Following the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan’s threats, the situation and agenda in Shengal have changed, and military activity has increased. Fidan’s statements about the threat of invasion, along with Sudani’s visits, have raised suspicion and concern. What was discussed during these visits, what decisions were made, and what agreements were reached remain unknown. However, it is clear that the Turkish state has a plan regarding Shengal. It appears to be exerting serious pressure on the Iraqi state to include it in this plan and to take practical steps together, indeed, even imposing this. Following Fidan’s threats and the visits, the noticeable increase in the number of soldiers on village roads, streets, marketplaces, checkpoints, and almost everywhere in Shengal suggests that military operations could be launched at any moment — and they may indeed be.
Sometimes 20, sometimes 30 military vehicles patrol one after another. These developments and signs revive memories of the days before the genocide. In such a process, why are weapons being collected from people’s homes at night, door to door? What does it mean to both attempt to confiscate the people’s weapons and at the same time bring 22,000 ISIS members and their families into Iraq? Will these ISIS members brought to Iraq be armed under the name of the Iraqi army and unleashed once again against the Yazidis? While responsibility is assumed of them under the name of “citizenship,” why is the same responsibility not shown toward Yazidis living in camps? Who were the ones forced to leave their homes and homeland? They were those who had to flee because of those “citizens” who became ISIS. Yet ISIS members who attacked Shengal and Rojava of their own will are being protected and granted the responsibilities of “citizenship.” Why does the Iraqi state apply this distinction and double standard among its own citizens? Instead of holding ISIS accountable for the genocide, trying them, and answering to the Yazidis, it is protecting ISIS and exposing the Yazidis to attacks.
Do they want to make the genocide happen again? This approach and attitude deeply wound the Yazidis. If there is a plan for an attack, it should be abandoned; the duty of citizenship should be fulfilled and the rights of the Yazidis must be legally guaranteed. The Iraqi state has still not accounted for the genocide. The 120,000 Yazidis displaced because of it are still living in tents. Even families who have returned are struggling to resettle. The fate of thousands of abducted people remains unknown. There are hundreds of mass graves, and the story of the genocide could be told through thousands of examples. Yet these realities are ignored, even though they happened before the eyes of the world. The Iraqi state is aware of this reality as well, because Shengal lies within Iraq’s borders and its people are citizens of the Republic of Iraq. Therefore, it is the Iraqi state that should most strongly stand by the Yazidis people, ease their living conditions, and fulfill its duties and responsibilities. However, the current policy does not appear to protect the rights of Yazidis citizens.
If an attack occurs, there will be losses on both sides
Eleven years have passed since the genocide. The night of August 3, when we were left to the claws of ISIS, when feelings of loneliness and helplessness were experienced, remains a deep wound in our memory. This became a major lesson for the Yazidis, and we drew conclusions from this experience. With this lesson and experience, we built our self-organization and self-defense. Now the Iraqi state is targeting this organized structure and our defense force. This means disregarding the Yazidis existence and targeting the gains that have been achieved. This reality is also a crime according to the Iraqi state’s own laws. The Iraqi state should not sacrifice its own legal principles and the Yazidis existence to a plan of attack on Shengal. Historically and today, the Yazidis have never attacked anyone. Even though the Iraqi state knows this, why is it disturbed by Yazidi self-organization? Why does it see Yazidis existence as a threat? This mistaken and flawed approach benefits neither the state nor the Yazidis.
If this policy is insisted upon and an attack is carried out, it will not bring political gains for either side; on the contrary, it will result in losses. As noted above, considering the current situation in Shengal, there is a possibility that the Iraqi state, with the support of the Turkish state, may attack Shengal. In our assessment, ISIS could attack the Yazidi people wearing Iraqi army uniforms. This is a grave danger. Everyone with a conscience and a sense of humanity — especially every Yazidi wherever they may be — must be active in the defense of Shengal. Because Shengal is our place, our faith, our religion, our existence, and our roots. As Yazidis who survived 74 genocides, we sustained and protected our existence on Mount Shengal; in the face of current dangers, we must be more vigilant, resolute, and resistant than ever. For this, Yazidis must quickly strengthen their unity and alliance and protect their achievements. As Abdullah Öcalan said, “On these lands, resistance has become a culture.” With such awareness and stance, if a general approach is developed, Shengal will be the one that prevails.
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