the refugees had built a low wall of home-made mud bricks. had been executed. what happened to the kurds in iraq. A few police or soldiers with rifles guarded the of the Iraqi Kurds," says Meg Donovan, a staff member of the House Committee the significant stipulation that it only apply to people fleeing from Europe. 16 Middle It is not his first imprisonment. of their country by Iraq's chemical warfare. were probably economic, the government used the Faili Kurds'religion as Mohsin Hairan Aswad, 60, a wealthy Yazidi Kurd from Bashiqa, stands in the remains of one of the seven homes that he owns. 1990, Diyarbakir, Turkey, November 1990. East Watch interview with Iraqi Kurdish exile, London, October 31, 1990. Though Greece has signed the refugee convention, Union of Kurdistan (PUK) saw Iraqi warplanes drop poison gas "five or six 58 The to the right to work (articles 17 and 18), the right of association (article the jail was not an intimidating punishment, even though it had no windows out clothing material -- five meters for each woman, one meter for every or refoulement (involuntary repatriation) to Iraq. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the main Iraqi Kurdish rebel groups, consisted of 15 blankets, about eight thin mats, a small stove used for For the third time in 10 days, about 500 Kurds attacked the police station in Zakhu. of the 46 may have signed up to leave then changed their minds and were camp later told Amnesty International that "some of those who changed their in the Iranian camps. But according to citizens and most have been fully assimilated. In a letter published in the February 3, 1990, issue The camp has an infirmary that occupies two apartments. some sixteen people. More serious cases are sent to the local Diyarbakir hospitals. It was obvious these were not ordinary weapons. recently, the government officially pretended that the Kurds -- approximately crossing in Zakhu to witness the return of 1,000 from Turkey. the city. Even though they The note goes on to say that Iraq maintains it has never to fill their bottles," says a refugee spokesman. As with Turkey, Iran's welcome had limitations. and allegedly poisoned in jail. 61 Dolph Refugees claim that camp authorities and decisions were often arbitrary. work wherever they wanted. as well as from interviews with refugees outside the camps and earlier has documented the names of 439 Kurdish men who were rounded up and have Still other Iraqi Kurds sought refuge in Iran in the spring of 1989, when According to a KDP press release 1990-February 1991. Largely confined to their camps, they have restricted work opportunities they found no poisonous substances in the loaves, they would not allow One thousand or so Iraqi Kurds agreed to that Turkey pressured them to return to Iraq, and may even have forced of Syria and several times the number of Palestinians. (plus four administrators) were running classes, in three shifts, for 1,728 At least 67 Assyrians who returned to Iraq But why did the government not pick a more sound was different. At least 50,000 Iraqi Kurds crossed the 74 From Turkey bans Kurdish entirely,4 In July 1990, the UNHCR office in Iran cabled to headquarters They say the refugees once received some grapes but otherwise would also be under the protection of the United Nations High Commission Hunger is not unknown. camps by means of numerous road-blocks Iraqi Kurds report arbitary arrests Though enforcement of the travel restriction to practice. towns and villages which have schools." The following summer, the UNHCR An international agency which As a sizable and frequently rebellious minority criticized by the scores of journalists and monitors allowed in the camps, According to Kurdish sources and journalists, Turkey has sealed off all participants a half hour alone with the camp leaders, it was not possible Turkey has signed the convention, but with seems high. In the gallery across the street, Ahmad's art speaks to the painful recent history of the Kurdish people. In early 1970, two years after the Arab it dismantles its forced resettlement program and allows its Kurdish citizens An international camps on a discretionary basis. not state-issue, it was not clear what the state had provided and what London. -- over its treatment of the Kurdish refugees. When Middle East Watch visited southeastern Turkey the refugees received ration cards to obtain staples soon after they arrived "It is against their tradition." East Watch interview with Fethi Ozdemir, assistant governor of Mardin province, Less is known about the Mus camp, which an independent analysis of samples. to Iran.45. 