from various governmental agencies. there's a lot of talk from representations, but i don't think there's dialogue, and i think we need to draw a difference between talking or speaking and dialoguing. dialoguing is to -- to engage in a dialogue means all those who are speaking are partners. and they're partners looking for a common solution to a common problem. and maybe even forming some sort of a council represented by the religious -- the minorities, ethnic and religious minorities who are affected by the atrocities of isis would be a practical step so that not only can they speak together and understand each other, and i think once they have understood each other, then they can make their asks and claims more representable before the governmental agencies that are on the ground, and even

international agencies. so i think have something sort of a formal council, if you will, for lack of a better term, that brings the minority groups together to have a common ask of what they want to do and what thigh need, what the needs, is bathes thing. i think a true engaging and sincere dialogue needs to take place between the minority groups and the governmental agencies. >> breen? [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: we have answered this question but let me ask. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: it's all about changing the laws and regulation in iraq and bringing in decision

about the court. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: we have answered this point before. >> it's interesting to note there's also know -- at the domestic level, both in iraq and in the kurdish reek regional government no laws that allow prosecution of cases for crimes against humanity. you talk about domestic laws needed or legislation needed, that's one gap. maybe then we'll open it up to questions from the audience. before that i want to talk just about the genode designation, the announcement by the united states, you said that it was welcomed but isn't enough. i'm just curious, that seems to be a sentiment that all of you have expressed. in terms of on the ground from the human tear assistance prefer i perspective is -- humanitarian assistance, is the level of assistance going duke, staying

the same, increasing in a real sense? >> we were very happy for what happened, for this declaration, but you know, it's not enough that these declaration remain at ink on the paper, as words just. so we need to realize that, that declaration on earth, on the ground. so, sure, we are going to ask also for -- from theup, the same declaration from the iraqi government as well. hope to continue living in iraq. if not. whom will protect us? how we are going -- we will go to live with those people who persecuted and continue persecuting us. so, many of them were our

neighbors that. they betrayed us. how can we continue the living in peace with them? so we don't ask for revenge. as the christian, we forgive them what they did, but we ask for justice. the justice should be affected for the whole country, not just for the plain. so that how we can go only to live in peace i've other minorities and others who are still living under isis in the plain. ask about the how we are going to live there in our cities after the liberation. so, what kind of solution are

going to ask. there were many, many solutions. one of these solutions was to make a demand for plain region, for minorities but that cannot be -- we don't accept it. we accept just if the other solution, that to have our sole governance in our cities and towns, to be able to -- as christians to govern our cities by ourself. so the people should be christians, not nonchristians, and by mayors, elected by the citizens. by christian citizens. and to -- sure, to resolve the

issue of the shift -- demographic shift that have happened for many years. so we need our christian cities just for christians. not because we hate others. we don't want to live without. no. we want deeply work with them, but we want our house to be our own house. i cannot accept other ones to live in my house without my permission. so that it. we love all of the minorities, all of the iraqi and muslims or not muslims. we want to continue to live together, but we want to also our rights, our complete right in our lands. >> father, can you help the audience under understand who you're alluding to, local populations not having control over who represents them, mayors and whatnot.

who are the political authorities responsible for the towns and communities you're talking about? >> so, which christian community? >> yes. >> so you know, there is now like the council of mosul, and the council of mosul we have representative there with them. they are working, trying to do their best. we are our politicians, christian politicians. so, everybody is doing his best for the -- i hope for the christian community, at least. so, maybe all of us, the church and the politicians, christian politicians, need to meet and meet and meet many times just to have -- to speak and to find out a solution. so, maybe with the help of a few

and others can we make these things. >> we have 40 minutes for questions. so let's open it up to the audience. i'm sure this has provoked a lot of questions. >> this i want -- >> questions, please, and i want to check with the -- is there a microphone? >> we have a mic over here, and i'd ask everybody to identify themselves and -- [inaudible] >> thank you. so please introduce yourself with your affiliation. and if i can ask for questions rather than comments. please keep them brief because -- there's a gentleman in the back who had his hand up first. >> thank you very much. i'm from the accountability center. i have two questions. father, are you calling for federation or federalism, and is it both sectarian and ethnic federalism?

