We call on all responsible parties of Iraq: Resolve the problems in Shingal by mean of dialogue and negotiations

Statement by our Foreign Affairs Spokespersons Feleknas Uca & Hişyar Özsoy:

We openly call on all responsible parties of Iraq: Resolve the problems in Shingal (Sinjar) by mean of dialogue and negotiations instead of a show of military strength

We have been closely following the news that the Iraqi Army has been accumulating troops in the village of Gir Zerik and its surroundings in Shingal (Sinjar) since the evening of April 20.  

On 26 November 2020, on behalf of our Co-Chairs, we had presented a letter to the Iraqi President Mr. Berhem Salih and the Iraqi Prime Minister Mr. Mustafa al-Kazim on the possible damages of a new military intervention, while the trauma of escape of the forces of Iraq and the Regional Government, which caused the people of Shingal to suffer the genocide in 2014 in the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS), is in fresh memory.  

We support the right of the Yazidi people in Shingal, who are victims of 74 massacres, to ensure their security as a people. The right to self-defense, which does not pose any threat to the territorial integrity of Iraq, is insurance for the Yazidis, who are still facing threats. We expect everyone to respect this legitimate right.

Considering the fact that the future of Shingal, still one of the disputed enclaves according to the Iraqi Constitution, will be decided by the people of Shingal, it is clear that military interventions in this region will adversely affect the social and political stability of Iraq. We would like to make an open call on all responsible parties of Iraq to spend more efforts to resolve the problems by means of dialogue and negotiations instead of a show of military strength in Shingal. We invite all parties to take responsibility to guarantee all democratic rights of the people of Shingal, first and foremost their right to self-defense.

Feleknas Uca & Hişyar Özsoy
HDP’s Co-spokespersons for Foreign Affairs
20 April 2021