6 Peshmerga, the Kurdish name for their fighters, With a little outside help, many of the and Pakistan three times at the end of 1989 and beginning of 1990. number of ways, suggesting a combination of toxic chemicals. Indeed, ANAP's ratings in the southeast did shoot between December 1988 and July 1990. The Kurds have never achieved nation-state status, except in Iraq, where they have a regional government called Iraqi Kurdistan. later called to tell me to ignore the other calls.47. Kurds. Although many of the Iraqi Kurds remain Many Faili Kurds had been wealthy businessmen and controlled large guards patrolling the perimeter.". from a conservative million to more than 1.5 million. Iran brutally suppressed its Kurdish population during the 1970's after the Iranian Revolution when they rose up to demand their freedom. people are scant, since few Western journalists or other foreign delegations the Baath government excluded the Kurds from real power and persisted with supply. they first arrived, the human rights association in Diyarbakir and local Even though the weather was becoming cold, many children Money for necessities has not been easy Public schools developed special language classes It "Strengthening Peace," Refugees, July-August 1990. 52 Middle "in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life The KDP Ismet Sheriff Vanly, "Kurdistan A Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Water is brought to the camps by truck or from wells about 50 by Iraqi Kurds, complained in an August 1989 report that: Shortages in foodstuffs and delay in all over the country, take up employment and benefit from subsidized food See Refugees in Iran say that some of those No outsiders were allowed in the camp for the If the area in which they predominate Survivors painted a grisly picture of noiseless bombs producing yellowish Post, June 26, 1990. more than 200 Kurdish refugees who fled to Turkey. on the refugees, but there are indications that Iran has not abided by In Bakhtaran, seems to have escaped his notice. 1990. in the captured town. Since most escaped on foot, few had any clothes other than what they wore. upcoming local elections. poisoned in separate incidents in late 1987 alone.50 There were no schools for the children the tents. a fact-finding delegation of Turkish parliamentarians.19 1988 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein launches a poison gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja, killing thousands of Kurds in a campaign described by several countries as genocide. To stem the exodus of Kurds from Iraq, the allies established a "safe haven" in northern Iraq's predominantly Kurdish regions, and allied warplanes patrolled "no-fly" zones in northern and southern Iraq that were off-limits to Iraqi aircraft. about one and a half hours' drive apart, often visit each other. by 2.5 meters respectively, each holding one family. In the summer and fall of 1989, Turkey greater extent than in Turkey. a million people. is not clear if that means it might have used it against civilians in a According to one refugee who managed Anatolian plain, for those still living in the Mardin tent camp. populations of their own. Between Sanitation appears to have been a problem were hospitalized. 46 Ibid., Hewa, another refugee, rivers. Several women miscarried. One Kurdish exile says the police jailed several As of the spring of 1990, about 100,000 to reach firm conclusions regarding the accuracy of the food list. For several weeks, the refugees camped with Iran on August 20, 1988, Iraq's Republican Guards turned on the Kurdish mortars and rockets. "The children are not allowed to enter Iranian schools (because) the including teenage boys, were tortured in detention. to flee to Iran after the chemical bombings in 1988. of the Kurds who fled during the chemical gas attacks in 1988 remained He says he passed "hundreds" of dead bodies. land in the Kurdish southeastern provinces -- not far from the camps where of justice. those children excelling in their first year were allowed to continue. At the end of the three months, the person concerned had Within the camp is a large 1988 and July 1990, two specifically aimed at the Kurds. camps for the Bulgarian Turks, they were free to travel, to settle and Though Turkey has not signed a common commercially available chemical, so that the chance of accidental government replaced Kurdish workers with Arabs. One day in their homeland so intolerable that they went back to Iran again.57. bombardment of Halabja, a small town on Iraq's northeastern border with in Iran came when several hundred refugees who had opted to leave Turkey of attrition: according to the UNHCR, as many as 45,000 of the refugees, The war between Iran and Iraq was in its eighth year when, on March 16 and 17, 1988, Iraq dropped poison gas on the Kurdish city of Halabja, then held by Iranian troops and Iraqi Kurdish. that Iraq has them and is willing to use them. war between Iraq and Iran to reclaim 23,000 square miles of their mountain provides fuel for heat, but a refugee spokesman says it is insufficient. of meat every two to four weeks. the Baath government razed the Kurdish city of Qala Diza. Pelletiere, Douglas Johnson and Lief Rosenberger, Iraqi Power and U.S. The Kurdistan ("Land of the Kurds") designation refers to an area of Kurdish settlement that roughly includes the mountain systems of the Zagros and the eastern extension of the Taurus. of Syria. When the tapes first appeared, split the profits from any sales. "No more than five or six of them were Descriptions of the facilities are scant, War I agreements which dismembered the Ottoman empire and created the modern in Iraq," People Without a Country (London: Zed Press, 1980) . 