İSTANBUL - Warning about the possible massacres on Shengal, PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan said: "Keep building your free life", emphasizing the importance of self-defence.

 

After the Syrian civil war that started in 2011, ISIS, which was put on the field as a project of some global and regional powers who wanted to redesign the Middle East, carried out genocides against members of different ethnicities, identities and beliefs, especially in Iraq and Syria. ISIS, which seized the heavy weapons of the Iraqi army by taking Mosul, and the heavy weapons of the Syrian army by taking Raqqa, started massacring the people of the region.

 

ISIS, which captured Mosul without encountering any resistance, then targeted everyone who did not obey it, such as the Êzidîs, Shabek and Kakai Kurds, Shiites, and Turkmens. Taking Enbar, Fallujah, Ramadi, Tikrit, Baac, Havice, Mosul and Tal Afar under its control, ISIS narrowed the circle around Shengal, the home of the Êzidîs for thousands of years.

 

On August 3, 2014, the attack on Shengal began. The Êzidîs, left alone by the Iraqi army and KDP peshmerga against ISIS, was subjected to an attempt of genocide for the 74th time in their history. As a result of the attacks, approximately 400,000 Êzidîs living in Shengal were forced to leave their homes and lands. During the migration, 280 people died of hunger and thirst, and between 4,400 and 5,800 people were abducted. While hundreds of people were killed and buried in mass graves, 12 mass graves have been discovered so far. Hundreds of Êzidîs are still missing. The attack went down in history as the 74th edict for the Êzidîs.

 

A group of People's Defense Forces (HPG) and People's Defense Units (YPG) came to the aid of the Êzidîs during the genocide where the world remained silent. These forces, who managed to bring thousands of Êzidîs to the safe area with the corridor they opened, then liberated Shengal with their battle against ISIS. The Êzidîs started to form their own self-defense forces, and as a first step Shengal Resistance Units (Yekîneyên Berxwedana Shingal-YBŞ) and Êzidî Women's Units (Yekinêyen Jinên Êzidxan-YJE) were established. Today, these forces ensure the security of Shengal.

 

THE PERPETRATOR OF THE ATTACKS IS TURKEY

 

The Êzidîs ISIS wanted to annihilate in 2014 are now facing Turkey's air strikes. On 16 August, 2 people were killed and 3 people were injured in the air strike on the Old Bazaar in Shengal. Hours after this attack, a health center in the village of Sikêniyê in Shengal was bombed. As a result of the attack, 8 people, including 4 health workers, lost their lives and 4 people were injured. 

 

PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan has frequently warned about threats against Êzidîs, who want to be erased from history from the past to the present. Öcalan emphasized Shengal during the meetings he held with his lawyers, family and political delegations when they were allowed to go to İmralı.

 

ÖCALAN WARNED ABOUT THE DANGER YEARS AGO

 

Öcalan could forsee the course of developments in the Middle East, even before there was a civil war in Syria and an organization called ISIS, and pointed to threats against Êzidîs. In his meeting with his lawyers on December 28, 2006, Öcalan predicted that the developments in Iraq would turn into a matter of life and death, and he recommended that every Kurd must think about what will happen. Öcalan, who shed a light on the developments in Iraq in particular, said, “The Êzidîs are the majority in Shengal, they may be subjected to a massacre. Likewise, the Maxmur region may be subjected to a massacre, as I have said before. Necessary measures should be taken. The situation in Iraq right now is even more dire than it was in the Second World War. In the Second World War, the parties knew what to do, but in Iraq now, no one knows what to do. Things can go south very easily."

 

A few months after Öcalan's warning, on August 14, 2007, two Êzidî settlements in Shengal (Sibe Şex Xidir, Tilizer) were bombed. According to the data of the Iraqi Red Crescent, 796 people were killed and 1,562 injured in the attack carried out with trucks loaded with bombs.

 

'ATTACKS OF THREE COUNTRIES MAY INCREASE'

 

In a meeting with him on September 5, 2007, following these attacks, Öcalan would say the following this time: “You know, I warned you about the danger of the Êzidîs being massacred before. I also made some warnings about Iran. Iran is very ruthless, it is a powerful state, it will carry out massacres… This massacre was caused because Talabani and Barzani did not take a defense order against the Êzidîs. It is not possible to protect a society that does not adopt a defensive system. Talabani-Barzani are not always in a position to resist. Their political stance change according to the conjuncture. PÇDK is also doing it wrong! It does not take the measures for our people who are left defenseless there. It can't get into the defensive order and prevent the massacre. How can you protect the people if you don't get into defensive formation? Syria, Turkey and Iran will step up such actions in the future. Iran will carry out massacres through Hezbollah, and Syria through Arab organizations. I had warned before that there would be attacks against Êzidîs, right? Why didn't they take security measures? There is a massacre every day in Kirkuk. If they provide the people with the means of self-defense, they cannot go into the villages and carry out suicide bombings. The Shengal massacre, the Iranian operations, the napalm use you mentioned, and the isolation imposed on me are all connected.”

 

EMPHASIS ON NATIONAL CONGRESS

 

Öcalan continued to draw attention to Shengal during the meeting he held with the HDP delegation on August 15, following the ISIS attack on Shengal in 2014. "Why don't they see what I saw here a year ago?" Öcalan asked, "Politics is not done like that. Politics is the art of not allowing these things to happen to the people. This is not what a leader would do. We neither forget or accept this massacre nor we sit down and weep. Our role, our mission should have been to prevent them. I am very sad and I am angry at this inadequacy of friends. They had to take precautions beforehand. These massacres will never be forgotten in the history of humanity."

 

In the same meeting, Öcalan also underlined that the developments in Shengal, Rojava and Mosul showed everyone how essential it is to convene the National Congress for the Kurds. Emphasizing that the Kurds should convene their National Congress as soon as possible, Öcalan said, “I emphasized the importance of peacekeeping. When I said peacekeepers, they all thought of their hegemonia on their territory. But politics is to be able to forsee. Leadership does not mean thinking about what to do after developments have taken place. It's about predicting developments before they happen."

 

TO BUILD A FREE LIFE

  

In the meeting he held with his brother Mehmet Öcalan on June 5, 2019, the PKK Leader again focused on the situation of the Êzidîs. Mehmet Öcalan stated in his meetings that the people of Shengal love him and the Kurdish Freedom Movement very much and the PKK leader said, "It is true, I love them too. We can talk about two events for the freedom of Shengal. The first is Dewrêşê Evdî, the second is the struggle of our friends. The Yazidi people were massacred in a wide area from Shengal to Raqqa. However, we eliminated the forces that carried out massacres in all these areas and managed to avenge the Êzidî people. That's why we are happy. I send my endless respect and love to the people of Shengal. They shouldn't worry anymore. Let them continue to establish their own free lives."

 

 

 

MA / Ferhat Çelik