Despite unified efforts by Kurdish lawmakers in Baghdad, the Iraqi parliament once again failed to convene and vote on elevating Halabja’s status to that of a province - an ongoing struggle that the Kurdish government and politicians have fought for many years.
The parliament’s official agenda, released on Monday, listed the first item as a vote on the bill seeking to elevate the Kurdish city to provincial status. However, the meeting was postponed to Wednesday, when disputes between Shiite lawmakers, as well as conflicts with Sunni lawmakers, once again blocked the process.
Kurdish lawmakers have threatened to boycott upcoming legislative sessions if the bill is not voted on separately.
“No other projects should accompany Halabja issue," Shakhawan Abdullah, deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, told reporters, adding that in the upcoming meetings they will try to separate the Halabja issue from others so that the bill is not affected by tensions between Sunni and Shiite lawmakers over a contentious draft law related to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
Abdullah, a Kurd, commended the unity of Kurds in Baghdad.
"The Halabja issue is a matter that concerns all Kurdistani factions, and all parties have worked toward it. We appreciate the efforts of all parties. We have brought it to a very good stage. As the [parliament] presidency, we have added it to the agenda," he said.
Soran Omar, head of the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) bloc, told Rudaw that "the Kurdish blocs decided that if the Halabja province bill is not voted on tonight, they will not participate in any other parliamentary sessions unless voting on this bill is included."
He added that "Sunni parliamentarians are not willing to participate in the session under the pretext that the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) bill has been added to the agenda, and some Shiite parliamentarians do not want another province to be added to Iraq."
Nuxsha Nasih, Halabja acting governor, commended the unity of Kurds in Baghdad and called on Iraqi politicians not to politicize the issue.
"This is a humanitarian and moral issue, not a political one," she added.
In December 2013, the Iraqi Council of Ministers approved a bill to make Halabja the country’s 19th province. However, strained relations between Erbil and Baghdad, along with disagreements between Sunni and Shiite blocs in the Iraqi parliament, have delayed the bill’s passage.
The Kurdistan Region’s Council of Ministers issued a decision in 2014 to designate Halabja as a province, making it the Region’s fourth. Four years later, the Iraqi interior ministry recognized it as a province.
On March 16, 1988, towards the end of the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq, the city of Halabja was targeted with chemical weapons by the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 5,000 people, primarily women and children, and injured thousands more.
The massacre was part of the toppled Baath regime’s Anfal campaign against the Kurds, which killed over 182,000 people.
Halabja has a population of about 120,000 and consists of four subdistricts: Khurmal, Biyara, Bamo, and Sirwan. It is also a popular tourist destination.
