On March 18, Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan sent a letter to the Yazidi people, saying: “The Call for Peace and Democratic Society is also a response to the 73rd Yazidi massacre. The process we have started will most of all ensure the existence and freedom of our Yazidi people.”

Öcalan saluted the struggle of our Yazidi people and expressed his unwavering support for their demands for freedom under all circumstances, stating: “The freedom of the Yazidis is intertwined with the freedom of the peoples of the Middle East. The process we have initiated will, above all, ensure the existence and freedom of the Yazidi people. This call is a Renaissance, and it will be, above all, the Renaissance of the Yazidi people. This process will achieve success through shared emotions and struggle.”

The Democratic Autonomous Administration of Shengal released a statement responding to Öcalan’s letter.

Reading the statement, Cîhan Celo, Co-Chair of the Democratic Autonomous Assembly of Shengal, said that the Yazidi community received great morale and strength from Öcalan’s letter and vowed that they will increase their struggle in line with the perspective he presented for the Yazidi community.

Cîhan Celo stated, “The letter offers us the perspective of strengthening the Yazidi faith and taking the philosophy of freedom as a basis in order to prevent another genocide. In his letter, Leader Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] said, 'This call is a Renaissance, and it will be, above all, the Renaissance of the Yazidi people.’ We will put this renaissance into practice on the basis of our own organization and self-defense.”

Cîhan Celo stated that the letter penetrated into the souls of the people of Shengal as the spring and said, “Like the flowers that bloom with the warmth of the sun, this message has beautified Shengal. It has opened the door from darkness to light for the Yazidi community. The perspective given in the letter has rekindled the hopes of the Yazidi community for freedom in the future.”

Cîhan Celo continued: “Now is the time for the freedom of Yazidis. This time was born with Leader Apo's paradigm coming to life in Shengal. The Yazidi community, looking to the future with hope, is now building its freedom with the principle of 'Democratic Society' put forward by Leader Apo. The freedom of Shengal is directly linked to the freedom of Leader Apo. It is the Yazidis who need freedom the most and it is Leader Apo who is leading the struggle for freedom most strongly. We know that the freedom of the Yazidi people is possible through the freedom of Leader Apo.”

Saluting the upcoming birthday of Öcalan’s birthday on April 4, Cîhan Celo said: “With this awareness and determination, we welcome April 4 with great enthusiasm and excitement. April 4 is a date when we reject slavery, despair and surrender and start freedom and resistance. We are marching towards a free and successful future with commitment and will. As new history is being written in the mountains of Shengal on this meaningful day, we salute Leader Apo with the deepest respect and love. We will continue to build a democratic society and realize our own renaissance. With a hope for the days when we will meet with Leader Apo and build a free and autonomous Shengal, we congratulate all humanity on the birthday of Leader Apo.”