[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 24, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  REMEMBERING THE MASSACRE AT HALABJA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 24, 1999

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember a horrifying event 
in our world's recent history. Eleven years ago, Saddam Hussein bombed 
the Kurdish town of Halabja with chemical weapons. Clouds of poison gas 
including mustard gas and sarin were rained down on Saddam's own 
people, merely because they were Kurds.
  This heinous act resulted in the death of over 5,000 innocent 
civilians and injury to approximately 10,000 others. However, Halabja 
was neither the first nor the last of the chemical warfare attacks 
Saddam Hussein unleashed against the Iraqi Kurds. Throughout 1988, 
Saddam's brutal regime continued to use chemical weapons against its 
own people. In only 6 months, over 200 Kurdish villages were attacked 
and 25,000 people were killed by chemical weapons during the vicious 
Anfal Campaign. This campaign ultimately led to the destruction of 
4,500 Kurdish villages and the death of 500,000 Kurdish people. More 
than 200,000 Kurds remain missing and 500,000 have been internally 
displaced.
  Although the people of Halabja undoubtedly suffered beyond words when 
this horrifying event occurred 11 years ago, their children and their 
children's children will feel the effects of this one action of Saddam 
Hussein for generations to come. For, 11 years hence, the Halabja 
attack has not really ended. Many people in the region continue to 
suffer from respiratory problems, eye conditions, neurological 
disorders, skin problems, and cancers. All of these effects are 
attributable to long-term damage to DNA caused by the chemicals used by 
Saddam in the attack.
  The Iraqi regime has never expressed remorse for Halabja, nor have 
Saddam Hussein and his thugs ever been called to account for these 
crimes they have committed against their own citizens. We do know that 
whether in attacks on Iraqis or neighboring states, inhumanity is 
precisely the common element of Saddam Hussein's policies. We must 
never forget the innocent people who died and those who continue to 
suffer from Saddam's ruthlessness.

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