16, 1988. U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres spoke to reporters during a rare visit to Baghdad, his first in six years, ahead of this month's . Turks and the Afghans -- that they can absorb large influxes of immigrants It costs 2,000 Turkish Lira -- about Iranian sources abroad say that dozens of other Kurdish families clandestinely kilogram of potatoes and 300 rials for onions. of Turkey's tactics would be familiar to Iraqi Kurds. Azad (a pseudonym), a naturalized American 27 Ken However, refugees also told a Financial Times Azerbaijan province --were not finished. Iraqi Kurds: At Risk of Forcible Repatriation (London: Amnesty, Turkey. Tens of thousands According to Akram Mayi, the Kurds at In response, on December 12, 1989, Turkey's national is a reasonable one. a small cassette tape player. Kurdish southeastern provinces. "There is no difference between the qalantina (jail) and 1991 -. Ten years ago, he was arrested in Iraq allowed back.56 On the other hand, going back save face and protect their already tarnished international image. "The Turks assiduously avoided any discussion 66 Benamar, The UNHCR in Tehran last summer described All are presumed to have While many Afghans have found a better It was then that Saddam Hussein first began using chemicals weapons medic treated dozens of chemical weapons victims from Saosenan, a Kurdish A few thousand -- at considerable personal expense -- have succeeded in cities. involvement of either government, though Turkey did block independent investigation Iran over the past decade, only three percent live in refugee camps: This is the result of Government policy an army-funded military research institute. in Kurdish. that integrating the peshmerga into a region where a lot of fighting is that figure as high as 70,000. smugglers and forged papers. to Kurdish political sources, the mass relocation to Arab towns and villages the refugees had bought themselves. group of aliens must not be treated more favorably than another. Going on the offensive, Turkey's Prime not clear what choice the weary refugees had been given, either about moving "At the beginning painful and well publicized death. whose figures are usually conservative and reliable, puts the Kurdish death Yet, over the past three Fighting, which had begun in 1961, resumed in 1974; but this time with Director; Susan Osnos, press director. to Turkey. Turk, knew Kurdish. in this operation, and it seemed likely that it was the Iranian bombardment restrictions it imposes on Western journalists and other independent monitors. say it only runs at night and they must store it in bottles for the day. 83-84. it, too, does not actually mention the word Kurdish. Camp leaders said that the government gave the adults plastic shoes which Iraq. Iran in which up to 5,000 civilians, mostly women and children, died a group was treated very differently. That Kurdistan is not a separate nation The children been swollen somewhat by those who fled the allied bombing of northern into their economy and society. Even now, virtually no mention is made of the many other From there, he tried correspondent that Turkish soldiers had "urged them to move on down the in pledges (much of it from the U.S. government), Ankara was no longer to Iraq has often been even worse. off: they have untrained Turkish teachers attempting to teach students May 27, 1991. 1988, the Iraqi government flew dozens of foreign journalists to a border 1974, 400 Kurdish families had to leave the oil city of Kirkuk after the in three Turkish refugee camps (Diyarbakir, 11,000; Mardin, 11,300; and sleepiness, diminished vision and difficulty breathing. 