Iraqi President to Yazidi Iraqis on Their Annual Holiday: Efforts to Find Missing Yazidis Must Continue, While Displaced Persons Must Be Allowed to Return, to Enjoy Peace in their Homes

Iraqi Presidency (Office of the President of Iraq)
Thu, Dec 17, 2020

On Thursday, December 17, 2020, the President of the Republic of Iraq, Barham Salih, congratulated the Yazidi people on their annual ritual, the Three Day Fast of December. The meeting took place in Baghdad.
During this commemoration, President Salih also spoke again about the need to continue with domestic and international efforts to find out what had happened to the abducted Yazidi people who are still missing, as well as to continue the process of holding accountable those responsible for crimes against the Yazidi people.
President Salih also said that IDPs should be able to return home and they should be able to live in good conditions when they did so.
The full text of President Salih's congratulatory message follows:
At the beginning of the Yazidi fasting days, we congratulate all Yazidi people in Iraq and around the world, and wish them a holiday full of goodness and joy, as well as peace and security.
On this blessed occasion, we recall the ultimate sacrifices made by the Yazidis in defending their cities, towns and villages, and we strongly condemn the barbaric and inhumane acts committed against them by the extremist group known as the Islamic State.
Their sacrifices show their heroism and courage, and make for a rich record of human ideals, bravery and dignity in the face of genocidal and brutal massacres that aimed at ending them altogether.
On this occasion, we also want to emphasize again that IDPs in Iraq must be able to return to their cities, towns and villages, and that when they get there, they must be assured of a decent standard of living.
Local and international efforts to determine the fate of the abducted Yazidis, and to ensure the release of those still living, be they men or women, need to continue too.
I wish a blessed and wonderful holiday for all Yazidi people in Iraq. And I wish them a peaceful celebration in their own cities, towns and villages.
President of the Republic of Iraq, Barham Salih.


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