is that what you mean by governs ourselves by our own people. and i hear scary narratives about outside and we live here. doesn't contribute to any possibility of reconciliation in the future and making living together is a possibility, which is going to happen, we like it or not. thank you. >> who would like to answer? father? directed in part to your recommendation. >> so, would be he more clear with the question. >> maybe restate the question. >> my first question, you mentioned, you want to govern your city yourself, but your own people, and i'm asking, are you calling for self autonomy or decentralization and federalism, and if you're calling for any of these type of governance, you're calling on ethnic and sectarian base governance, which is scary and dangerous.

iraq bath of blood based on nouri al-maliki. and the question is your comment where the jihadis and clips want to live themselves, and -- victims of our own victims, which is unacceptable if you're defending victims in general do you think you're kind of breaking enforceability for rereconciliation? >> you know, it is, i think, very easy, if the government can give for each minority its enough right so all of us will feel satisfied and we can go on with continuation. we still iraqis. we love our country. but we need the full of our rights. that's it. >> maybe just on that question.

so, in cities where sinjar city, for example, where you have sunni arabs living win the sinjar city, and others. given what you outlined before, what do you anticipate that relationship looking like, both secure their own political rights, physical protection, given the reality of the diversity of the region. go ahead. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: if the gentleman's point is that the rule would be -- would represent a danger to the state and what we're saying is that it is

actually will protect iraq. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: the yazidis are not going to turn into oppressing other people. we want protection for the area of sinjar, this protection involves everyone who lives there. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: the thrust of the population there has to be changing laws. >> father? >> i think our iraqi con --

constitution for the governance in -- for minorities in iraq, i think, or others, if they decided that, there were many demands for the iraqi government to take the same position, to create another -- other governments now and other -- the governments inside iraq. so, we think we can have our rights and our freedom, complete freedom, if we govern ourself, because we try to be governed by others, but we failed. we finished. as a very small town community in iraq, and most of our peoples live -- left iraq.

so, that i think it's all right to ask for that to govern ourselves. >> another question. a woman right here. there's microphone on the aisle. >> father, my name is erin walsh and i just wanted to clarify something you said, which i think naomi might eave eluded to. you said the government placed a mayor to run your city who happened to have been muslim. so it tis not democratically elected and had he been he might have been christian oar muslim. so therefore you're calling for democracy so that all of you can choose who your mayor would be, to run the city. is that correct? rather than being imposed and being an agent of the sitting government. is that correct, father? >> yes. we need that. the democracy but the democracy for christians, not the

democracy not just for others. >> you're saying there was no democracy, that the mayor was installed in the city. >> yeah. >> and that created most of the problem. >> that's why we have many problem. >> okay, thank you. >> just do want to quickly clarify, though, there are elects, there's a democracy that exists. there's a concern about political influence in different parts. a contested part of iraq so minority communities, their vulnerability is being, as sir baited -- exacerbated by the inability to resolve that dispute and perhaps what's that the father was eluding to. ...

thank you very much. [speaking in native tongue] >> may i ask, would you mind, sir, translating, would that be possible? >> yes, i have some comments, these are not just questions. he's a mesh of the iraqi parliament. the iraqi organization. the human rights committee in the iraqi parliament and the head of the turkey national.

[speaking in native tongue] >> we have been talking about the conditions of minorities in iraq and syria as well. [speaking in native tongue] >> we are a bit late because we should have known that when churches were bombed in the year 2004. this was a sign. [speaking in native tongue] >> but we allowed the problem to continue until isis came into existence. [speaking in native tongue] >> and i believe that all the colleagues here have said that the areas will need international help. [speaking in native tongue]

>> this international protection is not new only in iraq but in both syria and iraq for all the minorities who have been oppressed. [speaking in native tongue] and. >> also the crimes of the regime. [speaking in native tongue] >> there have been international protection in the last, in 1991, maybe something like that will happen again. [speaking in native tongue] >> we in the human rights committee in the parliament have been trying hard to repeal some of the regulations that were passed by the old regime but

until this moment, there isn't enough political will to repeal such laws and regulations. [speaking in native tongue] >> and this has been the tactics of isis. they started with the weakest of the ethnic components, started with the third command and then moved to the other minorities. [speaking in native tongue] >> we want iraq to become part of a srch inch grch inference [speaking in native tongue]

