Ranj Alaaldin: 'Chemical Ali' and Blair, the hero
[Ranj Alaaldin is a Middle East political and security risk analyst based at the London School of Economics and Political Science.]
Ali Hassan al-Majid, the infamous general and henchman of Saddam Hussein, was executed yesterday for his genocidal onslaught on the Kurdish population of Halabja in 1988.
Many of the 5,000 Kurds killed that day died almost instantly as the cloud of poison gas settled upon them. Others suffered a slower, more gruesome death as the gas gradually liquidated their organs but did not actually kill them.
Today, the few surviving victims suffer from their injuries; birth defects, breast, lung, skin, and other cancers, along with miscarriages, infertility and mental disorders have painted a dark, permanent, mark on their lives.
"Chemical Ali", as he became known for his attack on Halabja, or the "Butcher of Kurdistan" for his co-ordination of the wider al-Anfal operation that systematically destroyed scores of villages and killed more than 120,000 Kurds in a campaign of gassings and mass executions, yesterday finally paid the price for his crimes.
Justice will have been served for the Kurds and his execution provides some degree of closure for those who bore the brunt of the operations in the towns and villages of Halabja, Karadagh, Doli Khoshnawati and Barwari Bala.
Harman Mohammad, a Kurd from Halabja who now studies at the vibrant Kurdistan University in Erbil, told me about his experience of the exodus that followed the attack. "I was just an infant, my mother held me close to her chest; we were vomiting and temporarily blinded as we tried to escape." Emotions were running high, he explained, but many feel Majid was given an easy exit and point out that he was not actually executed for genocide but for crimes against humanity, a verdict that does not really fit the crime.
Some were more pragmatic though – "Chemical Ali has been dead for a long time," one Kurd told me, referring to Majid's capture and imprisonment since 2003.
Visiting Halabja last April amid Iran's shelling of its mountainous terrain, it was clear that despite its scenic surroundings and attempts to move on from the past, the town continues to be haunted by a gloomy and grey atmosphere, a stark reminder of Majid's legacy that may always be there. Largely neglected over the years, Halabja needs investment and redevelopment, although they have increased over the past two years.
It is ironic that in the same week Majid is executed, Tony Blair is to appear at the Chilcott Inquiry on Friday with the anti-war left looking to put him on trial for Britain's involvement in the 2003 war...
Read entire article at Guardian (UK)
Ali Hassan al-Majid, the infamous general and henchman of Saddam Hussein, was executed yesterday for his genocidal onslaught on the Kurdish population of Halabja in 1988.
Many of the 5,000 Kurds killed that day died almost instantly as the cloud of poison gas settled upon them. Others suffered a slower, more gruesome death as the gas gradually liquidated their organs but did not actually kill them.
Today, the few surviving victims suffer from their injuries; birth defects, breast, lung, skin, and other cancers, along with miscarriages, infertility and mental disorders have painted a dark, permanent, mark on their lives.
"Chemical Ali", as he became known for his attack on Halabja, or the "Butcher of Kurdistan" for his co-ordination of the wider al-Anfal operation that systematically destroyed scores of villages and killed more than 120,000 Kurds in a campaign of gassings and mass executions, yesterday finally paid the price for his crimes.
Justice will have been served for the Kurds and his execution provides some degree of closure for those who bore the brunt of the operations in the towns and villages of Halabja, Karadagh, Doli Khoshnawati and Barwari Bala.
Harman Mohammad, a Kurd from Halabja who now studies at the vibrant Kurdistan University in Erbil, told me about his experience of the exodus that followed the attack. "I was just an infant, my mother held me close to her chest; we were vomiting and temporarily blinded as we tried to escape." Emotions were running high, he explained, but many feel Majid was given an easy exit and point out that he was not actually executed for genocide but for crimes against humanity, a verdict that does not really fit the crime.
Some were more pragmatic though – "Chemical Ali has been dead for a long time," one Kurd told me, referring to Majid's capture and imprisonment since 2003.
Visiting Halabja last April amid Iran's shelling of its mountainous terrain, it was clear that despite its scenic surroundings and attempts to move on from the past, the town continues to be haunted by a gloomy and grey atmosphere, a stark reminder of Majid's legacy that may always be there. Largely neglected over the years, Halabja needs investment and redevelopment, although they have increased over the past two years.
It is ironic that in the same week Majid is executed, Tony Blair is to appear at the Chilcott Inquiry on Friday with the anti-war left looking to put him on trial for Britain's involvement in the 2003 war...