Dr. Dawood on the 31st Anniversary Sulaiman Atrushi’s Statement of the Uprising
On the 31st anniversary of the glorious Kurdish Uprising of 1991, I offer my warmest congratulations to the Kurdish people and the brave Peshmarge. The Uprising is the greatest achievement of the Kurdish leadership in Iraq and the fruit of our people’s long-lasting struggle.
Following the Anfal campaigns, the chemical attack on Halabja, the processes of Arabization and the relocation of Kurdish people, the Kurdish bloc was forms led by President Masaud Barzani. After three years of planning and seeking the right opportunity for a popular revolution, the Kurdish Uprising was launched on March 5, 1991 in the district of Rania bringing down the Ba’ath government and along with it long years of oppression and discrimination against the Kurdish population in the north of Iraq.
The Uprising is a very precious attainment in the Kurdish history that has made the Kurds an important determinant in the regional and international discourses. The Uprising is also considered the first step towards the acknowledgement of Kurdish people and the internationalization of their existence and rights.
In addition to being a popular rebellion for national and political independence, the Uprising was also a cultural and intellectual revolution represented by the establishment of the University of Duhok that was established only one year following the Uprising. The university was followed by the founding of a number of universities and institutes and academies that have been ever since serving the Kurdish community and providing it with educational opportunities.
It cannot be denied that the Uprising is the outcome of the unity of the Kurdish people and the Kurdish political parties. It needs to be a lesson teaching the later generations to stay united and organized.
Finally, we pay deep homage to the fallen heroes; the ever-living martyrs and the brave Peshmarge sacrificing their life in the war fronts for the dignity and prosperity of the Kurdish people.
Dawood Sulaiman Atrushi
President of the University of Duhok
05.03.2022