>> iraqi constitution in article 125, all the ethnic minorities in iraq are entitled to protection on all their areas, this goes for the third command and others. [speaking in native tongue] >> i need to comment on this subject. >> by the membership in the membership statutes for the international criminal courts, the iraqi government has made

its position that it's not going to -- it doesn't want to join roam. and the reason are other method methods. [speaking in native tongue] >> there's a way out of that, which is that iraq would cooperate with the international criminal court for one period for one crime. [speaking in native tongue] >> and we are hoping that the iraqi government would agree to that measure. >> thank you, thank you for the comment despite what has happened minorities continue to not be a priority in terms of addressing some of their very real concerns around constitutional challenges and failures and legal protection

for them. can i ask for other questions. there's a woman who is in the middle on the left side with glasses. thank you. if i could ask joust to keep it to questions. >> thank you, i'm lauren and i'm with law and liberty and trust and we have been advocating rights for christians. i just got back from iraq last night where it is being said that the liberation of mosul is imminent. one of the things that most minorities want is their own malicious to be increased and empowered so that they can participate in the liberation and then the defense of these territories which are historically christian and others and i wonder what your thoughts were on that and how the international community could put its resources to work to make that happen.

>> who would like to respond? father, would you like to respond in terms to have malacias? [inaudible] >> thank you, who can speak to those issues. thank you. >> i would like to explain but if you allow me to -- >> will you be on the panel later today? >> no i'm not, but i wish i was. [laughter] >> there was a lot that need to be done. >> thank you, it's a very good point. i appreciate that. >> i think there would be also a panel after that. >> so they will answer those questions now regarding malacias and others now. >> yes. >> no, no.

>> well, thank you. first of all, appoint the border as my friends say that we were expecting to talk about religious freedom and what to do, we are in one zone, others don't accept diversity, don't accept and what to do to go into their zone and to comfort diversity, so we go for humanitarian here, we go for political here, we go for everything. with all respect, i agree all what they spoke about but we are in some zone what to do to make our friends the extremist who cheated america, betrayed america and america is paying taxes of those people.

america go one direction and they go other directions. they were not that much patriot or national leaders that everybody is trying for region for ethnicity. so today what to do to -- who are the producers of isis? why isis produced today? shall we expect new isis infusion or not? there were isis before or not? [speaking in native tongue] >> we will expect much more isis. we have lot to say here but not everything now. so i mean we have to go to the source who recollects is producing, to help diffuse that and stop produces isis and the people who believe in peace, diversity and --

>> thank you very much. with that hopeful framing, let's save political questions when we have political actors available. [laughter] >> although the religious leaders are very important and engaged in many -- all facets of the questions and all facets of the issue. but i very much take that point. are there questions that are focused more -- >> sir, over there, thank you. >> mark, 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 communities safe for return and to remain, but in the meantime, in the short-term and in the medium term, to what extent do members of your communities or subgroups within

your community need to be resettled out of the region, two countries like the united states, is that being pursued for any vulnerable members of your communities or do you want to keep all of them where they are? >> who would like to begin with that? >> another political question. >> perhaps all issues are political. so briefly everybody wants to go -- to go back to his own house, so my country is my big house, but i need to be in my own house. so each family dreams that, nobody accepts to be displaced to other place without dignity. so fir -- for the help you asked

also, i talked about the urgent needs that we have now like housing, for example, this is the first urgent thing to find out the solution for this big problem. the second thing, the -- 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 about women who have been seeking medical assistants in germany or specific programs for christians and others?

[speaking in native tongue] >> the number of people affected were 6,700. [speaking in native tongue] >> 3,000 of them have been liberated. [speaking in native tongue] >> the german government has acted with the government to provide health care or mental care for one thousand women. [speaking in native tongue] >> and we are calling and hoping that the american government, the european government and even some arab governments might help with care needed for this one. >> thank you.

