MONTREAL, Canada – Montreal’s Kurdish community rallied this week to condemn the persecution of Yezidis by Islamic extremists and call for more international support for Kurdish forces.
The rally, which drew about 150 people, praised Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to deliver weapons to the Peshmerga but pressed for broader Canadian military engagement in the demonstration on Tuesday.
Demonstrators called on the international community to stop massacres perpetuated by Islamic State (IS/formerly ISIS) extremists in Iraq against minorities including Yezidis, who practice an ancient religion and are ethnically Kurdish.
Shahin Tavakol, a student who’s lived in Canada since his family left Iranian Kurdistan 22 years ago, said he wanted to raise awareness about the rising death tolls in Iraq and Syria.
“Everyone is protesting about ‘Gaza this, Israel that,’ but there is literally no voice given to the people of Kurdistan who are suffering by thousands. By us being here today we hope to giving a voice to those voiceless people,” Tavakol said.
Tens of thousands of Yezidis have fled Iraq after being driven from their homes by Islamic extremists, who consider them apostates. Community leaders say hundreds of women and girls have been kidnapped and warn that Yezidis, who have lived in Iraq for 4,000 years, may never return home.
Jowana Waissi, a student originally from Kermanshah in Iranian Kurdistan, said, “We need the international community to help us against the terrorist ISIS. We also need the international women’s community to raise their voice against ISIS.”
She echoed calls for Canada to boost humanitarian aid and military support to the Peshmerga.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Friday that two of Canada's military cargo planes will be flying weapons from the allies to Kurdish forces to counter IS fighters. The Canadian government pledged to provide further assistance.
“What ISIS is doing is against humanity,” protester Issa Salim told Rudaw. ‘’What is happening to the Kurds right now is unacceptable.”
He appealed to aid agencies: “Please, we need your help.”
Protesters who marched on Montreal’s busiest street waved Kurdish and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) flags, hoisting banners reading “Stop the Genocide of Yezidis” and “We Stand Against Terrorism.”
Some protesters warned that IS will impact Canada and the United States, noting that some IS militants are from North America. Canadian media reported last week that one Canadian fighting with IS was killed in Iraq,
“We are against genocide,” said one protester, Salim, a Kurd who emigrated to Canada 25 years ago. “Everybody on this planet has a right to live … it doesn’t matter which color you are, which culture (or) what is your religion.”
Kurds also staged rallies last week in front of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa and at Calgary’s city hall, calling for international support for the Peshmerga.
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