SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) President Bafel Talabani on Thursday stated that the Yazidi people have become the victim of political rivalry, urging the Iraqi government to compensate them as soon as possible.
Commemorating the 9th Anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide, Talabani in a message said that “No practical steps have been taken to compensate our Yazidi brothers and sisters so far.”
“The Yazidi people have become the victim of political rivalry, and their homeland Sinjar remained a post-war destroyed city,” he said.
Meanwhile, Talabani asked all sides to take practical steps with a national and human spirit and become a hope for the Yazidi people instead of further deepening their wounds.
“It’s our all duty to not forget this massive crime and work to achieve genocide recognition,” Talabani noted.
“We certainly won’t forget the stance of countries who formally acknowledged that acts of genocide were committed against the Yazidis,” Talabani added.
In the meantime, PUK’s Talabani urged the Iraqi government to fulfill its legal, as well as human duties and responsibilities for the Yazidis.
“We call on the Iraqi government to not play negligence anymore in compensating the Yazidi people and reconstructing Sinjar,” Talabani continued.
“Peace and blessing upon the spirits of this unforgettable crime and prosperity for our resilient Yazidi brothers and sisters,” he concluded the message.
The Yazidis are an ancient religious minority in eastern Syria and northwest Iraq.
The Islamic State (ISIS) during its offensives in 2014 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
The jihadist group viewed Yazidis as supposed devil worshippers for their faith that combines Zoroastrian, Christian, Manichean, Jewish and Muslim beliefs.
