In an interview with ANF, Şêx Ilyas Cindo, one of the notables of the Feqîran tribe, said that the freedom of Êzîdxan (Yazidi land) and Kurdistan could be secured by adopting the ideas of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. “There is no difference between Êzîdxan and Kurdistan, they constitute a whole. Kurdistan is a great country. These lands take strength from the ideas of Öcalan. If we unite around his ideas, no force can stand against us,” Cindo said.

'PESHMERGA DIDN'T KEEP ITS WORD'

Cindo underlined that the Yazidi people suffered a lot because of the ruling party KDP’s betrayal. “Before the ISIS onslaught in August 2014, the KDP peshmerga promised that they would fight ISIS. No one left their home until noon on the day of the massacre, and we prepared to resist. We first took the children and women to the Shengal mountains so that they could stay in safety, and we returned to our villages to fight back ISIS. When we returned, we saw that the people were fleeing. We realized that the promises made by the peshmerga were just lies. They left the people to die and fled. We came to the conclusion that Shengal was subjected to major conspiracies.”

PKK FIGHTERS DEFENDED KURDS

“After realizing that we had been betrayed, we understood that we had no other place to take shelter in, but our mountains. Especially in the first days of the massacre. Öcalan's guerrillas came to Shengal and fought heroically to protect the Yazidi people. If the guerrillas had not come to save us, even 5 percent of the Yazidi community would not have survived,” Cindo remarked.

‘SHENGAL REPRESENTS THE ORIGIN OF THE KURDISH PEOPLE’

Cindo pointed out that the peoples of Kurdistan could liberate their lands and achieve national freedom by adopting the ideas of Kurdish leader Öcalan. “After the massacre, those who remain loyal to their lands and faith would unite. Rojava and North Kurdistan are strong thanks to the ideas of Öcalan. Shengal represents the origin of the Kurdish people. Those who betray the lands of Kurdistan also betray Kurdish roots.”

'WE SHOULD UNITE AROUND OUR FORCES'

“Our lands are fertile, and our mountains are a symbol of thousands of years of resistance. Regardless of their national differences, all peoples should unite around their forces and support each other. Kurdistan can only be united in this way. If they gave me the Golden Horn as a gift, I would not accept it. Dying under the shade of a tree in Kurdistan is more beautiful and honourable for me than being a sultan of another country. These lands are ours. Our elders used to say that if you don't have land, you have nothing,” Cindo concluded.