PUK remarked that the KDP maintained the same policy today instead of taking a lesson from the betrayal of 31 August 1996. “Instead of healing the wounds in their history of treachery, they have indeed legitimized it.”
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Politburo released a statement marking the anniversary of the KDP betrayal on 31 August 1996 when tanks of the Baath regime led by dictator Saddam Hussein entered Hewler (Erbil), the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Remarking that the KDP paved the way for the Baath regime’s move, PUK said: “The Baath regime occupied the capital of the freedom dream and the institutions of our country, doing fatal and unforgettable damage to our national values.”
The statement noted that the Kurdish people rose up to the atrocities of the Baath regime for five years and managed to take some parts of their lands under control. “The KDP, using the balance of power in the civil war as an excuse, cleared the way into Hewler and Kurdistan for the army that perpetrated the Anfal campaign and chemical weapons attacks. Hundreds of peshmergas and Iraqi opposition members fell as martyrs, while hundreds of others were taken prisoner or disappeared. The weapons of the chauvinist army hurt the honour of Kurdistan people’s elected parliament.”
PUK remarked that the KDP maintained the same policy today instead of taking a lesson from the 31 August betrayal. “They still accuse and slander the patriots. Instead of healing the wounds in their history of treachery, they have indeed legitimized it.”
The statement concluded: “We should try to clear the traces left behind by such disasters throughout history rather than holding a grudge and seeking vengeance. For the sake of righteous national policies, we are ready to ignore the events of August 1996, and to fight to this end. On the occasion of this black day, we remember all our martyrs and victims with respect, including our heroes who resisted the occupation of the capital of Kurdistan.”