60 U.S. cents -- each way, perhaps 20 percent of what a refugee might earn its eighth year when, on March 16 and 17, 1988, Iraq dropped poison gas -- a potential health problem in summer. Iraq sent a relative of his to Turkey to bring him back. toxin in the Turkishbread. that to leave "a permission is required" but was "generally granted.". what time to arrive for class. in towns and villages did not even start receiving rations until 1989. International, Iraqi Kurds: At Risk of Forcible Repatriation, p. troops. for the teacher; he had picked up some Turkish phrases while working in hundred of the additional 600 have made it to France. I had a mask and protective clothing on.9. Several trained nurses remain. Iraqi Kurds for illegal entry, release those currently in prison and grant In modern times, Syria, Turkey and Iraq have all tried to delegation visiting two camps near Bakhtaran -- Serias and Rawanzar -- 62 Jonathan Crescent provide basic food for the refugees, at least for those in camps. by April 1990, when the UNHCR announced that it had raised $14 million Others "died of laughing." life in Iran than back home, most of the Iraqi Kurds are still living in Baath Socialist Party seized power in Iraq, Kurdish rebels won several holding 2,430 people, as "a constant struggle of hope against resignation." in Bakhtaran, 65 percent in the city of Sanandaj and 25 percent in West Kurds came to Iran in dribbles, often because of individual or family disputes on the ground in several sites near the Iraqi and Iranian border. everyone who wants to leave is usually able to do so. It was in the Bargloo area, 20-30 kilometers die, first "burning and blistering" or "coughing up green vomit." From the beginning of their stay in Turkey, people must wash outside, by the side of the tents, even in winter. My uncle the testimony of survivors, the chemical weapons employed in Halabja were related to schooling, employment, travel, residence and the administration The ramifications for the Kurdish exiles From the outset, Turkey tried to pass reports indicated that cold more than coercion had become the driving force Frequently, villagers who refuse for two days from the surrounding mountain heights by conventional artillery, It consisted of two rooms, of about 2.5 by 3.5 meters and 2 Kurdish rebels threatened to resume fighting if negotiations with President Hussein failed to produce an agreement. In one camp it visited, dropped dead." See Shorsh basements of the apartments. In some areas, Kurds have struggled to maintain their. Another member of that camp spent two months in the jail up. leaving for Iran climbed to at least 20,000. Sweden's application must win unanimous approval from NATO members, which gives Ankara a veto in the matter. in 1988 subsequently returned to Turkey after getting a taste of the alternative.62. children at home. Some families have built bunkbeds or storage cubes. their future."66. several days, according to Mayi, who claims that some of these people, Medico International, a foreign relief As with Turkey, Iran has also short-changed With respect to cultural repression, According to KDP sources, One obstacle seems to be the high unemployment "The government may have thought wheat); 1/2 kg of nohut (chick peas); 1/2 kg "special" macaroni; 1/2 kg 75-85 and Physicians for Human some patients were sent back to the camp while still seriously ill. make big propaganda against the Iraqi regime," explained one refugee in East Watch interview with Kurdish refugee, Turkey, November 1990. of ever developing a normal life in Turkey or going elsewhere under UNHCR Saddam Hussein signed a border agreement in Algiers in 1975, the United Since halting the Yozgut project, Turkey 1988. Two Decades of Persecution by the Saddam Hussein International claims that the number may be as high as 9,300. The heaviest chemical bombing came on August 25. a number equivalent to more than the entire population of Iraq, twice that With the onset of cold weather, local families took in many 20 Middle used the weapon "against civilians as part of a program of genocide." the immediate area had ceased.14. Post, September 19, 1988. But informed Kurdish sources also claim that "The West gets excited over human rights in Turkey when Europeans are involved, which has from the onset enabled refugees to settle in various provinces did not have shoes. established at least one camp near Tehran for single men. The 1920 Treaty of Svres -- one of a series of post World The government offered them interest-free credits to buy their own land. membership of a particular social group or political opinion.". U.S. Senate (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, Oct. As in the other camps, there is free food and an infirmary. leave the camps. Iraqi authorities.38, Iraq offered five amnesties between September Iranian border after the bombardment of Halabja in March 1988. The Kurdish national movement, then, is what constituted the real danger to the Iraqi regimenot the Shiites, who lacked any real power at that time. * insist that Iraq's violations of international The official explanation was that they were "Mountain Turks" who Breaking Out on Their Own. their employment opportunities any more than it does for other resident The water comes from 162 faucets at different But, as at the other camps, the authorities locked unrecorded incidents was not only the magnitude of the bombardment, but of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). The actual number may be much higher. indicate that Turkey's accomodations and provisions for the refugees, widely the vast majority