Extensions of Remarks

23678 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS September 13, 1988 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS CHEMICAL GENOCIDE OF White House also accepted with indecent stroyed thousands of Kurdish villages and KURDS haste an Iraqi apology for the attack on the resettled as many of the Kurds in Arab USS Stark, which killed 37 American serv dominated regions as they could. After the icemen. In its grudge match with Iran, the Iran-Iraq war erupted in 1980, the surviving HON. STENY H. HOYER Reagan administration visibly tilted to Kurdish fighters threw in their lot with Iraq's side-and at a high price. Tehran. OF MARYLAND But now Washington appears either This time it is a truce with the ayatollahs IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES unable or unwilling to use the leverage it that has enabled Iraq to have another go at Tuesday, September 13, 1988 said it was obtaining to help the Kurds or removing the Kurds from their homelands, push the Iraqis to drop the hard-line posi with the new wrinkle of poison gas thrown Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, two articles ap tions that have driven the negotiations on in. This time Hussein's intention of depopu peared in the Washington Post and the New ending the Iran-Iraq war into deadlock. lating Kurdistan may be within his grasp. York Times this week that I would like to Secretary of State George Shultz has It is unthinkable that he will benefit once given several recent speeches mixing elo submit for the RECORD. The thrust of both is again from official American indifference quence with hand-wringing about the hor and/or impotence that will be justified in clear. Genocide is being committed by the rors of chemical weapons. When confronted armed forces of Iraqi President Saddam Hus the name of maintaining influence in the with their open use by the brutal Iraqi Arab world. sein against the Kurdish populace of northern regime that he has chosen to cultivate Iraq. rather than confront, Shultz folds his cards. Mr. Speaker, we cannot remain indifferent As it stands now, other countries that would [From the New York Times, Sept. 5, 19881 to this wholesale slaughter. Indifference in the be tempted to use the "poor man's atomic STOP THE IRAQI MURDER OF THE KURDS bomb" against their enemies can conclude past has allowed ruthless dictators to murder from the Iraqi example that they will have (By William Safire> millions of people, and indifference today will to pay no price internationally for doing so. BRIDGEHAMPTON, L.I.-On the day the allow countless more to die. The ceasefire in An estimated 120,000 Kurds have fled into cease-fire began in the Iran-Iraq war, the gulf war has ended a conflict that claimed neighboring Turkey in the past week. One Saddam Hussein, dictator of Iraq, launched hundreds of thousands of lives, and we measure of the atrocities being committed a new military offensive. This was for should not allow this ceasefire to be used as against the Kurds in the public outrage vengeance-to punish the Kurdish people an opportunity for renewed bloodletting. The voiced by the leaders of Turkey, a Moslem living in northern Iraq who had dared to country that places high value on its rela pursue their long struggle for autonomy systematic use of chemical weapons in gas tions with Iraq and has a reputation for attacks against civilian populations centers is during the dictator's war against Iran. suppressing its own Kurds. Nonetheless, With his forces freed by the cease-fire, an outrage with little precedent, and should be Prime Minister Turgut Ozal was quoted by Saddam Hussein smashed the Kurds-possi met with a firm response if similar affronts to the BBC as saying that "a massacre of inno bly with mustard gas, which he has reintro humanity are to be avoided in the future. cent people" is occurring in Iraq. duced in modern warfare. Ninety thousand [From the Washington Post, Sept. 8, 19881 Where are equivalent U.S. statements Kurdish refugees are now huddled in tent that might signal a serious international MAKE No MISTAKE-THIS Is GENOCIDE cities along the Turkish border, with an action to halt the Iraqis? In the midst of the other 40,000 cut off from escape. <By Jim Hoagland> election campaign, the Reagan White House This is a campaign of extermination and the State Department appear to have aimed against an ancient ethnic group that PARIS.