may i take additional questions. gentleman in the third row, sorry, the gentleman in the front. sorry about that. >> thank you. from france and also member, first of all, we all forget that the countries that democracy is -- the place where it was born, you can say that it's a cradle of democracy and we have countries where democracy is in the cradle still today. so we have to keep that in mind and not put immediately and not have everything perfect in that part of the region we are talking about. but we have to consolidate and i

think you, father, we have to think about how to make a strong government in iraq and help the political situation. don't forget -- i like to point out to conference that you organized last year, we will not mention, the united against violence in the name of religion supporting citizen against other religions and minorities. we have to support the rights of the communities, we are not asking for protection, please make this as an important step forward because i'm not happy -- i come also from minority but we are not in that way 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. >> thank you, father. just to be clear i'm not the decision-maker. i'm just here to participate here and oh to -- to think with you what's the best for us. i have ideas and others will have maybe different ideas so we are just talking to -- to see how we can resolve this problem. >> additional questions? there is a woman in the back row. second to last back row there. thank you, if you can stand up, that's helpful. thank you, if you can identify yourself. >> maria, victims of torture. i want to touch on a point being

made about psychological care. i'm wondering what's currently available to the communities and whether it's based around the churches and, you know, religious communities and is it available to like as mental health care available to all idp's and local communities regardless of religious affiliation? >> i don't understand. >> whether or not that there's mental health care that's being given to those being displaced to deal with the trauma that they experienced in the course of being displaced and victims of violent torture? [speaking in native tongue] >> if we could just start with the panelists, i would appreciate that. bareen, if you would like to comment on that?

okay. [speaking in native tongue] >> the psychological condition of the women living in the camps is extremely difficult. [speaking in native tongue] >> the government of ire together with other organizations and iraqi government, they have some plans in order to to rehabilitate

these women but it's not enough and we are hoping for -- [speaking in native tongue] maybe mr. gannon can add some remarks. >> one moment. >> that's very important issue maybe, you know, maybe we don't feel -- i'm displaced myself. maybe all of us we need that kind of treatment or, you know, but there is still like in that issue because officials in iraq in trauma matters, so many organizations try to come in iraq and realize that training

for common people there in iraq to help others is good thing but it's not efficient, so -- [speaking in native tongue] >> thank you. >> excuse me, my name is haji, i'm a member of the iraqi parliament for the human rights committee and head of the lgg movement block. and i have something to say

about accountability and the ways to bring back trust to the cities. >> thank you, can i ask -- looks like you have a prepared statement. can we make copies and make it available. i want to focus on the question about the assistants to mental health for those who have been displaced and the points that have been made both by bareen, thousand entire community of displaced people are in need of this type of assistants, would that be okay? i'm sorry to interrupt. we have about ten minutes left and i do want to see if there are additional questions for the religious leaders and the community leaders on the issue of the topic at hand. thank you. >> no, no. [speaking in native tongue]

>> i still have something to add to what you said. >> on the issue of mental health and the question that was asked? [speaking in native tongue] >> thank you. [speaking in native tongue] >> the affected women are still living in the camps, living in miserable conditions like all

diseases and suffering that they had to go through before. [speaking in native tongue] >> there have been cases of suicides on the rise among the women abducted. [speaking in native tongue] >> and some of them are now suffering from mental retardation. [speaking in native tongue] >> there have been one german organization that helped move some of them into care but because the numbers are too big we still need for more intervention by other groups to do the same.

[speaking in native tongue] >> besides that, there's 1500 children in the isis camps who are being trained to commit atrocities and cut heads. [speaking in native tongue] >> some of the affected women are being moved from mosul in syria ahead of expectation that most might fall. [speaking in native tongue] >> and we are afraid that these women might be killed or moved

to other cities before the liberation of mosul. thank you. >> thank you very much for raising those really critical points, specially your last point about the very real physical threats that women face specially now as we talk about the liberation of mosul but also syria, our conversation has focused on communities in iraq and also those in syria are in desperate need with more limited access to them. we have only five minutes left so we are going to take one last question and thenly ask the panelists just to finish. i'm going to ask -- there's a gentleman at the far back that had his hand up. >> hi, i'm from muslim community . i'm sorry that this is happening in there. i think the 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, in so many countries so that people can know what's going on with the minorities, and i think what we ask the u.s. government is not enforce their will but also create a dialogue between minorities and other groups and that is what i'm asking the iraqi government, if they can have the dialogue between minorities and other groups. >> any questions for the panelists? no. with that, i think what i would like to do is give you the final word to speak.

archbishop said, we are tired of proms we need actions in order to keep our nation together. i think that's an incredibly powerful sentiments about how the communities feel. father, would you like to start? >> sure. it's sad for all iraqis that iraq is in this bad, miserable situation. there's no peace in any cities, in any city in iraq. we need to keep our hands together to work together, to pray together, to realize the final piece in iraq, for all iraqis, not just for minorities but also in the rest of iraq specially in baghdad and in these few months there is --

very serious problems with security and peace, so -- but, you know, realizing peace in iraq so it's a big matter so we should realize peace a little bit. now with some small places, maybe with minorities in such cities like baghdad and south of iraq and then after liberation, we can work altogether to resolve the security and peace problems there and we hope altogether can reconciliate all iraqis together because we are citizens of the same country, so that's our hope. >> bishop.

