SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) President Bafel Talabani on Tuesday welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to formally recognize the genocide committed by the Islamic State (ISIS) against the Yazidis.
“The UK’s decision is a positive and a great step to further shed light on the heinous crimes that have been committed against the Yazidis and the Kurds in general,” Talabani said in a message.
In the meantime, PUK’s Talabani extended his warmest gratitude to the UK’s government upon that historical decision, according to the message.
“We appreciate their [UK’S] efforts to establish justice,” he said.
Talabani also reaffirmed that it’s the duty of all sides to acquire international community support in order to acknowledge all genocides against the Kurdish people and protect the rights of Yazidis.
The United Kingdom formally acknowledged that acts of genocide were committed against the Yazidi people by ISIS in 2014, according to an announcement.
The announcement comes ahead of events marking the nine year anniversary of atrocities committed by ISIS against the Yazidi people.
“The Yazidi population suffered immensely at the hands of Daesh nine years ago and the repercussions are still felt to this day. Justice and accountability are key for those whose lives have been devastated,” said the UK’s Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad.
“Today we have made the historic acknowledgment that acts of genocide were committed against the Yazidi people. This determination only strengthens our commitment to ensuring that they receive the compensation owed to them and are able to access meaningful justice,” he said.
The Yazidis are an ancient religious minority in eastern Syria and northwest Iraq that Islamic State viewed as supposed devil worshippers for their faith that combines Zoroastrian, Christian, Manichean, Jewish and Muslim beliefs.
The jihadist group killed thousands of Yazidis, enslaved 7,000 Yazidi women and girls and displaced most of the 550,000-strong community from their ancestral home in northern Iraq.
Britain, which officially recognises only four other historic instances, including the Holocaust as genocide, said it would continue to help lead global efforts against IS propaganda.
