We condemn in the strongest terms the murder of Merwan Bedel, Co-chair of the Autonomous Governing Council in Shengal

Statement by our Foreign Affairs Co-spokespersons Feleknas Uca and Hişyar Özsoy:

On 7 December 2021, while driving in a civilian vehicle along with his two children, Merwan Bedel, who fought hard to defend the people of Shengal (Sinjar) during the period when ISIS launched a genocidal operation against Yazidi Kurds, was killed as a result of a drone attack in Xanesor district of Shengal. His children were both injured. We regard this attack as a war crime and condemn it.

Such attacks against Yazidis, which are almost a continuation of the genocide that ISIS could not complete, are a violation of international law, as well as being inhuman and immoral. Previous Turkish cross-border attacks have also included an airstrike against a hospital in Shengal, where eight people were killed. As we have repeatedly emphasized, many Kurdish civilians have been killed in Syria and Iraq due to Turkish cross-border military operations that violate both national borders and international law.

Yazidi Kurds in Shengal have posed no threat to anyone, including Turkey, and have been subjected to genocidal attacks 74 times in their history. ISIS attempted to commit the last genocide, killed and kidnapped thousands of Yazidis, but could not finalize its barbarism. Clearly, there are those who are eager to complete the work that ISIS left unfinished.

We would like to ask: What does the government of Turkey, a member of the NATO and Council of Europe, want from the Yazidi people in Shengal? How can you explain the bombing and murder of a father with his young children in a civilian car?

The international community, including the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, should investigate this attack, together with previous similar attacks, in all their dimensions. They should expose the perpetrators, and they should take on responsibility for preventing similar attacks in the future.

While we call on the Iraqi government to take the necessary measures to prevent such attacks from happening again, we also invite everyone who calls himself or herself a human being to stand in solidarity with the Yazidi people in Shengal, who are waging an honorable life-or-death struggle.

Feleknas Uca & Hişyar Özsoy
HDP’s Co-spokespersons for Foreign Affairs
8 December 2021