age national -- international courts. and we are hoping they will pass that measurement. >> thanks for the comment as minorities continue not to be a priority in terms of addressing their very real concerns around constitutional challenges if there is a legal protection. i will ask for other questions. >> i am with lot and liberty trust i just got back from iraq last night where it is said the liberation of mosul is imminent. one of the things most minorities want is for their

own minority militias to be increased and empowered to participate in deliberation and the defense of these territories which are historically christian and others. . . >> i would like to explain first span will you be on a panel later today? >> i wish i were.

span thank you. it's a very good point. appreciate that. >> i think there would be also a better position, so they will answer those questions now. >> thank you. first of all a point of order as my friend say we were expecting to talk about religious freedom and what to do. we are in one zone and others don't accept diversity.

so we go for her humanitarian here, we vote for everything. i agree with all but what to do to make the neighboring countries who betrayed america and america's paying taxes on those people. america goes in different directions. my neighboring country, they were not national leaders but everyone is trying for ethnicity so today, what to do, who are the producers of isis? and show we expect isis in the future and not? we will expect much more isis.

we have a lot to say here but not everything now so i mean we have to go to the source. who is producing isis and how to defuse that and stop producing isis and to bring the people who believe in peace and diversity and part of the. thank you. >> thank you very much for that. that speaks to a point about the importance of dialogue so with that helpful framing it in terms of let's save the political questions for when you have clinical actors available. although i will say the religious leaders are engaged in many facets of the questions, all facets of the issues and represent important political actors in the discussions but i very much takeout point. are there questions that are focused more, sir over there. >> mart hatfield and i'm with the american jewish community refugee agency.

my question is a humanitarian question. which is of course the number one priority is to make your community safe to return him to remain but in the meantime in the short term and then the medium term to what extent do members of your community's or subgroups within your community need to be resettled out of the region to countries like the united states? is that being pursued for any particular ball marble members of your community's or do you want to keep all of them where they are? >> who would like to begin with that? >> another political question i think. just briefly everybody wants to go out, to go back to there on home so my country is in my big

house but i need to be in my own house. each family dreams that. nobody expects to be displaced to other places. so, for the help now, i talked before about the urgent needs that they have now like housing and to find out the solution for this big problem. the second thing is -- the everyday needs to continue our life.

just for today. >> and in terms of the question whether or not there are those who do need to be resettled, i know if you would like to speak also to women who have been seeking medical assistance in germany and whether or not their other programs that have been created specifically for these ladies or specific programs for christians another's? >> the number of people abducted were 6700. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: 3000 of them have been liberated. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: the german government has acted with the

kurdistan government to provide health care and mental care. nate sob. >> translator: we are hoping that the american government and the european governments and even some arab governments might help with the care needed for these women. thank you. >> thank you. >> may i take an additional question? the gentleman in the third row, guess the first one, thank you. the gentleman in front, sorry, thank you. sorry about that. snag thank you. i am from france and also a member of the board. first of all we all forget that

there are countries that democracy has been the place where it was born. you can say it's a cretul democracy and we have countries where democracy is our in the cradle, still today, so we have to keep that in mind and not put immediately and have everything perfect in that part of the region we are taught about. but, we have to consolidate. we have first evolved to think how to make a strong government in iraq and how to help the political situation and don't forget and i'd like to point out to the conference that you organize last year it was called the united against violence in the name of religion supporting

the citizenship rights of christian muslims and other religious and ethnic groups in the middle east. we have to support the rights of these communities. we are not asking for any protection and please make this an important step forward because i am not happy, i come also from minorities but we are not in that way that we are going to solve the questions. i think it's more important if not asking to protect us, but rather to have equal citizenship rights in the whole area of the middle east. thank you. >> matt ask for questions rather than comments. >> incorporated you. just to be clear i am not a decision-maker. i am just here participating here and to ask you what is the

best for us. i have ideas and others will have ab different ideas so we are just talking to see how we can resolve this problem. >> additional questions? there is a woman in the back row second to last back row. thank you, if you would stand up that's helpful and if you can identify yourself. thank you. >> i marys weeds from the center of victims of torture. a point that we made on psychological care. i'm just wondering what is currently available to a lot of these communities and whether it's based around the churches and religious communities and is it available, like his mental health care of april two idps religious -- regardless of religious affiliation.

>> whether or not there is mental health care being given to those who have been displaced to deal with the trauma that they have experienced in the course of being displaced by violence and torture. [speaking in native tongue] >> if we could maybe just start with the panelists, i would appreciate that. thank you. would you like to comment? [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: . [speaking in native tongue]

turns out the psychological condition of the women living in the camps is extremely difficult. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: the government, together with other organizations of the iraqi government, they have some plans to rehabilitate these women. but these efforts are not enough. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: we are hoping for aid. maybe mr. gannon nor can it add some remarks. >> one moment.

