Kurds and their friends in Europe have gathered in the German city Düsseldorf where the 22nd International Kurdish Culture Festival has kicked off today.

Tens of thousands of people are joining the festival which began with the performance of Koma Berxwedan and continued with a speech by the PYD (Democratic Union Party) Co-chair Saleh Muslim who was welcomed to the stage in company with slogans “Şehid namirin” [Martrys are immortal] and “Bijî berxwedana Rojava" [Long live the Rojava resistance].

PYD co-chair Muslim, who spoke Kurdish, stressed that Kurds were the most organized people in the Middle East where -he recalled- a brotherhood of peoples has been built and revolution has been achieved thanks to the efforts of the Kurdish martyrs and the organized state of the Kurdish people.

Muslim called attention to the ISIS savagery going on in Sinjar region since the occupation of the town by inhuman gangs on 3 August, describing this as the 73rd massacre the Yezidi people have suffered in their history, and underlined that; "Sinjar is Kurdistan and has a place inside the spirit of the Kurdish people."

Muslim vowed to protect Sinjar and its people, and not allow the accomplishment of the 73rd decree against Yezidis.

"We are saying this to the whole world; today is the day of Kurds who will soon be leading all peoples in the Middle East", Muslim said and called on all peoples defending human values and democracy to be in solidarity with the Kurds.

The co-chair of the PYD emphasized that this is a matter of humanity, not a problem of the Kurdish people.

Speaking after, co-chair of the European Yezidi Confederation, Ali Atalan drew attention to the situation of the Yezidis, and pointed out that Sinjar has contributed to the union of the Kurdish people.

"The enemies of the Kurdish people must know that Kurds and Yezidis aren't who they used to be. The more massacres we face, the stronger we will and our unity will grow", Atalan said and recalled that the ISIS gangs that occupied Sinjar were against not only the Kurdish people but also all human values.

Atalan added that as the European Yezidi Confederation they called for democratic autonomy for the regions inhabited by Yezidis.