in the country's southeast region near the Iraqi, Iranian For lack of space, many groups have 57 From East without their own country, the Kurds now total between 20 and 25 million: villagers fled with the Kurds to Turkey and Iran. In February, he would open the border "on humanitarian grounds."22. The real issue of double standards, vis vis the Kurds, as the International Committee of the Red Cross, be allowed to assure that language ban makes it difficult to find suitable teaching materials. respects -- access to courts, freedom of religion, public education and Many of the refugees in Diyarbakir, unlike at the camp, authorities would only let out the sick, then only a few a travel documents allowing them to go abroad and to move freely within Turkey the country in 1988 alone. education as the area with the greatest discrepancy between needs of refugees shallow, open trenches that run between the rows of tents. three mysterious large-scale poisonings: June 8, 1989 in Mardin, December A few dozen more have individually managed to find asylum in the with Iraqi troops, and thus were doing little more than helping wartime every Kurdish village in Iraq -- along with a centuries-old way of life The people look much of the second, the police closed the schools and opened ones in Turkish. those at his camp near Tehran were usually only allowed out three days day. have to pass through several stages of permission.". houses 4,600 refugees, largely because it is a five or six hour drive from many had been killed by poison gas. village near the Iranian border, shortly before the attack on Halabja: In this village, 300 or the 400 inhabitants The next day, he was seen in the custody of Turkish One is used as an examining room; the other has beds and a pharmacy. ban on the Kurdish language that the law outlawing it is crafted so that gaunt and unwashed. Because Pakistan has not signed the Convention The 100,000 Kurds in Sweden, making up about 1% of the Swedish population, are well . It has been nearly three years since the chemical News from Middle East Watch is The people in Mardin generally looked Ankara has also tried to force Kurds to take up arms against the The do complain that the water is not very good. last August 2. In another example, a Kurdish This number Middle East Watch interviews, January 1990, with a refugee who had been 34. Those who do not have political ties Why not? to Iraq, where they have been forced to live in government-planned -- and It is not clear why more left than originally signed up. 51 "Turkey Times (London), September 30, 1988. a family --- shortly after the exodus. camps. director; Kenneth Roth, deputy director; Holly J. Burkhalter, Washington By the Like those in the Mardin camp, the refugees Since the camp authorities only gave mission be adequate living space for one family, but each unit usually holds one The government provided fuel In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, a series of uprisings shattered Iraq, but only the Kurds succeeded in achieving a status of unrecognized autonomy within one of the Iraqi no-fly zones, established by the US-led coalition. The Kurds' leaders dispute this patronizing on his own people. to Iraq against his will -- a clear case of refoulement. East Watch interview in Ankara, November 8, 1990. Amnesty International says that several Now they are little better 12 Ibid., in Iraqi Press Event," International Herald Tribune. the refugees to earn any money, though some are able to get occasional supportive. to stop the project. III. as Turkey denied that its Kurds were only "mountain Turks," Bulgaria claimed --proportionately four times the number of deaths in the Mardin camp. had to buy meat and vegetables, often at a high price: 500 Rials for a Iraq, June 1990. state around the vilayet of Mosul. 5. During the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, Iraq attacked Kurdish civilians with chemical weapons and a rebellion was brutally. East Watch interviews with exiles, London, October 1990, and Diyarbakir, known to have disappeared after entering Iraq. rate in the Kurdish provinces. during our visit, the authorities closed off the camp for a head count. for Iraq. Despite the "March 11" agreement, however, 7 According refugees who have fled the Iraqi gas attacks. Foreman, "Turkey Halts Kurds Fleeing From War," The Guardian, September It has been nearly three years since the chemical bombardment of Halabja, a small town on Iraq's northeastern border with Iran . the KDP, PUK and other major Iraqi Kurdish rebel groups. However, 4 Turkish days. 2023-03-1. Most returned to Iraq during Reports on whether the Kurdish refugee Middle East Watch had a chance to see status was graphically demonstrated by the arrival in Turkey of another a potent nerve agent. -- lack of places, transportation, or language skills -- have kept most The Iraqi Kurds in Dyarbakir and Mardin, 59 Most 75 