We condemn all attacks on Şengal and reject plans against the will of the people of Şengal!
A dark and sad day: August 3, 2014. The day when once again the order of genocide was given to our Yazidi people, and it was carried out in practice. Arab chauvinism, fanaticism, and Islamic conservatism came together in their stance against Kurds and Kurdistan and attacked from the gate of Şengal under the guise of ISIS.
Şengal, the ancient land of our Yazidi people, was targeted by ISIS. All the invaders of Kurdistan were satisfied with this ISIS attack. Turkey, Iran, the administration of Baghdad, and the chauvinist regime of Damascus, agreed to the excess. ISIS became the leader of anti-Kurdish and anti-Kurdish thoughts and feelings in these centers of occupation. ISIS became the lure of the colonial systems in Kurdistan. With this attack, they basically wanted to defeat all the achievements of the Kurds in the south and west of Kurdistan and once again put the yoke of colonialism on the neck of the Kurds, as well as undermine the faith of the Yazidi people with Islamic fanaticism. That’s why they ordered the massacre of our Yazidi people.
The ISIS invasion occupied Şengal and started massacring our Yazidi people. They killed the men, raped the women and children, and took them to their black world of Islamic orthodoxy. Thousands of women from our Yazidi people were taken captive and sold in their dirty market. They committed an indiscriminate rape on women. Those who fled because of the wrath of ISIS reached other places and regions of Kurdistan in great misery. Mount Şengal has once again made its height the shelter of its Yazidi people. This tragic result of the act of genocide has shocked our Yazidi people, Kurdistan, and the world.
Thankfully, many Kurds from all over the world heard the cry of the Yazidi people. In particular, HPG guerrillas, and the YPG and YPJ forces showed great bravery and sacrifice, and quickly intervened and prevented the full slaughter of the Yazidis. Their bravery to rescue the Yazidis and open up a corridor to safety, will live forever in history. From the civilian front to the military front, Kurds and peoples of Kurdistan mobilized and fought against ISIS and aided displaced people. The humanitarian world was also active in this field and a large and wide support was given to the Kurds both from the military side and from the humanitarian side. The national forces of Kurdistan did a great defense to protect our Yazidi people. ISIS was stopped with the mobilization and cooperation of internal and external forces, and Şengal and other places in Kurdistan were eventually liberated from ISIS.
Even though Şengal has been cleared from ISIS and a large number of our Yazidi people have settled in their ancestral lands, the trauma of August 3, 2014, still lingers in their hearts. A large number of Yazidi women who were exiled are still homeless and their fate is uncertain. This tragic incident has made the Yazidi woman a symbol of the struggle against Islamic fanaticism, and this issue of Yazidi women should be kept on the agenda with all its importance. In addition, a large number of our Yazidi people are living a difficult refugee life, until now many are in camps and have not returned. Roads should be opened for their return and national and international efforts should be strengthened to improve their lives.
Unfortunately, the forces that were supposed to protect Şengal, the forces that were in Şengal at that time and were responsible for the protection of Şengal, the forces of the Iraqi government and the forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), did not protect Şengal. That was the reason that this great disaster happened to our Yazidi people. Those forces did not protect Şengal, but rather handed Şengal and the people of Şengal over to ISIS. Now they are making future plans on Şengal. These forces, the Barzani-led KDP and the government of Baghdad, made an agreement on October 9, 2020, without taking the will of the people of Şengal into account. They want to leave the people of Şengal without protection once again. Interestingly, the Turkish state was the happiest with this agreement. Just as the Turkish state cooperated with ISIS in the occupation of Şengal, the Turkish state also has a hand in the October 9 agreement. The people of Şengal and the defense forces of Şengal do not accept this agreement and stand against it. The will of the people of Şengal should be taken as a basis and different plans should not be imposed on them. The people of Şengal have been facing brutal attacks for hundreds of years because of their Yazidi identity. This situation reveals the fact that the people of Şengal need to protect themselves and govern themselves. For this, Şengal should have a special and autonomous status within Kurdistan.
On the anniversary of this sad event that happened to our Yazidi people, the heart of the Kurds is still broken and wounded. The healing of these wounds and wounds, the healing of these pains and sufferings leads to a great national unity of the Kurds and peoples of Kurdistan.
KNK hopes that the memory of this genocide brought to the head of our Yazidi people, will be the reason for an internal unity amongst the Kurds and that all components of Kurdistan can come together, to save our country Kurdistan from the yoke of colonialism.
Kurdistan National Congress’ Executive Council
3th August 2024, Brussels