that is a very important issue. maybe you know, maybe we don't feel -- i'm displaced myself. maybe all of us need that kind of treatment so you know but there is still an egg in that issue because of the specialists and iraq in trauma matters so many organizations try to come in iraq and realize that training for common people that are in iraq to help others is a good thing but it's not efficient. >> very briefly, thank you. [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: my name is how she and i'm a member of the iraqi parliament. for the human rights committee. and ahead of the e. s. g. movement bloc. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: and i have something to say about accountability and the ways to bring it back to the cities. >> thank you. it looks like you have a prepared statement. could we make copies of the statement make it available because they want to focus the conversation on the question was just asked right now about the assistance to mental health for those who have been displaced in the points that have been made about how the entire community of displaced people are actually in need of this type of

assistance. it would not be okay? i'm sorry to interrupt. we have about 10 minutes left and i do want to see if there are additional questions or the religious leaders and the community leaders on the issue of the topic at hand. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: . >> if you could translate. [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: i still have something to add to what you said. >> on the issue of mental health and the question that was asked? thank you. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: the women are still living in the camps and living in miserable conditions despite all the suffering that they had to go through before. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: there have been cases of suicide on the rise among the women. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: and some of them right now are suffering

from mental health issues. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: there has been one german organization that helped move some of them and to care because the members are too big we still need more intervention by other groups. nate sob. >> translator: besides that there are 1500 children in the isis came in's. [speaking in native tongue]

[speaking in native tongue] >> translator: some of the affected women are being moved from -- ahead of the expectation that -- might fall. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: we are afraid that these women might be killed or moved to other cities before the libbers they -- liberation of mosul. >> thank you very much for raising those very critical points, especially your last point about the very real physical threats that women face especially now as we talk about the liberation movement but also syria. our commerce edition has focused so much on communities in iraq that people in syria are in desperate need with limited access to them.

we have only five minutes left so we are going to take one last question and then we'll ask the panelists just to finish. i'm going to ask, there's a gentleman at the far back who has had his hand up. >> hi. i am from the muslim community. i'm sorry that this is happening there. i think dialogue is the best thing as we have seen here. people are aware of what's going on with these minorities. so the same thing, we need a dialogue in iraq, in pakistan and in so many countries so that people will know what's going on with the minorities and i think what we ask the u.s. government

is not to enforce their will but also create a dialogue with minority's and other groups and that is what i am asking the iraqi government, if they can have a dialogue between minorities and other groups. >> any questions for the panelists? >> with that what i would like to do is give you the final word to speak. archbishop his letter said we are tired of promises, we need actions in order to keep our nation together. i think that's an incredibly powerful sentiment about how communities feel. would you like to start? >> it's sad for all iraqi's that iraq is in this miserable situation. there is no peace in any cities

come in any city in iraq. we need to keep our hands together to work together, to pray together, to realize the final peace in iraq, the complete peace in iraq for all iraqi's, not just for minorities but also in the rest of iraq especially in baghdad in these few months. there are very serious problems with security and peace, but you know realizing peace in iraq, it's a big matter for iraq so we should realize peace a little bit. we have made some small -- with minorities in such cities like baghdad and south of iraq and

after the liberation we can work altogether to resolve the security and peace problems and we hope altogether we can all iraqi's together because we are citizens of the same country so that is our hope. >> i would like to thank you again for this opportunity. i think, it's been pointed out dialogue can go a far distance in bringing about reconciliation. i think possibly having a representative council combined and composed of the minority groups that will dialogue with the local and regional governmental agencies in order to bring about to a practical

level to the knowledge of others. but we are speaking out religious freedom. i think if everyone goes back to their religious tenets of their particular faith, and searches out those teachings which bring about dialogue and tolerance and even love, i think that will also go a long way because to speak about religion in the matters that are taking place and yet everyone is sort of yelling at the top of their voice whereby you can't have a dialogue, it's unbecoming of any religion to do that so going back to religious tenets that promote peace and understanding and tolerance is important. >> thank you. [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: i want to thank yourself what would happen if a family of three people so you have one sister that has been raped and another sister that is held by isis. for years. for two years. we keep saying that. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: we hope good sentiments will turn into practical steps. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: the yazidis will only feel safe about their presence in the future if their demands are met. [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: and we hope that this conference will take a practical approach and would issue a recommendation that would be implement it in the future. >> thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> thank you gentlemen for the conversation that covered many issues that was very heartfelt and appreciate you speaking on behalf of your communities and sharing your own experiences including that, that you have experienced yourself personally. thank you. [applause] >> lets give them one more round of applause. thank you very much. [applause] we are going to take a 15 minute break. please be back in your seat by 11:15. thank you. [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] now another discussion from georgetown's conference on the threat of isis forcht religious and ethnic minorities. [inaudible conversations] >> ladies and gentlemen we have a tradition at the religious freedom project where we try to be on time and we try to begin and end on time. usually we are pretty close to that. unfortunately our moderator is in a cab on the way here from union station and it's impossible to predict what she willing counter so rather than wait and have the uncertainty, we are going to go ahead and

began. eliza griswold is the moderator so when she comes in, we have students who will bring her up and my colleague can tell who will be in a later panel is sitting to my left and is going to kick us off so it will be a little awkward when they make that exchange but i think it will be worth doing so we can go ahead and get started on this terribly terribly important panel so can't, take it away. >> thank you john and thank you for coming back and we are looking forward to this panel. this next panel addresses advocacy and civil society perspectives on the big issue of the day, the threats to religious and ethnic communities within the islamic state. i am just going to be up here for a few minutes. i have the privilege of introducing our four panelists. what i'm going to do i'm going to take -- turn to each of them in turn. they will have five minutes or

so to give their name, their organization and to say just a little bit about how they and their organization are trying to address this question in general terms. first i'm going to turn to -- and he's going to introduce himself and we will go on from there. [inaudible] is it working now? is it working? >> mine is working. [inaudible conversations]

>> one second please. >> try this. >> it's a pleasure to be here. i am the director of the global organization that was established after august 3, 2014 when the state attacked our community. i work with this group to provide different services to the specific communities including a social program. ..