>> i would like to thank you for the opportunity. i think it's been pointed out dialogue can go a far distance in bringing about reconciliation, but i think possibly having a representative council combined and minority groups that would dialogue with the local and regional governmental agencies in order to bring to practical level, awareness to others. we are speaking about religious freedom. i think if everyone goes back to their religious teachings that bring about dialogue and tolerance and even love, i think that will also go a long way because to speak about religion and 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 are coming to do that, going back to religious and understanding tolerance is important. >> thank you. [speaking in native tongue] >> i want you to think of yourself what would happen if you were living, the family of three people, you have one sister that has been raped, another sister that is held by isis. [speaking in native tongue] >> for over two years. [speaking in native tongue] >> for two years we keep saying that. [speaking in native tongue]

>> we hope that the good sent sentiments would turn to practical steps. [speaking in native tongue] >> they will only feel safe about their presence in the future if their demands are met. >> we hope that the conference could take a approach and would issue implementation that would be issued in the future. thank you very much. >> thank you, gentlemen, for this conversation and covered many issues and was far-reaching and provocative at times and i appreciate you speaking on behalf of your communities and

sharing the experience of you personally. thank you. [applause] >> let me add my thanks for a very troubling, inspiring and informative kickoff to this terribly important conference. lets give them another round of applause. thank you very much. okay, we are going to -- we are going to take a 15-minute break, please be back in your seats by 11:15 thank you. [inaudible conversations] we have a tradition 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 will encounter, so rather than wait and have the uncertainty, we are going to begin, eliza is the moderator so when she comes in we ask students to bring her up and my colleague who will be on the later panel is sitting on my left and is going to kick us off. so it'll be a little awkward when we make the exchanging but i think it'll be worth doing so we can go ahead and get started on this terribly, terribly important panel. ken take it away. >> thank you, tom and thank you for coming back. we are looking forward the next panel. the next panel addresses advocacy and perspective on the

big issue of today, the threats of religious and ethnic minorities. i have the privilege of introducing our four panelists and what i'm going to do is turn to each of them in turn, they will have about five minutes or so to give their name and say a little bit about how they and their organization are trying to address this question in general terms. first i'm going to turn murad is mael. >> we can't hear you. >> it's working now? it's working?

[inaudible conversations] >> yeah. try this. a pleasure to be here, my name is murad ismael, a globally organization that was established after august 3rd 2014 when the islamic state attacked our community. i work with this group to create yazda and provide humanitarian services to the community including clinics and one psycho

social program for the women in addition to our work that we dead internationally, advocating for the cause. >> okay. >> mona. >> can you hear me? my name is mona malik, i was born in baghdad, i left when i was very young, i have visited iraq a couple of times and i plan to be there very shortly. reason why i'm here today is because i'm representing someone who wasn't allow today leave the country to be here the president of the society of iraq, if you see me reading most of my answers is because i want them to be his answers and i'm representing, i am his voice and the assyrian aid society of america. as we as syrians we have no right 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 speaking for them in his words and answers and how we have try today work with the crisis is on a humanitarian perspective when -- assyrian aid society has focus and the focus has been shifted for the last years because the funding has to go to helping idp's and refugees and we are hoping that we return back to our focus of education and infrastructure once again to help syrian christians in the homeland. >> thanks, mona. >> i think it's working. yeah, good morning, i am ali.

we work -- >> can you speak slower? you're talking too fast. >> yeah. i am ali, i'm chief of turkmen foundation, working with a group of volunteers in iraq and we have many representative outside of iraq. we are trying to increase awareness of offering of turk money in iraq and living outside of iraq according to our facility, we are working mainly in reporting, media work, depend ing facilities. we have news agency. we are depending on social media and attending conferences and international sessions to increase awareness of suffering of our pupil because it is not

new things. >> okay. >> i'm rajab kareen. [speaking in native tongue]

