​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Patriotic Union: betrayal of August 31 is black stain on our people's memory

Today, the Political Bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan issued a statement on the anniversary of the August 31 betrayal, that reads:

"27 years ago, at the guidance of the leadership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Republican Guard forces of the Baathist dictatorial regime occupied the city of Hawler, the capital of Kurdistan, the capital of the dream of freedom, and the center of our country’s sovereign institutions, and they caused severe damage to the meanings of nationalism and patriotism, which cannot be forgotten forever.

Only 6 years passed after the uprising of the people of Kurdistan against the injustice and persecution of the Baathist regime, when they liberated part of the homeland from its grip, but the Democratic Party, under the pretext of imbalance of power during the internal fighting, returned once again the Anfal Army and chemical bombardment to the land of Kurdistan specifically, the city of Hawler, this resulted in the martyrdom and wounding of hundreds of Peshmerga and militants of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Iraqi opposition forces, hundreds of them were captured and disappeared, and the tanks of the chauvinist army broke the prestige of the parliament elected by the people of Kurdistan, and stained our experience from the beginning.

This betrayal, remains a dark blot in the memory of our people, and hundreds of pretexts of media speeches, fake books, and misleading narration of events will not be able to erase it, but the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and other keen Kurdish political parties and forces, relying on their hope for the future of our people and the legitimacy of the Kurdish cause, and that the political process cannot be stalled and frozen at a certain point, they all chose as much as the preference of peace and agreement, they worked hard to preserve what remained of the prestige of our nation’s experience, and opened a new page for peace. Therefore, the overthrow of the regime’s army that supported the August 31 disaster in Iraqi Freedom Operation, and the other gains achieved for our people, from the constitutional recognition of the Kurdistan region and the federal system, are the fruits of the patience and steadfastness of the Patriotic Union and the national concern for the future of Kurdistan and the sovereignty of Kurdistan.

In this bitter memory, we always want to erase bad psychological and moral effects of this national disaster and all other disasters once and for all, instead of spreading grudges and revenge, and we call carefully for the rejection of authoritarianism and the consolidation of the option to correct the path of governance, the democratic process and real justice in Kurdistan, and we are ready for conscious struggle and sacrifice for the sake of the success of this correct national policy, without losing sight of the black history of August 1996 and other shortcomings and defects.

In memory of the black day, and in memory of all the martyrs and victims of our people, we send salutations to all the heroic and glorious martyrs of our people, especially the martyrs of resisting the occupation of the capital of Kurdistan, on the black day of August 31, 1996.

Sh-S

ANHA