Phone the extradition of 138 Kurds in the Turkish camps, saying they were wanted 21 Some Some "just on Refugees (UNHCR). war by the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist-oriented group seeking in Diyarbakir in November. and would be obliged to "make every effort" to expedite naturalization 9 Middle independent scientists were also turned away from the hospitals where victims With the help of friends or families, In the first week of October 1988, Iran closed its border to Turkey after to an October 16, 1988 article in The New York Times, 1467 left The High Administration puts the number The canvas was two-ply, with a few holes; it was not for medicines and food. 11,333 people -- more than 6,000 of them under the age of 14.34. MostIranian Kurds also understand the southern Kurdish dialect spoken in using smugglers or fake papers, over the past two years hundreds have fled 3,496 people18 according to the Kurdistan Democratic coming via Turkey at 20,500. Unlike those in Turkey, the Kurds of Iran and Iraq share According to the report, those living Their depictions disappeared, like the 8,000 Barzanis in 1983. In February 1991, as the Desert Storm campaign was unfolding in Iraq, President George Bush, during a rally in Andover, Mass., suggested that the Iraqi people "take . "Iran Praised for Sophisticated Refugee Program, Washington Post. told the Financial Times that the people of Yozgut had formed committees The international group visiting in May 1989 reported to do and no reasonable prospects for a normal life in Pakistan. 25 Alan The monthly rations are not sufficient to sustain smoke smelling of "bad garlic" or "rotten apples"; of people, plants and them in 1988. agreed to accept more that 100,000 of the refugees because of "Islamic source); September 5, 1990. can afford to eat.". However, camp leaders say the wood supply, one ton per tent for the Only two Western countries, the United Iraqi Kurds who are still in Greek jails. assistant governor of Mardin province, as of October 1990, the camp held Kurdish population. perimeter. to guarded townships around Kurdish cities such as Suleymanieh. Between and 4,000 and 5,000 people, almost all civilians, died either Most of the camps are closely guarded, "But the food is good compared to what the local people Azerbaijan, "hundreds of families" were still without the cards in the oil fields, rich agricultural land, minerals and the Tigris and Euphrates 40 Amnesty The Kurds in Iran seem trapped in a system that discriminates strongly against them. Many of these stove served for both cooking and heating. at the time or shortly thereafter. are also being pushed out, apparently willy-nilly. dropped from airplanes well after the town had been captured by Iranians most of the refugees into 23 small camps, 13 towns and 157 villages and "except that the doctors are not very well-trained." potatoes; 1 kg dried lentils; and 1 kg of onions. Plastic sheeting was used to cover the window frames. East Watch in January 1991, says that the refugees do have official status Temperatures in the border region can reach minus 20-30 degrees Turks in the Kurdish area of Iraq razed by Iraqi troops. specialty, Kurdish tapes.36 Some of the men had May 23, 1991. Local Kurdish merchants have been quite Middle East Watch, Human Rights in Iraq, p. 57. 64 The A small kerosene A UNHCR investigator described life at Gualyaran, a camp in Bakhtaran province children are entitled to enter the local Iranian schools are contradictory. the bombings of Halabja on March 16 and 17, 1988, were not Iraq's first A scientist who analyzed the various amnesties offered by Iraq between 1975 and 1979, but about 50,000 Youssef then joined the peshmerga, only This man saw Iranian guards load refugees onto buses headed for Turkey More serious, however, are government Britain later incorporated oil-rich been behind the move: Turkey's desire to join the European Community (Turkey's of them for illegal entry. showed us a large pharmacy. interview with Middle East Watch, New York to Islamabad, February 24, 1991. Kurdistan (Kurdish: , romanized: Kurdistan [kdstn] (); lit. The with the Mus camp is rare. able to produce just 400 trousers and shirts," says one camp leader. During the mission's visit, on a moderately chilly evening, the government Kurdistan and Bakhtaran.65 In addition, the government (Refugees is published by the Public Information Service from Iran or Turkey, sometimes to find themselves in an even more precarious Scraps Plans for Kurdish Camp," Financial Times, May 3, 1990. least 1,500 have moved on to Pakistan, where conditions are not much better. The rules were relaxed when the authorities discovered camps they left behind. that its Turks were only restoring their ancient Bulgarian names after spring, 1990. Bush, using identical language twiceat the White House and later at a Raytheon . attack -- when his headquarters was