Newly appointed Yezidi leader on the community's future

The problem of Shingal is our people live in tents and 350,000 of our people live in camps. We need to work with the government in Baghdad and the KRG in order for them to return home, for the women in ISIS [Islamic State] captivity to be returned and for services to be delivered to Shingal.
 
Nadia Murad complained to Donald Trump about the performance of the KRG and the Iraqi government. What do you make of her complaints?
 
Nadia Murad is a dear sister. She is a victim and symbol of ISIS’ assault on Yezidis. Nadia Murad has become a symbol and has relations with all countries. But we want her to know what she says when she gives statements. We wanted her to ask that the problem of Shingal be resolved, rather than say the government in Erbil and Baghdad are fighting over Shingal. I don’t agree with Nadia Murad. She should have said it in a different way. She should have called on the KRG and Baghdad to resolve the problem of Shingal on the negotiation table, rather than say there is a fight between the KRG and Baghdad over Shingal. 

How do you deal with a person whose statements you don’t agree with?
 
The Mir is vested with religious and worldly powers. Mir is leader or chief of their tribe and is head of the spiritual council. And the world has changed. We have influence over Yezidis and they respect us.
 

There are Yezidi Kurds in Germany, Armenia and other countries too. Who contacted you after being elected Mir of the Yezidis? And from northern and western Kurdistan? What do they think of you?

 

Yezidis exist everywhere, not just in Kurdistan. They live in Syrian Kurdistan, Turkish Kurdistan, Armenia, Georgia, Moscow and other places. They all have their own opinion. I think 80 percent of them support us. And I am their Mir. I have seen them. They contact us and I have relations with all of them. I believe 80 percent of them are behind us.
 
So 80 percent are behind you but the other 20 are not. Can the other 20 percent appoint their own Mir?
 
No. The Mir should live here with his own people in Lalish. Someone living in Europe cannot be Mir. Mir and the spiritual council are here. Someone living in Germany or America cannot just show up and say he is Mir of the Yezidis.
 
How do you persuade this 20 percent and why do they disagree with you? I think there was some protest in Sheikhan yesterday.
 
Some of our people from Shingal said they had conditions for a Mir. We asked them to share their concerns with us and we will discuss their conditions. They are our brothers. They ask for the formation of a council for them. During the reign of Mir Tahsin, we wanted to form a Yezidi Council and we got the approval for this when Mr Nechirvan was prime minister. And we will hopefully start doing this in the next few days. This is their condition and we told them we will discuss this after a chief had been appointed. They are our brothers and there are no problems between us.
 
Are these people from the family of the Mir or not?
  

Two days ago, our people from Shingal were a bit upset because of this condition. They said they had conditions, and we asked them to bring forward their conditions after a Mir had been elected. But today a cousin was also upset in Lalish, complaining we had given him any post. And I told him we will discuss finding something for him in Lalish or among Yezidis. He is our cousin. The majority of Yezidis are behind us. Two or three people getting upset is not a problem.
 
You will have four deputies. Who will they be, and how will they be appointed?
 

They will be my deputies and I will be dealing with them directly. It is different from the council. Mir Khairi will be my deputy for

religious affairs, Harman Mirza Beg will be my deputy who will be dealing with youth affairs, Sherzad Faruq Beg will be my deputy for social affairs, Jawhar Ali Beg will be my deputy for relations with Yezidis and diplomatic relations with countries. The Yezidi council has nearly 120 men and its own committees.

Is this council like a parliament for Yezidis?
 
Yes. The Yezidis have not just been around for 30 or 40 years. Yezidis have university teachers, judges, ministers. They live in Paris, Moscow, London. They all have degrees. We think Mir and the spiritual council cannot execute Yezidi affairs alone. There should be a council to complement these affairs.
 
Yezidis have asked for a self-governing body. Is this the foundation of setting up such a body for Shingal and other areas?

 

No. This is a council that defends Yezidi rights. The council will run Yezidi affairs and debate how we should deal with the KRG.
 
Will members of this council only be from southern Kurdistan or will they come from other places too? 

They will come from all over the world, though 80 percent might come from southern Kurdistan. But there are Yezidis living in Syria, Turkey, Armenia and Georgia. 

What will the significance of the spiritual council be when there is a Mir with four deputies along with a Yezidi council?

The Yezidi spiritual council deals exclusively with religious affairs of the community. It doesn’t deal with other things. The spiritual

council consists of four people and I am now head of the council. Now that I am Mir, I am also head of the spiritual council that executes religious affairs solely. 

 

Now that you are Mir of the Yezidis, you won’t go back to Germany. But for how long will you be in Kurdistan and how long abroad?

 

I have always been here, but went to Germany for some time when I was ill. I stayed there for three months when I underwent surgery. Then I came back home. I was there for 20 days too when Mir Tahsin was there. My job is here, not in Germany or France. What would I do there? 

 

Is your health good now?

 

Thank God, I am very good.

 

What are your requests from the KRG and the Iraqi government specifically? What do you as Yezidis want the KRG to do for you?

Big things happened to Yezidis after ISIS came. The KRG supported and helped us more. But the Iraqi government hasn’t helped us. But the KRG helped Yezidis, although the Yezidis expected more. But it was very good anyway and we are very thankful gfor the people of Kurdistan, from Zakho to Sulaimani, who welcomed and opened their doors to our people. 

 

What do you want from Iraq?

 

Yezidis are all in Kurdistan. We want the Iraqi government to talk to the government in Erbil to resolve the issue of Shingal which is

very important for us. We want Shingal to be a province and we do not want a disaster like this to befall us again. 

 

You say all Yezidis live in Kurdistan, but sometimes some Yezidis say Yezidis are not Kurds. Do you as a Yezidi Mir think Shingal is part of the Kurdistani territory? What do you have to say to the Yezidis who say Yezidis are not Kurds?

 

As far as religion is concerned, we are Yezidis. But as far as nationality is concerned, we are Kurds. And this was acknowledged by our ancestors. Those who say Yezidis are not Kurds make up only 20 percent of the Yezidi population. And this is their opinion. The world has changed. Eighty percent of Yezidis say they are Kurds. 

 

Is Shingal part of Kurdistan?

Shingal will become part of Kurdistan hopefully. 

 

Some Yezidis are Peshmerga, some are in Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), some are Hashd al-Shaabi. What is your message to these armed Yezidi forces? What do you want them to do for Yezidis?

Greetings to all of them. May the martyred rest in peace. I wish safety to those who are alive. I want all of them to serve the interests

of Yezidis and Shingal. I hope they reach an agreement among themselves. We are in Iraq and Kurdistan. Our problem is Article 140 of the constitution. We will not have any problems if they implement it.

 

Do you think the implementation of Article 140 will resolve the issue of Kurdish Yezidi areas?

Yes. It will be resolved if there is understanding between Baghdad and Erbil. The issue of Shingal is political. We will be very grateful if they resolve this problem. 

There are some wealthy Yezidi men in the world. How can you get them to contribute to the reconstruction of Shingal and other Yezidi areas?

I do not think someone will just come up here, bring cash and help Shingal. It will be right though. It will help. There might be two to

three such people in such a country and I do not think they will come here to help out Shingal. If the Iraqi government or KRG doesn’t help us, Iraq is [still] our country. The KRG is our government. What would Shingal do with half a million US dollars which a wealthy person from Georgia or Armenia might contribute?

 

 

 

Are the Yezidi Kurds in danger anymore?