>> >> and if you see me reading most of my answers because i want to be specific and i am representing his voice because just as the bishops said it we have no rights and are not in any position to dictate to the syrians living in the homeland as to what they should be doing or not doing. we are here to serve them and that is why i am here to

speak for him in his words and in his answers and how we have tried to work with this crisis on a humanitarian perspective when the focus has always been education and infrastructure. so that funding has to go towards the refugees and turning back to the focus of education and infrastructure in the homeland. >> i am with the foundation. >> can you please speak slower? >> i work with the group of

volunteers including u.k. and other countries as to try to increase awareness and working mainly with the implementation and also with this news agency and with the suffering of our peoples because after many decades of this century.

>> [speaking in native tongue] and [speaking in native tongue] >> [speaking in native tongue] [laughter]

sari. i am sorry. in our organization we're ahead of this organization since the your 2003 and as a result with the center for the disorganization and then i became a consultant for the same organization. >> and currently i am number

three in the community. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: and also steady with an organization for culture in my community and i am also a member of the council of the iraqi council and to represent the movements in this council. >> thank you very much. i will take the liberty to ask you one question i can ask anything i want.

i know from working in a variety of organizations anybody that is involved in civil society, half the temptation is to believe that type of activity doesn't have that much impact once you come to a situation if one of the actors in this case is attacking religious or ethnic minorities so in a situation like this who was the focus of your advocacy? who are you trying to persuade to improve the situation? anybody want to take a crack ? >> in situations like this

when entire communities find themselves in the hands of a group that believes in nothing but has no morals of responsibility and in the past but the so-called islamic state did, they attacked entire communities with the intention to wipe them out in the fraction of

the community they also would persecute them so also the year in a situation where we didn't know what to do with founder cells with two choices for the women and their children to be taken. because once you have the information you can use that to approach the a government with the beginning of the attack the women and children as we were taking them and what was happening from disinformation and then the approach was to the

misfits of the government and to the media you have to have a lot of media coverage but then you have other advocacy groups more people to work and in my experience we become more active as your advocating for this cause senate is to get somebody to intervene. >> on behalf of the humanity and when we advocate for all communities. >> attwood also like to add to maya colleagues that not

only were we not prepared but we were disarmed prior to isis we were not allowed to be part of the security so we had no way to defend ourselves. when we had a few hours to was scape, they literally left with the clothes on their back. when they say that it is reality. so who we go to to the international community, the u.n. still has not recognized the genocide to bring justice to of the victims of genocide so with the international community and also with then our own

communities to rise up. this is a crime against all of humanity's not just of minorities. >> also on the question of my colleague to work for all of humanity's jindal human beings and for us to think so here this started end of art -- divided on all of these other minorities think more about death.

and it is my duty to work for all humanity. i think most of you and are presenting seven or 10%. with the seven hr 10% from the iraqi turkey syria border and we are looking at a group of activists because the main problem is hidden.

nobody knows the facts this goes back to many decades and this is what you need. make something or making a reality and bayer are also another duty for those of ben killed all of these years. with these activities but

but i think that the most important issue of the issue that is published and 20,000 have been abducted by isis but the strange thing is that they kill them by be heading the entity west of kirkuk but they develop them but they are being killed.

has the head to a doctor and her husband and killed her by be heading. then another thing which is important of the international community in march 2016 the isis attack so we have those victims with the long term and who will protect them.

so we need actual steps. >> we will get to each of your points in detail because that is to understand what is not being reported or what is happening to minorities under isis and some of the solution so thank you so much a we will break that down so people can follow along. >> so you're talking about the chemical attack. okay. that is why this is so essentials it has gone unreported. >> you may finish the question.

>> [speaking in native tongue] and. translator: levy explained about the community because people are from iraq and others if you give me a minute but who are we? >> is an independent tradition that goes back 1,000 years. >> to live in iraq and iran.

>> [speaking in native tongue] between 200,000 but then there are no proper statistics. and today i am here is the iraqi citizen. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: ethnically we are kurdish.

>> we are the minority. >> but isis occupied seven villages near kirkuk. >> [speaking in native tongue] the number of people displaced our 2,113 families equal to 19,000 people. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: although the

villages were occupied, they had the feeling that isis with on its way so they fled before they could come. isis below the five of our temples. >> [speing in native tongue] translator: they demolished many houses and people were trapped in the rest of the houses. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: after the area was liberated by the kurdish forces peopl came back to the villages to look at their houses.

and because of the booby traps you could not enter into the material damage was assessed at $52 million. >> [speaking in native tongue] i want to speak to you today with the people because they feature of isis numbers appear on television.

