Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Central Executive Board released a statement marking the 30th anniversary of the Halabja massacre.

The HDP statement said the following;

“It has been 30 years since the 16 March Halabja Massacre. 30 years ago, the BAAS government and Saddam Hussein killed more than five thousand Kurds in Halabja: women, men, children, and elderly people, with chemical and biological weapons.

The Halabja massacre took its place as a disgrace in the history of mankind, judged in the conscience of the peoples and condemned as a crime against humanity.

Saddam Hussein and the BAAS regime, who thought that they could destroy the struggle for equality and freedom of the Kurdish people in Iraq with chemical and biological weapons, both brought their own end and also failed to restrain the demand of the Kurdish people for freedom and self-governance.

It has been seen by the whole world that the struggle for freedom and equality cannot be destroyed by chemical weapons. After 30 years this struggle continues even more strongly today.

Today, a similar mentality to that in the past, which tried to suppress a legitimate struggle with chemical and biological weapons in Halabja, is attacking civilians, women, children and elderly people in Afrin. The stance and governance of the people of Afrin who have stood against ISIS barbarism face oppression and destruction today. The people of Afrin are being subjected to a new policy of forced displacement and demographic engineering.

History has shown us that using the most advanced means of war, bombing cities and carrying out demographic engineering can only slow down historical development, but never reverses it. Freedom, equality, justice, democracy and the peace struggle can never be destroyed.

On the 30th anniversary, we once again condemn the Halabja massacre. Today, we urge those who seek to protect and maintain their rule by war, occupation and setting peoples against each other to take lessons from history.”