SHENGAL - Shengal Autonomous Assembly Co-Chair Xezal Reşo, who reacted to the attempts of the KDP and Iraqi forces to enter Shengal, said that they would not accept anything out of the will of the Yazidis and that they would not allow those who were caused the edict to enter their lands.

 

The armed forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Iraqi army wanted to enter Shengal on October 2. As a result of the resistance of the people of Shengal, these forces had to retreat. The retreating KDP forces made a  concentration around Shengal on October 4 and wanted to enter once again. Against this, the people once again started a vigil by going to the public order points and people’s assemblies. Xezal Reşo, Co-Chair of the Shengal Autonomous Assembly, spoke to our agency regarding the developments.

 

Resistance won

 

Drawing attention to the attempts to attack Yazidis in her speech, Xezal said: ‘’First of all, I would like to thank our Yazidi people who resisted the invasion attempt. The resistance on October 2 was successful. KDP and Iraqi forces have been trying to enter Shengal for a long time. They wanted to carry out the edict against the Yazidis today as well. In addition to these attempts of the KDP and the Iraqi army, the Turkish army continues its attacks against our people.’’

 

‘There is an all-out attack’

 

Xezal made the following assessment regarding the reasons for the attacks: ‘’An all-out and special attack is being carried out against us. We are under attack from many directions. The games are still going on against us and they want to break the will of our people. They want to break the resistance of our people. They want to break the alliance, the unity between the Yazidis. The agreement on October 9 was made on this basis. With this agreement, they want to purge our military forces and destroy the will of our people.’’

 

‘The Yazidi society is revolutionary’

 

Stating that the Yazidi people are not as they used to be, Xezal said that they are now organized. Xezal continued: ‘’Society is not like before the edict, society is now awakened. Today our people are organized and a revolutionary society. As friend Zerdeşt said, ‘The Yazidis are not afraid.’ Indeed, it is now. They are now awake against different games. That is why they are attacking our people once again.’’

 

‘The society is aware of the October 9 game’

 

Xezal stated that the public is aware of the game intended to be played with the 9 October agreement and said: ‘’Some politicians, such as Haydar Şeşo, talk about the fact that the forces did not pass to Shengal. They use the PKK as an excuse and target it. However, they should know that only Yazidis have self-defense force in here. Yazidis defend themselves. Yazidis have been aware of the alliance between Turkey, Baghdad and Hewlêr from the very beginning. They resisted it. After today, we will never allow the realization of the plans and projects that are intended to be realized against Shengal.’’

 

‘We do not need the KDP and Iraq to defend us’

 

Underlining the importance of the people’s resistance against the KDP and the Iraqi army, Xezal said: ‘’We are proud of our people. We became the voice of our people. We are the pioneers of the people and we represent them. We express the wishes of our people. When KDP and Iraqi army forces came on October 2, we only expressed the wishes of our people and did not allow these forces to enter Shengal. Here, Yazidis, women, children and youth, came together against the KDP and Iraqi forces. The truth is that Yazidis no longer believe to them. How will those who left you alone in the past protect you now? We do not need their protection.’’

 

‘If they say democracy, let them act accordingly’

 

Drawing attention to the elections to be held in Iraq on October 10, Xezal said: ‘’Let allow our candidates go to the South, too. Let them visit the camps of the Yazidis. Everyone can act according to their own will. Yazidis can vote for whomever they want to vote for. If they say there is democracy and they talk about democracy, let them act accordingly. Anyone should be able to vote how they want. We have never been against it. We are not disturbed by the candidacy of Viyan, Mihemed and Şêx Semir.’’

 

‘They make discrimination in election works’

 

Stating that there is discrimination against the works of Yazidi candidates in the region, Xezal said: ‘’Now the election work is being done. And we say that the same opportunities should be provided for the candidates of the Yazidi Freedom and Democracy Party (PADÊ). However, currently, posters of the PADÊ candidate Şêx Semir Derwêş are not allowed to be hung in the camps and on the streets where Yazidis live, and works are prevented. On the other hand, other Yazidi candidates are coming to Shengal with the peshmerga and Iraqi army forces. This is unacceptable. We said to the coming forces, we do not want confusion. However, if all candidates are treated equally, we will allow candidates Viyan and Mihemed to come and work in Shengal. We told them that our forces could protect both candidates. Again, we can welcome them with great enthusiasm. We do not want a war to break out among the Yazidis.’’

 

‘The Yazidis are not only protecting themselves, but also the Iraqi people’

 

Expressing that they do not want games to be get against the Êzidî people, Xezal finally stated: ‘’Our society is now able to protect itself. They no longer accept things against their will. The agreement between Hewler and Baghdad was made against the want and will of the Yazidis. We were the ones fighting against ISIS. It was us who resisted. We were the ones who did not leave our lands. We were the ones protecting the Iraqi people and their lands. The Yazidis not only protected their own people, but also the Iraqi people. If the power that caused the edict comes to our lands again, we will not accept it. We will not allow anything to happen here out of the will of the Yazidi society.’’