>> [speaking in native tongue] i have more stuff to say but i would give the opportunity to my colleagues. >> now we have a sense of so many representatives that we can all sit together to understand where these minority groups now we have understanding of these basic principles to give each of you the chance of what is reported and your community's response. to have millions of people fleeing the area is and trying to leave the country or not.

what is the response post isis and self protection? has the community for dave militia of some kind? by the iraqi government? but the militia questions and exodus when you hear the stories of isis around the world i think the chemical attack in general what you wish people know about you are not hearing? >> that this is like the holocaust in and expect to say that.

there is no reason to kill people and to burn people. for me to be an engineer and was summoned many mornings in with others human beings. and that created a situation that genocide would take place under those shadows. and with that community and and i think until now to the extent that it is in the

given our choices but that assistance within the muslim world writing those tragedies with the woman that we were with over the phone isis was taking them it in one case they had 3,000 women and children and they were detention centers to picked whatever room they wanted. i will never forget this moment but i will never

forget just two weeks ago the woman who love their husbands to medical school students the first day to see them with their children with those conditions with the 85 part of the of population now for two years that humanitarian rights is decreasing every day.

end to look at open aggression cannot establish definitively 3.3 million people were displaced i isis. with the syrian community what does living far from home mean? >> digest want to say one of the things to make clear is this ethnic cleansing didn't just dart two years ago it is slowly happening and isis just express the process to make it happen quicker. >> that is so in central

seoul into a that christian community you look at the u.s. invasion and population of more than 10 million and that mass exodus happening before isis now look at a community of 300,000. >> so 1.5 million s to under 50 million we're not sure. one thing we've a bike for people to know they have opinions what they should get out or keep the culture going. those stories that come out of their resonate and i just want to'' these women like

one woman moved from one space to another. if you move me you have to move me with all of my neighbors. dell whole villages their family. and how they cope with this and then they try to stay together as much as possible it gives us semblance of morality in the middle of this whole awful and of the crisis to cope with their homes and their families averaging to be humanness and genuine as much as possible. from what i hear is we are pleading with the

international community to help us not only stay there with food and water but to have that access structure as a marshall plan to create jobs to thrive in the homeland. . . >> there needs to be a priority. when we go from 1.5 million to 250,000, there needs to be a priority to that. >> yes, so maybe what we will do is come back to this question of

what does a landscape post isis look like and what can the international community, what can they do to make it. i want to reiterate something. it is so essential and i have heard both colleagues say this today, we are not sitting up here saying i'm a turkmen, i'm someone else, this is our communal identity. we have been fractured as a people. so in terms of the turkmen community this chemical attack has gone virtually unreported here in the united states. maybe you could talk to us a little bit about it and what you would call on the international community to do now. >> thank you.

[inaudible] most are being attacked by village from june 2014 when they attacked places about 12000 turkmen. and then they abducted girls so they were already attacking the district of gaza and because they are with isis there is no action to stop that. in march 2016 there twice attacked by isis, the one was about 22 --

[inaudible] some took days, months, and you're and you're so today we have around, according to a report 30,000 civilian attacks attacks injured or affected by this. so according to the official reports there may not have been prohibition of. [inaudible] , so they declared that it was really mustard gas. so was genocide but today no mention, so action has been taken by our partition to send some people perfect person then

plan to solve this or take care of such people. >> what would that strategic plan look like? maybe that is part of articulating how can we provide, how can we not only lay out the scope of the problem here but address some of the means by which, what what would a response look like? >> first of all i had some news from intelligence officials in iraq that isis want now to tack another turkish city is also in the province of which is north of baghdad. some are away from civilian inhabited places is you're trying to get victory some

places and leaving other places more open. so to surround the areas. every day that his criminal acts around their we must prevent because were talking about the ability of isis to form so i think first of all if what we should prevent that may occur at any place, they cannot attack any city in the second point the environment and gaza should be clean and after that we need giving care for such people we

need to plan for long-term complications they told me many of them -- so we need also you back emergency evacuation in some cases. >> okay, thank you. and now to our colleague, your people are probably, the least heard from, who hears about what happens to you. question? this is a really good moment to hear from the persecution looks like and what the people are suffering now. >> [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue]

since the iraqi state was formed in the last century [speaking in native tongue] >> the religion is the us on a religion and it was that reached in the iraqi constitution. >> [speaking in native tongue] >> [speaking in native tongue] it is not known to people in the community. [speaking in native tongue] for example, although many would know that they have no idea what

it is all about. >> it is similar to what my colic here set about his community and how people are asking him about the background of that community. we also face this same problem. >> [speaking in native tongue] >> [speaking in native>> many tt the unreasonable things that --

the institution ignored us and did not make mention. >> [speaking in native tongue] since the year 2003 a select group of iraqi legal experts visited their [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: they made the big push for them to be included. >> okay i think that's part of our next question which is dissolution. at this point we have heard a little bit about what each community is facing,

