YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, ARMENPRESS: Armenia of late has gotten involved helping Diaspora Armenian communities caught in the crossfire of civil war in Syria. Now, some Armenian citizens want Yerevan to offer the same kind of help to their kin in another regional hot spot, Iraq. Quoting the article published by Armenpress on August 14, Eurasianet touched upon the Yezdis living in Iraq and their problems.

As stated by Eurasianet, the Yezdis, a Kurdish-speaking people who are Armenia’s largest minority, hope that Yerevan will raise the awareness of the plight of Iraq’s Yezidis around the world. Iraqi Yezidis now face violent attacks for selling alcohol. Iraqi laws only allow non-Muslims to sell alcoholic beverages and the country has witnessed a series of deadly militia attacks on liquor stores run by Christians and Yezdis.  

Sasha Sultanyan, head of Armenia's Yezdi National Committee, has announced that the group plans to ask the Armenian foreign affairs and Diaspora ministries to promote awareness of the Iraqi Yezdis' situation "in international organizations and help prevent the massacres".

“Our brothers are being killed in Iraq,” Armenpress reported Sultanyan as saying on August 14 “The governments of Kurdistan and Iraq aim to destroy the Yezdis living in Iraq and take over their lands."

Several hundred thousand Yezdis are estimated to live around the world; the largest number in Iraq. Their religion is a blend of Zoroastrian, Muslim, Christian and other religious traditions. The central figure in the faith is a peacock angel Malek Taus, who dispenses both blessings and misfortunes as he finds fit.

Sultanyan expressed hope that Armenia, given its past, will not stay indifferent to the targeted violence against another ethnic group.