“Halabja catastrophe, other mass massacres, deter Iraq’s return to dictatorship times,” Prime Minister Maliki says.

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com – Iraq ’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has described the Halabja chemical massacre and other mass massacres, committed by Iraq ’s former ruling Baath regime, as “deterrence against the return to the rule of dictatorship and other horrible measures.”   “We are facing on Wednesday the annual anniversary for the painful Halabja massacre, that was committed by the former dictatorial regime that committed savage crimes, including the use of chemical weapons against that patient city, or carrying murder and mass killings, committed in different parts of the country, along with the use of mass graves, shall remain in our national memory, being a deterrent against the return of the times of dictatorship,” Maliki said in a statement.   He said that “the commitment of that crime and its impacts had threatened the country’s national unity, calling on us all to condemn them and strive to protect the unity of Iraq and its people.”   “On this painful occasion, I present my warm condolences for the people of Halabja, the Kurdish people and the whole people of Iraq , requesting Allah Almighty to bless our country with security, stability and avoid confronting them for any suffering.”   Noteworthy is that northern Iraq’s Kurdish city of Halabja had become victim for a chemical attack by Iraq’s former ruling Baath regime on March 16, 1988, that killed 5,000 civilians and wounded 10,000 others of its people, according to Kurdish statistics.   ST / SKH