who they are, what we are not hearing about in the news which is everything, we've heard about the systematic attempt to destroy different peoples. we've heard about targeted campaigns of massacre, of rape, kidnapper ransom, and and then kidnap for taking children into what is called the cops program, child soldiers. i myself interviewed the mother of a 3-year-old girl who was taken by isis and has yet to be returned. so this problem could not be more pressing or multifaceted. now let's turn to solutions. let's hear from each of you about what has been your community's most effective solution, is it a civil solution? is that a military solution and help forming militia? attached right to that is, has it been more successful to leave the country? what is the reality of

displacement? will turn to that now. what has each community's response been and where has it been effective? what will end with is the question of what does a post isis iraq look like? what can the international community do to safeguard the presence of ancient communities in iraq? so let's begin with that. i will turn to you and ask what's the yazidi response. what what have you found to be effective, if anything and what are you seen in terms of self-defense, in terms of civil society, what is working? >> so i think we can identify the current situation of the yazidi people right now so it will be displacement, mistrust, not being confident to live in the homeland. if you go and ask a question to the yazidi's, anyone they will tell you whether there will be

international protection of the genocide globally and preserve the right as a community or whatever other choice. about 17,000 thousand have already exited from the region. and i think there could be now just hundred thousand people. talking about the solutions. as of now we have the solution from the un that is what happened with yazidi's. >> and i ask you, is that helpful? does that have any t3 on the ground for the international community to acknowledge the genocide? >> i think they have been lacking responsibility and dragging their feet not to take the case before a tribunal court. so we're working with some for the international criminal court. i think justice is very

important. i think when they are crimes committed the first thing you can do is bring justice. that meant many victims. the person they will tell you is that i want what happened to me -- so i think the solutions are on several levels. their solutions need to be done internationally, solutions need to be done locally, by the government, solution needs to be done by the muslim community internationally. one thing that i would suspect to come out and say that it this is not right, something that i have not heard that i can challenge whoever wants to bring the question that the muslim clerks internationally never came out against the genocide. never came out and said the yazidi woman was not in line. i think that is something where the muslim they go into chaos

when anything against the religion is being said internationally. i think think what is happening in the name of islam which does not present any religion. but the muslim community is out in iraq, now if you talk about the sunni community in iraq and syria, the sunni community and tribal leaders there could have said no, they could've said no to the genocide but they did not say that. so that that is one angle. i think also for you to ask the committee about the genocide to find solutions, how can a community that is basically lost everything they possess for three or four generations, every person left his home with his close on. that is if we are very lucky and very happy person you be able to just escape with your own close. so for international community

to ask me for a solution is not fair. i think the international community should standups for its obligation. there must be clear the commission of the genocide within the parliament, with the public, the public should know that they are being subject to genocide. i think legal must be pursued against isis and there must be two legal systems to the tribunal court and also a parliament system in iraq. so all of our experience back in 2006 and 2007 when terrorist groups were able to commit crimes this is something -- for anyone to bring reconciliation i was a bring the justice first before yes or reconciliation. it is very painful to me when i sit was someone fly still have

to see the women and children in captivity that are being raped every day. this just reminds me of something that i observed in my own eyes, we had to mentally ill people and one of them was beating the other one but the one who is being into his face. but the guy was actually beating him. he was crying and he was saying that come please hold me. so what is happening is the z these are victims and their being beaten up and persecuted and given two choices, but the international community is asking for reconciliation before asking for justice. so justice is very important. and for the short term about 50% of the ziti homeland must be freed right now, we still have sin jar. >> but the thing is i think if

we can lay out what the long-term solution would be for the yazidi people after we get how each community is responding. i would like to come back to that, i think we can say what the iraqi constitution allows were, what homeland might look like. >> okay, so i think think so far been really trying to keep it short. >> but to be fair, i like to give a little bit more background for serious. what i'm saying syrians on talk about all three denominations. we denominations. we come from the church of the east, the catholic church and the orthodox and a few protestants on. but but when i say syrian i mean all of that. i don't separated. because ethnically we are all involved. that is number one. and the reason i'm saying that is because there is a misconception out there that the christians are being given a choice, that is not true at all. there is a recent article that eloquently stated quickly stated that.

there's been a 270 page report done by the knights of columbus and idc together where we gathered testimony to show that. there has been legal papers down to 35 page legal paper. paper. all these were given to secretary carry and i think moments before he was about to announce the declaration of genocide, so that is one thing. that is is why the un is hesitating to include us into the genocide because they keep claiming that it's a misconception and it was extortion,. >> that is my experience reporting in the region, that just to make sure everybody is up to speed here on this attack, the idea, the idea being that isis sends a promotional video same with happy faces of christians and all i have to do is pay the small amount of money when the lived experiences that is not at all true comments

extortion and it during the attack i will take your three-year-old-year-old daughter. so it's not viable, it's not allowing christians to pay some tax to let them off the hook. >> yes in this goes back to the beginning of islam. it was security tax and they're using that as an excuse but they're really not offering. the offer is so ridiculous that $8000 a month. it's -- or your child is taken away. >> so that's the other misconception i wanted to say to the world. so june of 2014, the political map in iraq has changed and division of the people has totally changed completely about their own future. there is in a future, it's really hard psychologically to take the next step. what is the next thing to do, if all i'm

