The second international scientific Symposium on Anfal of Koya was held by the Department of History, Faculty of Education at Koya University in collaboration with the Kojan Organization for supporting Anfal’s inquiry and the Directorate of Martyrs and Anfal Victims of Koya.
On May 4, 2023, in the presence of Mr. Arshak Manokyan, the Koya University President, Asst. Prof. Dr. Haseeb Siddiq, members of the Koya University Council, and other political, administrative, and social figures The Directorate of Martyrs and Anfal Victims of Koya and the Kojan Organization for supporting Anfal’s inquiry in Koya collaborated to hold the second international scientific symposium on Anfal of Koya in the Presidency Hall of Koya University.
The national anthem "Ay Raqeeb" and a standing ovation were played before the session began to honor the memory of Kurdistan's martyrs, particularly those who died during the Anfal process.
The head of Koya University's History Department, Asst. Prof. Dr. Hoshmand Ali, remarked on this particular day in the sentence that follows.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Mohammed Haseeb Siddiq, Koya University's President, proceeded to conclude his opening remarks for the event.
The Anfal process, which was one of the most horrific crimes against humanity committed by the then-Ba'ath regime in 1988 with the intention of eliminating the Kurdish people in South Kurdistan, was noted by Mr. President of Koya University. He stated: "It was a genocide in which the children, women, old, and young of this nation were not spared. It was a catastrophe in which tens of thousands of the nation's sons vanished and hundreds of villages were destroyed. They unfortunately passed away.
Koya University President stated that one of the main goals of the Anfal process was to eradicate Kurdish identity and culture through the destruction and demolition of numerous monuments in Kurdistan, including historical and religious monuments, and he asked our university research centers, teachers, and researchers, in particular experts in the fields of history, geography, the Kurdish language, environment, and economy, to work on conducting scientific research on it.
The following session featured a documentary film about the fourth stage of the Anfal process in the Koya district. Then the event presenter introduced Dr. Akram Khamosh to read a poem about Anfal.
In another part of the event, Mr. Arshak Manokyan, the Republic of Armenia's consul general in the Kurdistan Region, gave a speech about how the idea of genocide developed and the start of the Armenian genocide.
The main panels of the symposium were presented in the following section, which was attended by local and international researchers and specialists in the topic of genocide:
Asst. Prof. Dr. Jamal Fathullah Tayeb served as the panel's moderator for Panel 1.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Sherko Kirmanj gave a presentation titled "Identity Anfal and Security Anfal: A New Reading of the Kurdish Genocide."
Mr. Salar Mahmood, a genocide researcher, spoke on "History of Anfal and the Issue of Genocide of Kurdish People in Iraq."
The data and the work done for the Anfal victims in Koya were presented by Ms. Tavga Hama Salih Ahmad, Director of the Koya Martyrs and Anfal Victims Directorate.
The Kojan Organization for supporting Anfal’s inquiry in Koya's President, Mr. Pshtiwan Sadiq Hamad, spoke about the organization's work and efforts regarding the Anfal issue in Koya.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Ahmad Mohammed Amin Qadir moderated the second panel, which covered the following topics:
The University of Bohemia in Germany's Prof. Dr. Linkastakova, a Czech scholar, gave a presentation titled "Digitization of Kurdish Anfal Project."
Asst. Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Malazadeh from Soran University spoke about "Anfal Campaigns, in terms of staging and its theoretical dimension".
Vice President for Administrative and Financial Affairs at Koya University, Asst. Prof. Dr. Rostam Salam Aziz, gave a talk titled "Anfal Process in Koya District: A Geographical Study."
Asst. Prof. Dr. Hoshmand Ali Mahmood, Head of the Department of History at Koya University, gave a talk entitled "Koya in the Fourth Anfal Process (A Historical-Oral Research)".
The talk, titled "Femicide in the Anfal Genocide, Koya Anfal as an Example," was presented by Lecturer Roshna Jamal Mahmood, a PhD student at the University of Leipzig in Germany and holder of a master's degree in comparative genocide from University of Sulaimani.
Participants' questions and answers were the focus of the last panel, and in a separate section of the gathering, certificates of participation were awarded to the presenters and prizes were given to the Anfal isolated survivors in the Koya district.
