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A. Elizabeth Jones Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Capital Hill Briefing, Letter submitted regarding 11th Anniversary of Attacks on Iraqi Kurds Washington, DC, March 16, 1999

Text of letter submitted to Capital Hill Briefing:

"The sympathies of the United States are with the Kurdish people of northern Iraq and with all Iraqis as we commemorate the 11th anniversary of the massacre at Halabja.

On March 16, 1988 the Iraqi military attacked Halabja, a Kurdish town in northern Iraq, with chemical weapons. An estimated 5,000 civilians were killed and 10,000 injured.

This monstrous assault was part of the "Anfal" campaign against Iraqi civilians, directed by Saddam Hussein's regime. Eyewitnesses report that thousands of people were killed in scores of chemical attacks during the "Anfal."

Eleven years later, the people of Halabja still suffer from the effects of the March 16 attack. There is evidence that they experience much higher rates of serious diseases, particularly cancer, neurological disorders, birth defects, and miscarriages.

Last November, I was honored to inaugurate a major conference on Halabja at Meridian House. As one outcome of that conference this week, we will announce plans to provide significant funding for a feasibility study in northern Iraq on ways to assist the Halabja victims.

As we remember Halabja, we must remind ourselves and the international community that Saddam Hussein's regime must never be permitted to rebuild its weapons-of-mass-destruction programs.

We commend the Human Rights Alliance for bringing to the world's attention the Iraqi regime's infamous human rights record and for commemorating the tragic events at Halabja."

Sincerely,

A. Elizabeth Jones
Acting Assistant Secretary for
Near Eastern Affairs

[End of Document]