The President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, stressed the importance of expediting the burial of the remains of the victims of mass graves, especially in the Kurdistan region, which are located in the forensic medicine department, after completing the duly procedures, and resolving this humanitarian file for many Iraqi families.
During his meeting with First Lady Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, today, Sunday, at the Baghdad Palace, the head of the Martyrs Foundation, Abd al-Ilah al-Naeli, and a number of officials in the foundation and the Ministry of Health, he indicated the need to make efforts in this file and help the families of the victims in burying the remains of the martyrs, especially from the Kurds, stressing the importance of enhancing cooperation and coordination between the authorities concerned with the martyrs in the federal government and the Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs in the Kurdistan Region in order to provide justice to the families of the Anfal and Halabja martyrs and grant them full rights.
He said, according to a statement by his office, that burying the remains of the martyrs is a national and humanitarian duty, and honoring their resting place must be done to the fullest extent, granting the families of the martyrs all legal and moral rights, and meeting all their needs.
The President of the Republic stressed the importance of opening mass graves, exhuming the bodies of the martyrs, and taking the necessary measures to do so, stressing his readiness to provide possible facilities to address and resolve this issue.
The statement explained that the delay in the opening and funeral processes was discussed, and it was decided that the First Lady would assume the task of following up and supervising this important humanitarian file. Emphasis was placed on accelerating the implementation of understandings regarding the exchange of documents that chronicle an important historical era of peoples’ struggle and the oppressive policies of dictatorial regimes.
The statement indicated that many other issues were discussed, foremost of which was the need for the families of the martyrs to obtain all the rights stipulated by law.
For their part, the members of the delegation expressed their happiness at meeting the President of the Republic, appreciating His Excellency’s proposals and their full support for the necessity of caring for the families of the martyrs. They provided an explanation of the work of the Martyrs Foundation and the rest of the relevant departments regarding the file of martyrs in the country.
The meeting was attended by the deputy head of the delegation of the International Committee for Missing Persons, Fawaz Abdel-Abbas Abdel-Amir.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency