Êzîdî people living in Europe rallied in front of the UN office in Geneva to mark the first anniversary of the massacre perpetrated by the ISIS gangs in Shengal town of South Kurdistan on August 3, 2014.

Answering a call by Shengal Diaspora Assembly, many Êzîdî people joined the rally in front of the UN saying that they will never give up on their demand for autonomy even if all the Êzîdî people would be massacred. Êzîdîs called on the international community, primarily the UN, to recognise the killings in Shengal as genocide and criticized the dirty policies of the KDP on Shengal.

Many Êzîdî people, coming from all over Europe and supported by Sweden Democratic Kurdish Society Centre as well as many other NGOs, first gathered at Parc des Cropettes and marched to UN building, chanting the slogans “Shengal genocide must be recognised”, “Freedom and justice to Êzîdîs”, “Long Live Shengal resistance”.

Speaking at the rally in front of the UN building, Fikret İğrek, the head of Shengal Diaspora Assembly, strongly condemned the genocide in Shengal and called on the UN to be more sensitive towards what happened in Shengal. İğrek stressed in his speech that the UN and the international community have not yet taken any concrete steps concerning the genocide in Shengal despite the frequent appeals made by the Êzîdî people.

İğrek further drew attention to the policies of the KDP on Shengal and said “Without freedom of Shengal, Kurdistan cannot be free”, adding that Êzîdîs today owe their survival to PKK, YPG and the YPJ. İğrek stressed that the Êzîdî people want to build their autonomous administration to avoid being subjected to further massacres and that Êzîdîs have formed their own self-defence force, the YBŞ (Shengal Resistance Units), for that purpose.

Speaking after, KCD co-chair Murat Ceylan strongly criticised the policies of the KDP on Shengal as well as in 4 parts of Kurdistan, drawing attention to the necessity of the formation of Kurdish national unity: “If we are talking about the unity of the Kurds, then we have to defend the resistance waged in Shengal. Failing to defend the resistance in Shengal can only lead to further massacres”.

Ceylan recalled that many Êzîdî women are still kept hostage by ISIS gangs and stressed that the Kurdish women would not be free without the freedom of the Êzîdî women abducted by ISIS. Ceylan called on all the Êzîdî and Kurdish people living in Europe to raise their voices and to take to the streets in order for the rescue of the abducted women, for the freedom of Shengal and objection to the dirty war imposed on the Kurds.

Following the speeches, Êzîdî people submitted a file to the UN authorities highlighting their demands, which are as follows:

-Recognition of the massacres in Shengal as a genocide,

-Recognition of Shengal as an autonomous region,

-Recognition of the YBŞ as the self-defence force of the Êzîdî people,

-Recognition of Êzîdî belief as a faith,

-Establishment of a security zone in Shengal under UN control.