The residents of the Yazidi settlement Shengal (Sinjar) in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) have been holding demonstrations recently to mark the 23rd anniversary of the international conspiracy against Kurdish leader Öcalan that resulted in his abduction from Kenya to Turkey on 15 February 1999. The people are protesting the conspirators in public despite the crackdown of the al-Kadhimi government.

'WE WILL FIGHT FOR ÖCALAN’S FREEDOM'

Berfê Îlyas and Caklîn Xanesorî spoke to ANF about the international conspiracy on its 23rd anniversary.

Berfê Îlyas praised Abdullah Öcalan's resistance in İmralı prison and said that no matter what they do, they will not be able to remunerate for the Kurdish leader's efforts. “If there were justice in this world and if human rights institutions did their job, Öcalan would not have been held prisoner for 23 years. The ruling powers are afraid of his ideas, so they keep him in prison and impose an aggravated isolation.”

Îlyas pointed to Öcalan's remarks about the Yazidi community, saying, “We will do everything we can for our leader's physical freedom. He wants us all to protect our culture, land, country and language, to raise our children accordingly, and to create a just society. We, mothers, will fight for his ideas to the end. We will fight for his freedom to the end.”

'WE RECOGNIZED STRUGGLE THANKS TO ÖCALAN'

Xanesor Women's Council’s Spokeswoman Caklîn Xanesorî made the following remarks:

“As the Yazidi community, we regard Öcalan’s freedom as our own. Thanks to his ideas, oppressed peoples have rebelled and are fighting for freedom. We have been subjected to 74 mass slaughters throughout history, but only during the last one could we get organized within the framework of Öcalan’s ideas, and we fought for freedom. We made it thanks to Öcalan.”

Xanesorî revealed that women are organized around the ideas of Öcalan.

'NO FORCE CAN BREAK OUR WILL'

The spokeswoman also remarked about the attacks and threats against Shengal, stating the following: “The Iraqi government has never been this aggressive towards the Yazidi community before. Following the 9 October 2020 agreement, the al-Kadhimi government has been attacking our community constantly. Our recent demonstrations for Öcalan have been blocked by the government. This is wrong. According to the Iraqi laws, it is not forbidden to read Öcalan and get to know his ideas. The Iraqi government claims that it is more democratic than any other state, but that's just rhetoric. The al-Kadhimi government launched plans with the KDP and the Turkish state against Shengal. As the Yazidi community, we will embrace the ideas of Öcalan and our achievements to the end.”