Austria commemorates first Kurdish refugees from Iraq

Shafaq News- Vienna

Austria’s capital, Vienna, hosted a ceremony on Saturday marking 50 years since the country accepted its first group of Kurdish refugees from Iraq under the slogan Long Live Austria.

The event opened with a short documentary recounting the arrival of the first group of 96 Kurdish refugees at Vienna International Airport on March 31, 1976, following the collapse of the Kurdish uprising in Iraq after the 1975 Algiers Agreement between Iraq and Iran.

Former Austrian President Heinz Fischer, who played a key role in facilitating the refugees’ admission and support, addressed the event alongside Safeen Dizayee, head of the Department of Foreign Relations in the Kurdistan Regional Government, who expressed appreciation to the Austrian government and people for their humanitarian support and assistance provided to Kurdish students and families over the years.