Commenting on recent events in Sinjar, Cizre Yazidi House (Cizre Ezidi Evi) co-chair Faruk Tozo said, “The main target of threats against Yazidis are the Kurds. Kurds are targeted by the genocidal assaults not only in Sinjar, but everywhere. All decrees Yazidi people are subjected to are massacres carried out against Kurdish people”.
Turkish state backed gangs
Drawing attention to the meaning of word “decree” (“ferman” in Turkish), Tozo said it means “order”, adding, “That word originated from the decrees issued by the Ottoman Empire, calling for Yazidis to be massacred. There have been 161 decree issued up to now. And also there have been 15 fatwa [Islamic religious law] issued to massacre Yazidis”.
According to a report by Hawar News, Tozo said the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) aims were similar, adding “The Turkish state has supported mercenaries. They aim to destroy ancient civilisation in the region, and to change the demographic structure to create a monolithic society”.
Resistance
Tozo said the Turkish state had similarities with ISIS. “They are on the same page when it comes to carrying out a genocide of the Kurdish people. However, the people stood together against those invaders. There are several examples of that in history. Hemo Şero in Sinjar rejected handing over the Armenian people, who had escaped from genocide. For that reason the Ottoman state sentenced Şero to death”.
Continuation of monolithic policies
Toro said Turkey could not accept the multicultural structure of the region and therefore had imposed monolithic policies since the Ottoman era. He said the massacres of Yazidis were part of that policy, emphasising that the Yazidi people should learn from history to understand the current dangers.