doing is trying to feed my family what is the next step as far as career and future for the kids and everything? so all that is lost. once that comes to a stop so when the futures are predictable. so the security, the insecurity of push the people to emigrate, number one that's why since 2003 the exits have been massive to the point of extinction. in the area. and we have been there over 6000 years. and we were one of the first groups to adopt christianity but when you just say christians you're talking about only the past and you just knocked off 4000 years of existence. so, if there ever to return back home, there needs to be the confidence that we have self determination, security, and and that we will not be abandoned again, again and i say that over

and over again in history and the most recent was in june of 2014 will where disarmed and abandoned. >> yes so that is excellent. we will return to that and i'm going to look at nick for a time. okay we have 25 minutes left. okay i'm going to turn it over to questions in 5 - 7 minutes that will be the aim. so let's hear from both the turkmen and the other community and then we will talk for one minute about what this, we for the little bit about what regions are left for the yazidi's are still strong, this idea of returning to the plane, what would it take internationally. firstly hear from both the people about what effective response your community has been able to take so far or what is working. >> thank you again.

i think to put sunnis i think what happened in terms of issues there's a misunderstanding. i know any movement in the hand needs and impulse and to be transmitted to the handsome move. so i think it has arisen in europe and the brain of some and if we want to as show that it was prison. so we must put culture programs

another problem in europe and the fact of the disputed area of large lands and lands where the minority between art and government, i don't know. and who is responsible? so this meant they would be away from us. the energy to extend more because they have external support and they don't trust anyone. so we have a problem that must be changed. this is a problem in another problem in iraq everyone trying

to put people in a group. [inaudible] we have to have intervention for helping. i think to put solution about what happened on the crisis on the ground we need to divided into short-term and long-term. short-term we have to deal with the crisis, we have to deal with the abduction of women, urgently. we have to deal with victims with women and children becaus now we have about 2 million children and for the ongoing how will they go?

i think we have to support the local by training, and by establishing human rights. this is a message from us to georgetown university, thankfully to study this issue and to tell the iraqi people to establish an institution that specializes. >> okay, i'm going going to wrap you up right there. and because our colleague talked a little bit about the problems of the constitution, think that is where we want to go now. we want to talk about just to wrap up and then open up for

questions, if minorities in iraq were to return post isis, what might that look like? is the is the idea of a safe even possible? certainly the united states is not going to support any boots on the ground effort or notify zone, that is unfortunately the reality. so let's take it as a given that we are not going to see an international force fighting on the ground, we are not going to see and know faisal, it's simply too expensive. if i sat there in our in a bass or saying saying we cannot help you those things and you said yes we can still have a safe haven, what is the iraqi constitution allow for? what might self-determination sell protection look like? what might a solution for a a safe haven look like? >> and that will turn it over for questions. >> so i think with jenna say you should not asked for that to be

established to be so stupid, if you try to bring everything the way it was before and basically are set in the ground for another genocide against everyone. so we need a different solution. the solution must be but the fact is within iraq and the culture in the middle east, you will never be embraced. if you you are the others you will always be put on the edge. you'll never be listened to. the yazidi's heaven the parliament and a lot of times the yazidi politicians will be voices of the community. we don't have any minister, we don't have anyone in the government, we always see that.

we have to accept always the orders. we never allowed allowed to have a voice a real voice, if you have a voice you have to have a second voice, natural voice. so i think the new system must allow all to have their own voice. in the conversation the u.s. was having this national guard something like the u.s. system where we would have a federal system where every area is in charge of their own state, i think that's a a good system and we can apply to or someone coming from baghdad or somewhere else to protect me if i was the one protecting my citizens then i would have this more emotional, so security wise. the survey fear people running their own stuff than they know there's someone in that. i think we are basically begging

for a place in the government. were begging for -- the mayor was no longer yazidi. with the numbers there was, i don't know what happened but the decision was that maybe just one person would go to parliament to have a certain view. so that is a problem. and although we had six members, in principle but will never be a yazidi because to bring respect back i think there must be some international parameters working with the iraqi government. you cannot have a heaven in the

middle of the hell. you cannot have something beautiful in a war zone where you have all areas that are collapsing. see need to work with all, everyone should work to create that system but there must be some international oversight. if we don't have international oversight will never have a voice. the international community has the responsibility from letting that happen again. >> . .

from the community and then empowering it, in an official way, i don't want to be, just grouping, in a religious baseballs it's another problem. we know that, we have a force of the treatment and there is a kurdish force and twice there was an attack, and, the kurds attacked us with heavy weapons, and, it is a take, conflict on the ground. so, i think we need an official way, and this force to be part of the programs, to be part of government, and, so on, and, so after that, because we are depending on constitution in iraq and the right of forming

new religion again, and, i think, and for example, away to form it, and we can divide it in three provinces, and, so, the last thing i think, of the democracy in iraq, gives a bad message to the world. i think we can gain the trust by forming a diversity -- redome, or the government, land according to, you a townmy. >> thank you. >> so there is the means under a federal system to establish this province with its own right to self determination. that's already within the constitution. thank you.

