At a Glance

• Kurdish MP Brako Sherko and 67 lawmakers formally demanded a radical review of a new Iraqi high school history textbook.

• The petition states that the book, titled "The Book of Crimes of the Defunct Ba'ath Party," completely overlooks major atrocities like the Anfal campaigns and the Halabja chemical attack.

• Lawmakers emphasized that accurately documenting these events is vital to protect historical truth and educate future generations without distortion.

Brako Sherko, a Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament, pointed out that a history book published by the Iraqi Ministry of Education for the fourth preparatory grade—focused on the crimes of the Ba'ath regime—unfairly omits the major atrocities committed against the Kurdish people.

Key Statements and Focus Area

• Lawmaker Sherko confirmed that 67 MPs signed and submitted an official request to the presidency of the Council of Representatives regarding the book.

• The official parliamentary letter states, "We request that you kindly direct the relevant authorities (the Ministry of Education) to review the book and include these crimes in a well-documented and fair manner."

• "This will contribute to doing justice to the victims, establishing historical awareness among students, and promoting the values of coexistence and justice among all components of the Iraqi people," the letter added.

MP Brako Sherko of the PUK bloc in the Council of Representatives stressed that the Iraqi Ministry of Education must conduct a radical review of the book's content.

Sherko emphasized that the Anfal campaigns, the chemical attack on Halabja, and all other Ba'athist atrocities against the Kurds must be documented in history exactly as they occurred.

He highlighted that this ensures future Iraqi generations read their true history and understand the real impact on victims of the dictatorship without historical distortion.

FYI

In September 2025, the Iraqi Ministry of Education introduced a new textbook for the fourth preparatory grade titled "The Book of Crimes of the Defunct Ba'ath Party," which, despite exposing the tyranny of the previous regime, ignoring the Kurdish genocide, the Anfal campaigns, and the chemical attack on Halabja.

The Anfal campaign was a military operation conducted by the Iraqi Ba'ath regime in the late 1980s that resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 Kurdish civilians and the destruction of thousands of villages.

In March 1988, as part of this campaign, a chemical weapons attack was carried out on the city of Halabja, resulting in the immediate deaths of thousands of individuals.

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