People in Shengal express support for PADÊ

Many people in Shengal have expressed support for PADÊ and called on the Iraqi government to lift the ban on the Yazidi party.

The Autonomous Administration of Shengal has called for the ban on PADÊ to be lifted. The Yazidi Party for Freedom and Democracy (Partiya Azadî û Demokrasiya Êzîdiya, PADÊ) has been closed according to a decision of the Iraqi Judicial Council on 6 August. At the same time, the Kurdish parties Tevgera Azadî and Partîya Enîya Têkoşîna Demokrasiyê were also banned. PADÊ has campaigned for the Yazidi community's right to self-determination since 2017 as an officially approved party in Iraq.

The closure of the Yazidi-Kurdish parties in Iraq was wanted by Turkey. Protests continue against the ban. The Autonomous Administration in Shengal set up a tent that was visited by many people in support of PADÊ.

Xidir Hecî Mîrza, tribal leader of the Qîrniya and member of the leadership council of the tribes of Shengal, made a statement in front of the tent on behalf of the Autonomous Administration and recalled that those responsible for the ISIS massacre of 3 August 2014 have not yet been held accountable.

"The massacre carried out 10 years ago has already been officially recognized as genocide by 13 countries. This genocide took place on Iraqi soil, but the Iraqi government has not recognized it to this day," said Mîrza, adding that "Baghdad has not lived up to its governmental responsibility towards the Yazidi community, and official recognition was finally expected on the tenth anniversary of the massacre. Instead, the Iraqi government banned PADÊ and two other Kurdish parties."

The tribal leader continued: "We condemn the closure of these parties. PADÊ represents the will of the Yazidi community. The decision to ban them means that the will and existence of the Yazidi people are ignored and do not count. The decision is based on an agreement between Turkey and Iraq, and it is common knowledge that the Turkish state occupies Iraqi territory."

Xidir Hecî Mîrza said that "the party bans do not serve Iraqi interests, but rather those of the Turkish state and the KDP. We call on the Iraqi government to fulfill its duty towards the Yazidi community and reverse the anti-democratic decision against PADÊ."