated and discriminated the Kurds. The two groups did not live in the same areas. ●Symbolization: The two groups differed in language, culture, and clothing. Kurds were also required to carry identification cards. ●Dehumanization: The Kurds were seen as vermin. They were forced from their homes and moved to less fertile areas in the south. ●Organization: The Ba'athist regime became committed to organizing the extermination of the Kurdish people.

Eight Stages of Genocide ●Polarization: Saddam Hussein claimed that the Kurds were traitors because they supported Iran in the Iran-Iraq War. ●Preparation: Concentration camps were built. Males and females were separated at these camps. Men and teenage boys were killed while women and children were kept at the camps and subjected to live in horrible conditions. ●Extermination: Over 2,000 Kurdish villages were attacked in this genocide. The most well-known being Halabja (check spelling). In Halabja, chemical weapons were used to kill ____ people. ●Denial: The Iraqi government attempted to hide all evidence of the Kurdish genocide. According to the Kurdistan News “a company from Denmark which was digging wells for the Iraqi government found mass graves in the region. When they informed the Iraqi authority about their findings they were told that those bodies belonged to ancient times. The Iraqi authority cancelled the contract with the Denmark Company and expelled them from Iraq".

International Response ●April of Coalition forces announce the creation of a "safe haven" on the Iraqi side of the border. International aid agencies launch a massive aid operation to help the refugees. Meanwhile, Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani open negotiations with Saddam Hussein on autonomy for Kurdistan. ●The international response was minimal at best. At first, no countries wanted to recognize the genocide. Recognition of the genocide did not come until the early 2000's.

Steps to Achieve Justice ●Since 2003, the Iraqi Special Tribunal convicted many of the operation’s leaders with crimes against humanity, genocide, and premeditated murder. Saddam was executed by hanging after being convicted of crimes against humanity following his trial ●The KRG is also taking steps in providing health, education and social services to the victims, victims’ families, and the thousands of widows of genocide. For example, the KRG provides concessions for children of Anfal to encourage them to go to university.

Works Cited Benvenuto, Jeff. "Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights." Al-Anfal and the Genocide of Iraqi Kurds, Rutgers, n.d. Web. 03 June Hylan, Heval. "Genocide in Kurdistan." N.p., Nov Web. 3 June "Iran-Iraq War." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, Web. 5 June "Iraq: Economy." GlobalEDGE: Your Source for Global Business Knowledge. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June "WHAT HAPPENED IN THE KURDISH GENOCIDE." WHAT HAPPENED IN THE KURDISH GENOCIDE. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June