KCK: Shengal resistance leads Yazidi people to freedom

The Co-Chairs of the Executive Council of the KCK issued a statement today on the anniversary of the 74th massacre against the Yazidi people. The statement reads:

“Although 11 years have passed since the Shengal massacre committed by ISIS mercenaries on August 3, 2014, which the Yazidi community considers the 74th genocide in its history, its pain is still fresh. Thousands of people were killed, thousands of women were abducted, sold in slave markets, raped, their homes looted, and hundreds of people, including children and the elderly, died of hunger and thirst while fleeing into the desert. Thousands of Yazidi women are still missing, and dozens of mass graves remain unopened.

What the Yazidi community experienced in the 21st century, a century humanity prides itself on for its development, was a stain on the conscience of all humanity. Once again, we strongly condemn the Shengal massacre, one of the most horrific massacres of our time. We condemn ISIS, its mindset, and all the powers behind it.

We respectfully commemorate the victims of the Shengal massacre and reaffirm our deep solidarity with the people of Shengal. We will always stand by them on their path to overcoming genocide and achieving freedom.

Unfortunately, the Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Iraqi army, assigned to protect Shengal, failed to defend it and abandoned its people to face the massacre. They have not been held accountable or subjected to any critical evaluation. History has recorded this brutality and this great shame.

ISIS and its backers aimed to exterminate the Yazidis, but their plans were thwarted thanks to the historic intervention of a small group of guerrilla fighters from the mountains of Shengal and the immense determination and resilience of the people, youth, and women of Shengal. The genocidal attacks were repelled. Hundreds of Yazidis joined the guerrilla ranks in the resistance front against ISIS and fell as martyrs. We remember the guerrilla fighters and the Yazidi sons and daughters who became martyrs with deep respect and gratitude. We bow in reverence to their memory.

The struggle of the people of Shengal is entirely rightful and legitimate. Failing to support it, or opposing their cause for self-defense and autonomous administration, is utterly unacceptable and cannot be interpreted as good will.

The Yazidis, who have been subjected to massacres throughout history because of their beliefs and identity, now possess autonomous administration and self-defense. This is neither an extreme demand nor a violation of anyone’s rights; it is a fully legitimate demand; a natural requirement of human and societal existence.

There is no fair, legal, legitimate, or social basis for opposing this demand. On the contrary, it is necessary to support it, whether from the perspective of international law, fundamental human rights, universal humanitarian values, social ethics, or conscience. For the Iraqi state, the most appropriate solution is to resolve the Shengal issue based on guaranteeing autonomous administration and self-defense for its people. In fact, such a solution is also a constitutional requirement under Iraqi law.

As we once again commemorate the victims of the August 3 massacre, we sincerely congratulate the sons and daughters of Shengal, who stood firm in the face of one of the fiercest and most brutal attacks in history; an attack not only recorded in history, but also countered by great resistance and heroism.

We believe that the resistance led by women and youth will lead our Yazidi people toward freedom through the path of peace and a democratic society.”

A-H 

ANHA