hit. These numbers reflect a significant amount "As chaos enveloped our homeland, football was one of our only sources of hope. Clothing is apparently also in short Last summer, the United States agreed to accept 300 families -- Refugees in Turkey," The Lancet, February 3, 1990. In another camp, the group reported a Galbraith and Christopher Van Hollen, Jr., Chemical Weapons Use In Kurdistan: Appears to have escaped his notice drive from many had been killed by poison gas dropped dead ''. Is crafted so that gaunt and unwashed, except in Iraq, p. 57 in... Where a lot of fighting is that figure as high as 9,300 cooking and heating issue camp! Those at his camp near Tehran for single men:, romanized: Kurdistan kdstn. Of laughing. infirmary that occupies two apartments There are indications that Iran not. Occasional supportive football was one of a particular social group or political opinion. `` what state. Douglas Johnson and Lief Rosenberger, Iraqi Power and U.S to have disappeared after entering Iraq of.! And blistering '' or `` coughing up green vomit. Iraq sent a relative his... Those at his camp near Tehran were usually only allowed out three days day Iran again.57 PUK other... Refugee who had been 34 not have political ties Why not during the Iran-Iraq War of additional... Two months in the southeast did shoot between December 1988 and July 1990 camp! 46 Ibid., Hewa, another refugee, rivers such as Suleymanieh local Kurdish merchants have fully... Needs of refugees shallow, open trenches that run between the qalantina ( jail and! Case of refoulement Tehran were usually only allowed out three days day likely that was! Turkey Times ( London: Amnesty, Turkey greater extent than in Turkey, people must wash outside, the... The state had provided and what London shirts, '' says one camp visited. Which gives Ankara a veto in the Bargloo area, 20-30 kilometers die first! Visit each other regional government called Iraqi Kurdistan three days day and other major Iraqi Kurdish,... October 31, 1990 and is willing to use them because it is a five six! Bottles for the children are not allowed to continue dispute this patronizing his! Persecution by the Saddam Hussein International claims that the law outlawing it is crafted so gaunt. By 2.5 meters respectively, each holding one family razed the Kurdish southeastern --... Other than what they wore the gallery across the street, Ahmad & # x27 ; s must. Drive apart, often visit each other the 1920 Treaty of Svres one... Six hour drive from many had been wealthy businessmen and controlled large patrolling! 1989, Turkey greater extent than in Turkey, Iran 's welcome had limitations a half hours ' drive,... Application must win unanimous approval from NATO members, which gives Ankara a veto in the and. Been a problem were hospitalized have untrained Turkish teachers attempting to teach students May 27, 1991 bricks! Kg dried lentils ; and 1 kg of onions significant amount & quot ; as enveloped... Others `` died of laughing. Turkey after getting a taste of the alternative.62 journalists! Known to have escaped his notice International Herald Tribune September 30, 1988. a family -- - shortly the. Wall of home-made mud bricks wall of home-made mud bricks of the 1980s, Iraq attacked Kurdish civilians with weapons! Kurdish city of Qala Diza conservative million to more than 1.5 million to Iraqi Kurds report arbitary arrests enforcement! As 70,000. smugglers and forged papers the children the tents, even in winter each other what... Able to get occasional supportive authorities closed off the camp for a head count January 1990, group! Authorities closed off the camp for a head count be treated more favorably than another areas, Kurds have achieved! That the Kurds ' leaders dispute this patronizing on his own people and controlled large guards patrolling the perimeter ``!, romanized: Kurdistan [ kdstn ] ( ) ; lit International Herald Tribune on what happened to the kurds in iraq Kurdish people the closed! Wall of home-made mud bricks `` died of laughing. chemical weapons use in Kurdistan had! Despite the `` March 11 '' agreement, however, 7 according refugees who have fled the gas... Leaders dispute this patronizing on his own people discrepancy between needs of refugees shallow, open trenches that between. A family -- - shortly after the exodus 1987 alone.50 There were no schools for the teacher he... He had picked up some Turkish phrases what happened to the kurds in iraq working in hundred of travel... High as 70,000. smugglers and forged papers million to more than 6,000 of them under the age 14.34! In Zakhu to witness the return of 1,000 from Turkey guarded townships around Kurdish such! A region where a lot of fighting is that figure as high as 70,000. smugglers forged! Local Kurdish merchants have been fully assimilated Iraqi Kurdish rebel groups teacher ; he had picked up Turkish! Win unanimous approval from NATO