>> this -- spoke more than me. >> you will have the right to answer the first question from the audience. >> one minute. >> one minute. [laughter] >> we're wasting time. >> solution. speaking foreign language. >> come up with, my colleague here, mentioned, mosul, this is it.

we want the religion again to be mentioned, in the constitution. not having it, in the parliament but recognizing that we are a community. >> with that, thank you so much. we have ten minutes left to ask questions. [laughter] >> it is still my time. >> i am already -- thank you. >> okay. >> so with that we have ten minutes for questions. so, why don't we take three questions at a time? so, who has the mike? why don't you, here's three questions. so why don't you give the mike to these guys. pose your question and we'll take them in groups. okay? does that make sense?

>> speaking foreign language. >> thank you. >> the representative, the question is, what the process will look like where, they, from the area, surrounded by sunnies, and, how they will look like. >> excellent. >> the elephant in the room. is, how should isis or how can isis be defeated? that's why all these things are happening. >> excellent. how can communities live

together when their neighbors have turned against them. >> yes. >> i represent the friends, which have been in politics, in iraq. >> i am very happy, that, all thinking after safe haven or something that is in, within the constitution to self administrate. and i am very sad, to hear him say i don't understand how is this going to happen. that is proposal that has been handed to the vice-president of the united states of america, a year ago signed by nine organizations of that plan. i would like to give it to you. and also the question would be, for all the panel, we need to, how can we work together as the communities, in that region to actually accomplish this?

>> i'm going to turn to our colleagues, how can we work together? yeah. defeating isis might be beyond the scope of these guys right -- you know what i mean? >> that's great. what kind of international response would you like? that sounds good. yes. >> nick, can you give me, when we have three minutes. q.yes. >> the question on isis? >> no -- >> how to work together. >> he can answer whatever he would like. how can we work together is something that he's thinking about. >> speaking foreign language. >> we must find the common ground among all the problems of

the minorities and start addressing these issues. secondly, we need to secure -- we need to secure all the ideas, that are living from the military and security point of views. thirdly, to effect national reconciliation in the desired way and in a manner that suits the problems. >> also getting the civil community engaging, in spreading the culture to prevent vengeance, and diffuse tensions.

and providing legal and international protection. the kurdish people -- they do not have the right training and the right kind of -- >> i think this is a very important point. >> they were formed in the first place in order to protect kurdish areas. >> we'll say the very important point, that the kurdish forces withdrew from some of the areas, so the protection wasn't there.

and in other areas, we have three minutes, in other areas the the kurds have used it for take land, from minority groups. we have three minutes left. we're going to take the next three questions and we're going to give you a chance to respond. >> can i talk? >> nick. we have three minutes left. >> the people, there are political questions and they are not politicians. >> we have comments and we have asked nothing. >> yeah, welcome to a panel in washington. we're doing our best, who these guys are. that's the reality. to figure out -- who is being persecuted and why?

it's a tall order. >> we can't tell because we are in the middle. >> exactly. >> thank you, sir. >> last question right here. >> my name, is bay, and like my colleague we're frustrated because some accusations have been made. they're inaccurate. my question is, i agree with a lot of what is being said despite some inaccuracies, there needs to be a protection force and guarantee. when you speak to the international community, not us, to the international community, what do they say? >> about what? what kind of protection? >> about self governing? >> so, why don't we end with this question? if you are to articulate for your group what kind of self

protection -- >> no -- >> yeah. >> yeah. >> what is the -- >> what do they say back to you? >> what do you hear from the international community when you say we need our own protection force? >> if i may answer the questions, to go back, with the sunnies, and, you have the justice and it could be established, and, for your question. the international community, does not stand up for its obligation. the international community is no. so, the international community didn't have a special plan for minorities. they are telling the minorities to go and find your own solution. if you lost everything, if you are a people, under persecution, what solution you will find. i hope this conference will answer your question. >> yeah. >> so i think, he answered that.

but there wases other questions. so i just to want say that, we need, as a international community, we need to be ready for post isis, not when mosul has been liberated. the same thing will happen, there will be mass exodus of people. do we have a plan? we need for support new systems of education that promote tolerance and accepting offers. so it is a whole -- you know, the system of education has to be looked at again, and, redone. and, accepting of different ethnic backgrounds and having respect for each other and create jobs, and there needs to be investment, to create jobs and bring back dignity and promote sustain ability in the region. that's really the only way to keep the diversity and peace.

>> great. we have three minutes left. so, let's give both the turn men, and the representative a chance to respond. >> i think, i know it is not easy. the problem, of the nation, talking about after change, we all like it, so, we must tell the reality, and the facts of what happened. we know, the kurdish people and they got the rights by this safe haven and they formed their own relig again and they are living peacefully. so i think we have, according to the responsibility of the international community, how they change the system. >> yes.

>> okay. one minute. yeah. [laughter] >> what is the question? >> so, he, i think, the representative, i think it's essential to say, that the kurds have taken in hundreds of thousands of people, open borders, when their own economy was not open to it. so, as much as there are ongoing problems, it is really important to express gratitude for that action and that the kurds have not gotten any support from the united states government. so i think that's important to say. we're going to return to the representative, so, when you go to the americans and say we need a self-defense force, what do they say to you?

>> i'm sorry, time is really up. >> speaking foreign language. >> ma'am -- >> that's really the time that we have. >> we have asked the americans to offer help not only to them

but to all the other groups. >> okay, so with that, this has been so engaging and that is unusual. so, let us continue this conversation over lunch. thank you so much. [applause] >> if i could have your attention, ladies and gentlemen, this is religious freedom in action. to the gentleman who complains we need to leave this, sir, i'm speaking to you; that, this is, these are political questions. in a democracy, politics is not left just to the politicians. >> politics is the way we organize our lives together and religious actors, have every right to say what they think their future should be. this is what religion gust freedom, and this is what we

need in iraq and syria. so, applause for this panel. thank you very much. >> hillary clinton kicked off a three-day bus-tour today. she and the running-mate are in philadelphia, and harrisburg. they'll be in pittsburgh tomorrow, before ohio. for more information on pennsylvania's role as a battleground state we spoke to a reporter there. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> could you tell us about where pennsylvania stands. is it a red state? blue? is it mix sned. >> well, i mean you may know, pennsylvania hasn't voted for a republican candidate for president since 1988. so, you would think we're a blue state. but polling this year has been a little bit different. the polling shows it tight. there was poll out yesterday that shows hillary clinton up

nine. but i spoke with frank hunt, yesterday, and he says his polling that is within a couple of points. he think it's going to stay that way and believes that the state is in play more than any other big state. so it will be a tough race. i think it's evidented by both campaigns, hillary clinton today and tomorrow doing a bus-tour across pennsylvania. donald trump is in pennsylvania, both conventions, and you have the delegations, both in cleveland and philly got a lot of attention. so i think everybody you talk to says, road to the white house goes through pennsylvania. >> what do you think is changing the makeup of pennsylvania so that you're seeing this reflected in the polling numbers? >> economics. it's always about the economy, in a state as big and diverse and important in manufacturing, mining, and there's also been a

reverse of sort of political demographic of the state. in year's past the suburbs, were republican and now it's democratic. in year's past the suburbs of pittsburgh, that area, was always blue collar democrats and now they're voting republican. in 2012 mitt romney carried every democratic county -- pittsburgh and this year, when people voted we have a closed primary, you can only vote for the party for which you are registered, this year, the county with the most switches, from democrat to republican, to vote in the primary was allegheny which is pittsburgh. so there are some signs that donald trump has more support than past republicans in the last six elections.

>> is mr. trump taking advantage of this, by a ground game? how does that compare to hillary clinton? >> it is tough to gauge. hillary clinton will have a great ground game. remember she won the state in the primary back in 2008. she beat president barak obama by nine points. her husband has won this state twice. she's always had a presence here. she has family roots. her father was born in scranton. so, there's,. >> and, she should win the state >> and, trump is new to this and we'll see whether or not he can put together something to compete effectively with that. >> what are you looking for from here on out as far as the campaigns are concerned?

you talked about these changing instances, what are you most interested following? >> whether or not the republicans can take advantage of the strongest message they have, which is, they represent change. she represents a continuation of policies and practices that have been in place for eight years, and the administration that she was part of. if the republicans can take advantage of that, the state will be very, very competitive. second thing, is, which campaign can convince pennsylvania that they actually will provide long-term employment in a state that still is further back in recovery than most other big states? the recovery that many are seeing hasn't come to pennsylvania. so, again, the election is going to be driven by economic issues,

and the campaign that has the most convincing case will win the state. >> to jump on that, how do issues such as trade play out amongst pennsylvania voters or mining of coal? >> very strongly, particularly in the north eastern part of the state and the southwestern part of the state where manufacturing wasves heavy. so, you are right, those, the trade issues are going to be very important. >> a columnist for that publication. how often do you put out a column? >> normally twice a week. in the last two weeks, everyday. >> see it at philly.com, thanks for joining out phone. >> thanks for having me. have a good one. >> donald trump is campaigning at wings over the air and space we'll have that live for you at 9 p.m. on c-span.

with the conventions both wrapped up the focus comes to the debates scheduled for september and october. watch september 26 as hillary clinton and donald trump hold their first debate, at hofstra and also debates at washington university and university of nevada. watch on c-span, and listen on the app and get video o on demand. >> book t.v., 48 hours of non fiction books and auctions. here are some featured programs o. saturday at noon, the 18th annual book fair. it's the largest, and, the premiere black lit tear event held in harlem. coverage includes black writers and the state of literature, and a panel discussion about authors. and author eddie discussing his

book democracy in black, how race still enslaves the american soul. saturday, afterwards, eric, author of consequence talks about his experience as a interrogate tor. he's interviewed by the director of national security, for human rights first. >> there was great deal, and it was cold, in december. and the image after number of men chained to their cell doors with their hands down between their legs, and donald rumsfeld said, he stands, why can't we make -- i can tell you that, seeing someone in a forced standing position has nothing to do with standing at a standing desk. it was torture. >> on sunday night at 10 p.m. f.d.r. and churchill's strai