-Iraq is committing step-by-step other things on their agendas. State Depart genocide against the Kurdish people in the ment officials speak instead of making "an wants only to keep its own language and remote Zagros Mountains. The evidence is expression of concern" to the Baghdad gov customs in sarbasti-freedom. A classic ex now so clear that the world cannot shrink ernment. ample of genocide is under way, and the from branding Iraq's actions with that hor History shows that such meekness will world does not give a damn. rible word and demanding an end to this cal provide no comfort or protection for the Three men are alive today who can boast culated massacre. Kurds-Moslems who are racially distinct of having made a major contribution to The Iraqi version of genocide is being con from the Arab majority of Iraq. While their world depopulation: ldi Amin of Africa, Pol ducted in military operations stretched out periodic rebellions against Baghdad in this Pot of Asia and Saddam Hussein of the over years and launched against the Kurds century have been suppressed with brutal Middle East. The Iraqi trails the Asian in as opportunities permit. It does not have ity, it was only 13 years ago that "a final so the number slaughtered only because his the maniacal pace or organization of Hit lution" seems to have been adopted as the nuclear capability was curtailed by the Is ler's Germany or Pol Pot's Cambodia. But option of choice for the troublesome Kurds. raelis; otherwise, he would surely have in this must not lessen the horror, condemna In 1975, it was the shah of Iran who cinerated five million residents of Teheran. tion and forceful opposition the world com signed a border agreement with Iraq and However, Saddam is still active, and with munity and especially the Reagan adminis gave Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein a free several million Kurds at his mercy, he may tration must demonstrate if a similar trage hand in Kurdistan rather than continue a yet pass Pol Pot in megamurders. dy is to be avoided. costly frontier war. The United States went The Iraqi dictator evidently sees a cease Washington and the United Nations have along with the decision of the shah, who fire as a time for getting even. He will one responded with surprisingly mild rebukes as had been funneling American-supplied day turn his aggressive attention to Syria's Iraq has taken advantage of the U.N.-spon weapons to the rebel Kurdish army led by Assad, the only Arab leader to have helped sored cease-fire with Iran to intensify the legendary warrior Mullah Mustafa Bar Iran, but first he is intent on bloodily crush poison-gas attacks aga1nst Kurdish civilians, zani. ing all self-determination aspirations within on a scale not known since World War I. I was with Barzani in the Zagros when the his own borders. More distressingly, the United States and end came that March. Anger and sorrow For a millenium, Kurdistan has been a other nations have taken no effective action consumed him as he told me that he had place but not a nation. Today the nearly 20 to stop the slaughter of Kurdish civilians risked everything because he had trusted million Kurds live under three flags in Iran, and the mass eviction of these Aryan tribal the United States. He had expected betrayal Iraq and Turkey, with some in Syria and people from their mountain homes. by the shah; that was why he had insisted the Soviet Union. The Iranians supplied the Such inactivity from an administration that the United States be deeply involved in Iraqi Kurds with arms to harass Saddam, that has supposedly been building up Amer supporting the rebellion from the begin and the Iraqi dictator armed the Iranian ican influence and leverage in the Persian ning. In defeat, he asked for American hu Kurds to harass the Ayatollah's army. The Gulf is inexcusable. The United States manitarian help to prevent the destruction Kurds, though split into factions and aware spent $200 million to place a naval shield for of his people. they were being used as pawns, saw the the past year around the shipping of Iraq's But over the next year, the Iraqis faced Iran-Iraq war as a chance to establish a kind Arab allies in the war against Iran. The no international opposition as they de- of autonomy if not independence. e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. September 13, 1988 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 23679 But Iran-Iraq peace means retribution and Ms. Di Martino is an active member of the The program is based on a series of 18- x death. Let us marvel at the reaction: Hispanic community in my district, centering 28-inch posters. The supervisor reads the United Nations peacemakers in Geneva around Las Vegas, NV. She is the chairwom poster while it faces his group of employees.

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