Kurdish Exodus: People's Strength to Reject Dictatorship

PUKMEDIA

Kurdish Exodus.

On a day much like today, 34 years ago, 31 March 1991, the people of South Kurdistan came to a collective decision in response to the Anfal, the chemical attack on Halabja, and numerous other crimes carried out by the Ba'ath regime against the Kurds in Iraq.

After decades of revolutions and sacrifices for freedom and liberation from the oppression and injustice inflicted by the fallen Baath regime, the Kurdish people of the Kurdistan Region launched a popular uprising on 5 March 1991, driving the fallen Ba'ath Regime out of the Region.

Following the rebellion, the Iraqi Ba'ath Regime recaptured a part of the Kurdistan territory through brutal military operations, prompting millions to flee to the mountainous areas on the border, fearing retaliation from the Baathist authorities. Thousands of people died as a result of the cold and terrible weather.

The people of South Kurdistan decided that they would no longer live under the oppression of the Ba'athist rule and Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. All social classes began to migrate together to the borders or to neighbouring countries, and that day became known as the Day of the Great Kurdish Migration.

In response, the allies of the Kurds established a no-fly zone to stop the attacks of the the Ba'ath regime. Additionally, this sparked a global outcry and revealed the harshness and ugliness of the Ba'ath regime.

The world was rocked by the images and videos of the migration that were then released in the international media. It showed that the Kurds were more vigorously united in the uprising and disrupted the Ba'athist forces.

Immediately after the exodus, the world's media covered the incident, prompted the United States’ President, at that time, George W. Bush, to ask the then U.S. Secretary of State to visit the refugees along the border. The U.S. State Secretary's photographs were shown in every foreign media outlet. 

That was the first time the Kurds received this kind of attention from the world media.

The Great Migration turned into a potent tool for introducing the world to a people that had no identity.

After the Kurdish Exodus, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 688 on 5 April 1991, which referred to the crimes of the Ba'ath regime against Iraq in general and the Kurds in particular.

Following the UN's Resolution, support for the Kurds began to grow and freedom was established for Kurdistan. The resolution was significant for Kurdistan, Iraq, and the entire world.



PUKMEDIA