Participants of the conference in Baghdad called for the recognition of the Yazidi genocide and the autonomous administration of Shengal so that similar massacres can be prevented.
Ferman is the term the Yazidis use to refer to the massacres and extermination operations in their history. While in Ottoman usage the term stands for a decree of the Sultan, in the Yazidi community the word took on the denotation of persecutions and pogroms. The genocide and femicide that began with the rout of the KDP peshmerga and the ISIS invasion of Shengal on 3 August was the 74th ferman in Yazidi history.
On the ninth anniversary of the ISIS genocide against Yazidis in Shengal in 2014, a conference was held in Baghdad under the motto “Self-governance is the guarantee of life for the constituents in Iraq”.
The opening speech was made by Xezal Reşo who stated: “13 countries in the world have recognized the Shengal genocide so far. This crime against humanity must be recognized as a genocide by the Iraqi government as well. At the same time, the Autonomous Administration of Shengal should be recognized as the will of Yazidis and treated as such.”
Nayif Şemo on behalf of the Shengal People’s Assembly said: “The ferman against Yazidis is nothing new. This process began in the Ottoman era under the name of Islam and has continued up to date. During the last ferman, the Iraqi government and the KDP forces abandoned the Yazidis into the hands of savage ISIS gangs and fled. For this reason, we demand a self-governing system to be able to protect ourselves and to not face such attacks again.”
Speaking on behalf of the Shengal Families of Martyrs, Hemed Beşer said: “An international court to prosecute ISIS gangs that perpetrated a massacre against the Yazidis is yet to be founded. Iraqi government officials left Shengal alone and handed Yazidis over to ISIS. No investigation has been launched on this matter so far. We, therefore, demand that an international court be established to prosecute ISIS gangs and an investigation be launched against those who left the Yazidis defenseless.”
Dayê Şemo, in the name of women from Shengal, said: “Yazidi children were massacred on that dark day. Nine years have passed and Iraq is yet to recognize this massacre, in which Yazidi women were treated as slaves, as a genocide. As Yazidi women, we demand our rights and an immediate end to genocide.”
