[Shingal, Ezidikhan, Iraq. October 24, 2019] In a sharp rebuke to the region’s dominant nation-states, representatives of Yezidi, Mandean, Shaback, Dom, Lom, and Zoroastrian minorities recently joined in one voice to publicly denounce the Republic of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the Republic of Turkey.
Twelve national delegates met in a general assembly on 6 October during the Jamayi Session of the Ezidikhan Government’s conference held in Shingal, Ezidikhan (Iraq) to negotiate and sign the Proclamation of the Alliance of Indigenous Nations of the Middle East. Their joint signed article of denunciation soon followed the Proclamation of the Alliance and reads as follows:
“On behalf of the communities of Ezidikhan and in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we the representatives of Yezidi, Mandaean, Shabak, Dom, Lom and Zoroastrian nations come together to publicly denounce the Republic of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the Republic of Turkey for the great inhumanities they have committed against us.”
“Over the past thirty years both the Iraqi and Kurdish governments have acted to take away control of Yezidi lands and natural resources through occupation and oppression. Most recently Yezidi croplands have been burned by Kurdish forces. They have engaged in acts of genocide against us and have also provided aid and comfort to organizations like Daesh in their campaigns of destruction.”
“Since 1980, the Turkish armed forces have committed acts of genocide against the Yezidi and other minority groups in the country. They have also denied the Dom and Lom populations the legal status of ethnic minorities.”
“The Iraqi and Kurdish governments have engaged in negotiations with international oil and gas companies to assume control of resources on what are our ancestral indigenous lands. They have participated in the forced removal of our people for their lands to ensure full exploitation of these lands. All of these activities were without consultation or approval of our peoples.”
“We can no longer be silent witnesses to the destruction of our lands, our peoples, and our cultures. The Republic of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Syrian Democratic Army, and the Republic of Turkey is hereby put on notice that we will do whatever is necessary for the safety and security of our people and that such action may include the termination of political and governmental connection to you and the establishment of an independent sovereign state.”
The article of denunciation was drafted and signed on October 6, 2019 by Ezidikhan’s Minister of Justice Nallein Sowilo together with Baba Salem Daoud for the Yezidis, by Ahmad Alshiekh for the Afrin community, by Awat Darya for Zoroastrians, by Hamza al Najjar for the Shabak community, and by Sattar Rahman for the Mandaean community.