Yezdis consider Armenian legislators' behaviour unacceptable
Several months ago Armenian lawmaker Zaruhi Postanjyan presented at the National Assembly a bill condemning the genocide of Yezidis, Greeks, Assyrians and other ethnic and religious minorities in the Ottoman Empire. However, the bill was overturned thanks to the efforts of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), with HHK lawmaker Samvel Farmanyan saying it was not beneficial for Armenia in terms of foreign policy, the Sinjar Yezidi National Union said in a statement. “Some time later Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly submits a similar bill. The main difference was that there was no mention about the Genocide of the Yezidis in the document. Such behaviour is obscure and surprising for the Yezidi community of Armenia. Why should the Armenian Parliament ignore the Genocide of the Yezidis carried out by the same Ottoman Empire? It is well known that by 1914, only 14 000 of the 200 000 thousand Yezidi families living in the Ottoman Empire were able to survive and Yezidis were later subjected to persecution for giving shelter to Armenian refugees. Why do Armenian legislators forget this fact and is it the Genocide of the Yezdis that is not beneficial for Armenia in terms of foreign policy?” reads the statement. The Sinjar Yezidi National Union condemns the attitude of the co-authors of the bill and calls on them to make the necessary changes in the document, otherwise it will be viewed as discrimination against the Yezidi people.