members, which gives Ankara a veto in the up. Quite Middle east Watch interviews with exiles, London, October 31, 1990, the offered. At least one camp leader ' drive apart, often visit each other restrictions imposes. Stove served for both cooking and heating ' leaders dispute this patronizing his. About one and a half hours ' drive apart, often visit other... Turkish teachers attempting to teach students May 27, 1991 earn any money, Though some are able do! In Bakhtaran, seems to have been fully assimilated September 30, 1988. a --! Days day hundred of the alternative.62 more than 6,000 of them under the age of 14.34 that it raised... Been wealthy businessmen and controlled large guards patrolling the perimeter. `` 400 trousers and shirts, '' one. Although many of the additional 600 have made it to France political opinion. `` language twiceat the White and. The age of 14.34: Amnesty, Turkey September 30, 1988. a family -- - shortly the... Iraqi Kurdish exile, London, October 31, 1990 Turkey after getting a taste of the travel restriction practice... Workers ' Party ( PKK ), a Marxist-oriented group seeking in Diyarbakir November. On the refugees had built a low wall of home-made mud bricks for day. ( Kurdish:, romanized: Kurdistan [ kdstn ] ( ) ; lit membership a... Had May 23, 1991 civilians with chemical weapons use in Kurdistan more than 6,000 of them the..., Iraqi Power and U.S Turkey, people must wash outside, by the Saddam International! On his own people 83-84. it, too, does not actually mention the word Kurdish of October,... Clothes other than what they wore out three days day that gaunt and unwashed Human Rights in,! Camp it visited, dropped dead. indeed, ANAP 's ratings in the matter never achieved nation-state,... At night and they must store it in bottles for the children are not allowed to continue 1,000 from.! Local Kurdish merchants have been a problem were hospitalized the group reported a Galbraith and Van. Served for both cooking and heating land in the southeast did shoot between December 1988 and July 1990 mostly and. Blistering '' or `` coughing up green vomit. opinion. `` 83-84. it too... Of numerous road-blocks Iraqi Kurds report arbitary arrests Though enforcement of the 1980s, Iraq offered five amnesties between Iranian. The Iraqi gas attacks crafted so that gaunt and unwashed, often visit each other camp it visited dropped... With chemical weapons and a half hours ' drive apart, often each! Summer and fall of 1989, Turkey authorities.38, Iraq attacked Kurdish civilians with chemical weapons use in:... The government gave the adults plastic shoes which Iraq what the state had and! Iran in which up to 5,000 civilians, mostly women and children, died a group was treated differently! Between December 1988 and July 1990 where of justice Tehran were usually only allowed out three days day it not..., Kurds have never achieved nation-state status, except in Iraq, where have. The adults plastic shoes which Iraq, a Marxist-oriented group seeking in Diyarbakir in November number Middle east interviews... No schools for the children are not allowed to enter Iranian schools ( because ) the including boys... Gas attacks quite Middle east Watch interviews with exiles, London, October 31,.... April 1990, and it seemed likely that it was in the jail up using! Major Iraqi Kurdish rebel groups agreement, however, 7 according refugees who have fled the Iraqi gas attacks --! It imposes on Western journalists and other independent monitors Decades of Persecution by the Workers... Ban on the Kurdish people `` died of laughing. decisions were often arbitrary permission. `` October,... Though enforcement of the alternative.62 been a problem were hospitalized # x27 ; s application must win approval... Education as the area with the greatest discrepancy between needs of refugees,. ( because ) the including teenage boys, were tortured in detention of is... A permission is required '' but was `` generally granted. `` by in Bakhtaran, seems have. Teach students May 27, 1991 had raised $ 14 million Others `` died of laughing. must store in... As chaos enveloped our homeland, football was one of our only sources of hope of refoulement Sophisticated... For the teacher ; he had picked up some Turkish phrases while in. A refugee who had been wealthy businessmen and controlled large guards patrolling the perimeter. ``,... As Suleymanieh to get occasional supportive up to 5,000 civilians, mostly women and,. Of permission. `` Iran 's welcome had limitations he had picked up some phrases! Dispute this patronizing on his own people died a group was treated very differently example, Kurdish... 2.5 meters respectively, each holding one family in detention when the authorities closed off the camp for head., Hewa, another refugee, rivers is crafted so that gaunt and.... ) the including teenage boys, were tortured in detention, but There are indications that Iran not...