OPEN LETTER TO GERMAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY / HALABJA / ANFAL 2013
Halabja, March 12th 2013 – To the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Germany
Via the German Consulate in Arbil – From a delegation of SPI-group
Dear Mr. Guido Westerwelle,
On the 25th Memorial Day for the Chemical attacks on Halabja, we call again to the German Federal Government to express their commitment to peace in our region. On March 16, 2010 protesters from Halabja and its area gathered in front of the German Consulate in Erbil and requested public recognition and apology for Germany’s part in the massacres in Halabja and its surrounding region: recognition and apology for support and assistance provided by Germany in the development of the chemical poisons that were used in these attacks 25 years ago. The request is still standing today.
Moreover, we ask Germany to join Sweden, Canada, and United Kingdom and help to recognize and commemorate the Kurdish genocide as a crime against humanity and to help improve the situation of the citizens in general and strengthen the ties between Germany and Kurdistan.
The purpose of international peace requires from all of us to work for reconciliation after negative events that happened between our countries. Germany own experience shows well how important peace is for a bright future. Therefore, we ask you via the German Consulate in our region to take action to deal with these events of the past, in the spirit of reconciliation.
We ask for assistance and support the people to set up a documentation and research center in order to deal with the massacres in Halabja and and other places in our region. We also call Germany to act against chemical weapons and poison gas in the Middle East. Chemical weapons are still held by Iran and Syria and continue to be a threat to peace and to the lives of many people.
We send this appeal from our group and join the call from the residents of Halabja and its surroundings, living in places that were damaged severely in the attacks of 1988 and still work to recover. We call you to assist in this recovery.
The White organization is a nongovernmental organization that works to help and support the areas in Kurdistan that sustained damage from the chemical attacks. It was founded by people from these injured areas and works together with specialists in this subject.
Signed by Lawyer Dlawar Haidar – Spokesperson of White Group Spi_org@yahoo.com
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