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Rudaw, Iraq Kurdistan
Oct 5 2014
Memorial Honors Armenian-Yezidi Ties
By Teimuraz Shamoian
TBLISI, Georgia--A small town in Armenia has built a memorial honoring
the country's enduring ties with Yezidis who fled there a century ago.
The Armenian-Yezidi Brotherhood memorial was opened on Monday in
Aknalich, a small town in Armavir province that is home to the only
Yezidi temple in the Caucasus.
The memorial consists several sculptures, including a peacock
angel--worshipped by Yezidis--with an Armenian solar cross symbolizing
eternity.
The memorial also includes three sculptures of Armenian and Yezidi
Kurdish community leaders, who fought together against the Ottoman
Empire from 1915-1918.
Thousands of Yezidi Kurds from Armenia and Georgia attended the event
and the ceremony also drew Armenian officials, Yezidi clerics and
leaders from the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches.
The event included prayers for Yezidi victims under threat by Islamic
State (IS) extremists in Iraq and memorialized the persecution of
Yezidis and Armenians during the Ottoman Empire.
About 40,000 Yezidis were uprooted to Armenia from modern-day Turkey
during the Ottoman Empire and continue to live in mostly rural areas.
Many officials spoke about the tragedy in Shingal, were thousands of
Yezidis--who are ethnically Kurdish but practice an ancient
religion--have been killed and kidnapped by IS radicals.
Even though the Armenian government has not taken in Yezidis from
Iraq, it contributed $50,000 in humanitarian aid to Yezidi refugees in
Kurdistan.
"Yezidis and Armenians have been brothers over the centuries, and we
help them as much we can," said Minister of Justice Hovanes Manukyan.
Gazi Tahir Khaled, Iraq's ambassador to Armenia, attended the event.
Iraqi Yezidi MP Vian Dakhil, the main advocate for Yezidis in Iraq,
was expected to attend but could not because of health reasons.
On October 1, Armenian MP Naira Zograbyan called on the Council of
Europe to intervene on behalf of Yezidis and other minority groups
that are under IS threat in northern Iraq. She compared the
international community's "silence" on the current threats against
minorities to its passive position during the Armenian genocide by the
Ottoman Empire.
Earlier, Armenian and Kurdish musicians held a charity concert for
Yezidi refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan and Syria. The famous Armenian
singer Shushan Petrosyan announced before the performance, "My
Yezidis, your pain is ours. We know how it feels."
http://rudaw.net/english/culture/04102014
Oct 5 2014
Memorial Honors Armenian-Yezidi Ties
By Teimuraz Shamoian
TBLISI, Georgia--A small town in Armenia has built a memorial honoring
the country's enduring ties with Yezidis who fled there a century ago.
The Armenian-Yezidi Brotherhood memorial was opened on Monday in
Aknalich, a small town in Armavir province that is home to the only
Yezidi temple in the Caucasus.
The memorial consists several sculptures, including a peacock
angel--worshipped by Yezidis--with an Armenian solar cross symbolizing
eternity.
The memorial also includes three sculptures of Armenian and Yezidi
Kurdish community leaders, who fought together against the Ottoman
Empire from 1915-1918.
Thousands of Yezidi Kurds from Armenia and Georgia attended the event
and the ceremony also drew Armenian officials, Yezidi clerics and
leaders from the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches.
The event included prayers for Yezidi victims under threat by Islamic
State (IS) extremists in Iraq and memorialized the persecution of
Yezidis and Armenians during the Ottoman Empire.
About 40,000 Yezidis were uprooted to Armenia from modern-day Turkey
during the Ottoman Empire and continue to live in mostly rural areas.
Many officials spoke about the tragedy in Shingal, were thousands of
Yezidis--who are ethnically Kurdish but practice an ancient
religion--have been killed and kidnapped by IS radicals.
Even though the Armenian government has not taken in Yezidis from
Iraq, it contributed $50,000 in humanitarian aid to Yezidi refugees in
Kurdistan.
"Yezidis and Armenians have been brothers over the centuries, and we
help them as much we can," said Minister of Justice Hovanes Manukyan.
Gazi Tahir Khaled, Iraq's ambassador to Armenia, attended the event.
Iraqi Yezidi MP Vian Dakhil, the main advocate for Yezidis in Iraq,
was expected to attend but could not because of health reasons.
On October 1, Armenian MP Naira Zograbyan called on the Council of
Europe to intervene on behalf of Yezidis and other minority groups
that are under IS threat in northern Iraq. She compared the
international community's "silence" on the current threats against
minorities to its passive position during the Armenian genocide by the
Ottoman Empire.
Earlier, Armenian and Kurdish musicians held a charity concert for
Yezidi refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan and Syria. The famous Armenian
singer Shushan Petrosyan announced before the performance, "My
Yezidis, your pain is ours. We know how it feels."
http://rudaw.net/english/culture/04102014