>> i'm assessor in -- sorry, sorry. [speaking in native tongue] [laughter] >> we are working in an organization spreading the culture and i've been head of the organization since since the year 2003. [speaking in native tongue] as of 2005 i've been the official in charge of the center of organization. [speaking in native tongue] >> then i became a consultant

for information and media for the same organization. [speaking in native tongue] >> and currently i'm number three in the representatives of the community in ministry of pakistan. [speaking in native tongue] >> and i also started an organization for development and culture in my community. [speaking in native tongue] i'm also a member of the council of diversity in the iraqi council for religious. i'm also the representative of the movement in this council.

>> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> i'm going to take the liberty to asking you this question, i don't have a license question so i can ask anything i want. i know from working in a variety of organizations that anybody who is involved in advocacy or civil society, the temptation is to believe that that kind of activity doesn't have much impact once you've come to a situation where violence is occurring. if one of the actors is in this case attacking religious or ethnic minorities, so my question for any of you is this question, in a situation like this who is the focus of your advocacy on? who are you trying to persuade of what to improve the situation relative to the ethnic and religious minorities in these situations?

anybody want to take a crack at answering that question? whoever. you can if you wish. you understood what i said there ? [speaking in native tongue] >> while you talk, i'm going to go ahead and let you speak. >> is it working? so in situations like this -- >> yeah. >> in situations like this when you basically, entire communities find themselves without -- without defense in the hands of a group that believes in nothing but the killing, enslavement, rape, a group that basically have no morales of responsibilities and in the past we've all seen many wars, all the wars, there is some moral in it. what the so-called islamic state

did has no basis of moral in it, they attacked entire communities with the intentions to wipe them out and their own community, the fraction of the community that they say that we represent and any case they don't agree with them they persecute them. we all found ourselves in a situation where we really didn't know what to do for a small counterlike -- community, small community we were faced with two choices for the women and their children to die, for the women to be taken and the children to be taken. i think the advocacy that we have done through yazda is focusing on two things. collect information, once you have information, you can use that information to approach the government, for example, the beginning of the attack we collected information about 6 0u

-- 6,000 women and children, they were taking them and was a tool of us to do advocacy and then the approach was to the federal governments and then to the media. if you don't have media, then it's very hard to make any advance. anything with any cause like this, you have to have a lot of media coverage, you have to have communication with the governments but then once you bring also other ngo's, advocacy groups, then you have more people working with you and in my experience that we become more active as we had more players coming in advocating for this cause. >> the point of your advocacy is to get somebody to intervene on behalf of your community? >> on behalf of all communities but on behalf of the humanity as a whole. to me is what the islamic state is doing, it's beyond anything that we have ever seen and we

advocate for our community, i think we advocate on behalf of all the communities. >> good, mona. >> yeah, i would like to add to my colleague from yazda is not only were we not prepared to defend ourselves but we were disarmed prior to isis coming in and we weren't allowed to be part of the security. so we had no way of defending ourselves, so the -- when we had a few hours just to escape from mosul, all those areas they literally left with the clothes on their backs and when they say that it's not just words, it's actually reality. so -- who we go to to bring awareness is the international community like my colleague said, the un who has still not recognized the genocide of the minority and they must do that

to bring justice to the victims of genocide of isis. so, yeah, international communities, the un, the u.s. as much as possible and also within our own communities to rise up. i mean, this is a crime against all humanity not just against the minorities. >> thank you. good morning, again to all. if i answer on question of my colleague about -- i think it's our duty to work for all human being. we are specialized each one of us in issue, this is because of democracy force us to think about our religion, think about ethnicity and so the democracy in iraq unfortunately started in

baghdad according to shea and kurds and forced us to think more about that. this is what happened and i am working because it is a need in the city in the ground but at the same time working for all people. it is my duty to work for all humanity and all human beings. so i think that there's other things that turkman is forgetting. we are representing about 7-10% iraq according to all census data, 7 to 10% of iraqi population, we are extending from northwest of iraq, the iraqi-turkish-syrian border, iraqi border, or iraqi-border.

the main problem of minorities in iraq, the facts are hidden. no one know it is -- knows the facts. the media started to convince some things and this is what you need. actually we need the most important thing here is to make something or establish something to make the reality reach all the international community, all the nation community and participated and establishing new democracy in iraq 2003. they are also have another duty to reevaluate what happened in iraq, we have thousands abducted and raped and killed and hundreds of women have been robbed and killed by burning and

a thousand have been killed over these years. so usa, we thank usa government about this opportunity, about these activities but at the same time we ask them to reevaluate and what happened to the minorities. i think our suffering is too much. the most important issue i want to talk about is issue of abducting turkmen women. 600 of them women and girls. 120 children. the women -- after raping and burn and killed, beheading.

[inaudible] >> rob about nine turkmen girls and hang them in electricity lines. the first woman had been killed it was parliamentarian. she was our colleague, they abducted her with her husband and then they killed her by beheading. so this is what happens. another thing i want to talk also which is important thing and the international community didn't do anything for us. in march 2016 isis attacked district west and the attack was with chemical and till today about 6,000 victims including all degree of affected, i'm talking about burning condition, about chest problems and others, i know that most of them because

there was chemical weapons and who will protect them? we know that the facilities in iraq is very few poor, so we need actually steps and action about that. >> okay, thank you so much. we will get to each of your points and we will get to them in detail. i think the point of today is really to understand what's not being reported. why are we not hearing about what's happening to minorities under isis and what do some of the solutions look like so thank you so much and we will break that down a little bit so people can follow along. [inaudible conversations] >> 6,000 injured or affected. >> under the chemical? >> after chemical attack. >> okay, in the chemical attack. total number of victims, simple-degree burn or chest problems, some of them have been killed. yeah, yeah.

>> that's why this is so essential. i want to give you a chance to finish the question. >> thank you. [speaking in native tongue] >> i meant to explain about the community because people here who are from iraq know about the community but others would not know, if you give me a minute i will explain and explain who are we. [speaking in native tongue] >> your son is the real name and it's an independent religion. derived from the mediterranean religion that goes back a

thousand years. [speaking in native tongue] >> they live in iraq and iran. in iran they are known as the people of the truth and in iraq they are known as the kakais. forbe foreign. >> in iraq there are between 200,000kakais and cannot be completely sure of the numbers because there's no proper statistics about the numbers of the community. [speaking in native tongue] >> and today i'm here to talk about the communities in iraq. [speaking in native tongue]

>> ethnically we are kurdish and our religious are written in the kurdish language. [speaking in native tongue] >> our religion, we are a religious minority. [speaking in native tongue] >> occupied seven religious in the valleys. [speaking in native tongue] >> the number of people displaced are 2,117 families equal to 19,000 and 253.

[speaking in native tongue] >> the kakai although their villages were occupied, they had a mission that isis was on its way, fortunately they fled from the region before they came. [speaking in native tongue] >> isis blew up five of our temples. [speaking in native tongue] >> they demolished many houses and they booby-trapped the risk -- rest of the houses. [speaking in native tongue] >> after this area was liberated by kurdish forces, the coalition

forces -- [speaking in native tongue] >> people came back to their liberated villages to take a look at their houses. and because of the booby-traps 90 people were murdered. and the material damage was assessed at about 52 million. [speaking in native tongue] >> and i want to speak to you about the sector on the people still living in iraq. [speaking in native tongue] >> because of fear of isis

several of the kakai community members appeared on television and said that they were muslims. [speaking in native tongue] >> i have more stuff to say but i would like to leave that opportunity for my colleagues here. >> thank you so much, thank you so much. so now we have a sense -- we have so many representatives. .. what has your communities responsibly and? we've had several flights.

certainly billions of people fleeing, fleeing the areas. we have the response of trying to leave the country or not. do people want to go home? if you want to stay put? what is the desired response post ices? as we have the idea of self protection, has your community forum a militia of some kind? what they like to be recognized by the iraqi government? would you like right kosovo, self protection? several questions. militia questions, questions about flight. let's start out with when you do stories about what isis the thing around work and you think what's happened in your own community. let me ask each of you, what are you not doing? i think of the turkmen chemical attack. i think in general we are not hearing about the when you think of the yazidi community what do you wish the people in this room

knew about that you're not hearing? >> i think i wish everyone would know the yazidis are going to a holocaust and there's no gas chambers. there's a system that persecutes the yazidis not by that ash but in the past. going to the university of mosul, i was summoned many mornings to go and explain why what, explain the yazidis were not the worshiper. the yazidis were other human beings. that created a situation where a genocide took place. i always say that genocide will not take place unless the comes under many shadows. and there is a general understanding within that region or that community that these people do not deserve life. i think until now the yazidi tragedy has not been

acknowledged. when you have a distinctive religious minority who have been given two choices, that nobody else in the region was given our choices. they say the yazidis are not people of the book, they were devil worshipers. according to interpretation that the yazidis existence within the muslim world would shame them. i think the extent of the tragedies with the woburn, every single woman had seen, the women i was with over the phone, isis was taking them. in some cases they had come in one case they had 3000 women, children, and they keep those villages, detention centers but not just detention. they will go through and take whatever woman they wanted to

pick up. i will never forget those moments been on the phone with woman that committed suicide, to others were shot by daesh. i will never forget looking just two weeks ago in the eyes of five yazidi women who lost their husbands. in that same house, to medical students who were the best in the province of mosul. they were put aside, killed. they are women were taken, everybody in the family was enslaved or killed. to see those women with their children, living under horrible conditions in the refugee care. they have no income, no food. talking about shelter, about 80%, 85% of the yazidi population, about 400,000 people have no place to live for two years now.

they have no income. humanitarian rights is decreasing every day. >> this is so essential. this is the next face of the store i feel we are not hearing. i wonder what you think. the casualty rate remains an open question. we cannot established definitively but we certainly do know that by 2016, 3.3 million people have been displaced by isis. for the assyrian community driven from their homes, what does living far from home me and? what are you not hearing this next phase of the story? >> thank you. i just want to say that one of the things that we need to make clear is that this ethnic cleansing has not just our two years ago. it's been slowly happening and isis just expressed the process. made it happen quicker in a

shorter period of time. >> got to interrupt? i think that so essential and it's tricky politically to look at that. when you look at the su and christian community, you're looking at before the u.s. invasion, a population of more than 1 million. and a mass exodus happening before i this, right, now looking at a community of what, maybe 300,000. >> may become if we are lucky. it was 1.5 billion in 2003 and maybe somewhere between 200-two and 50 right now. we are not really sure. so yes, this is been happening for a while. one of the things that i like for people to know is there are different reactions. everybody has to pay nature. they should get out or they shouldn't or they should stay and keep the culture going to that's not our place. the kinds of stories that come out of their resonate the

feeling. i just want to quote some of these women. i'm quoting because -- like one woman who is being moved from one place to another after losing their home. if you move my family you have to move me with all my neighbors. that's how syrian christians are. the whole neighborhood or the whole village is their family. that's one thing. and how they are coping with this, when they have escaped they have tried to stay to give as much as possible. it gives them some sort of semblance of normality. in the middle of this whole awful ugly crisis your it's the only way they can cope with the loss of their homes, their families and everything they know to be like human and genuine.

it stay close together as much as possible. from what i hear is that we are pleading with the international community to help us not only just stay there and have enough food and water but to have infrastructure again, to have some sort of a marshall plan to create jobs and to help us thrive again in our homeland. we deserve that. one of the indigenous people of the area, and we are not saying pay attention to us when we say that yazidis and syrian christians have had genocide done to them, and please help us. we are not saying that our lives are more valuable than anybody else, but there needs to be a priority when we go from

1.5 billion to 250,000 companies to be a priority to that. >> maybe what we'll do is come back to this question of what does and landscape post-isis look like and what can the international community, look at the international community do to make it so. i want to reiterate something to say that's was such a. i've heard both colleagues say this today. look, we are not sitting out there so i'm a turkmen. this is our communal identity. we have been fractured as a people. it's really important that it's not just us. it is where the minorities together. i think that's what is important to hear. so in terms of a turkmen community, this chemical attack has gone virtually unreported here in the united states. baby you could talk to us a little bit about it and what you would call on the international

community to do now. >> thank you. the chemical attack was and march 2016. about 20 kilometers south of away from the center, south. mostly they are turkmen, have been attacked from village and other sites of crime and assessed against turkmen. it was june 2014 when daesh attacked about 12,000 turkmen. they abducted, raped as a nation, nine women and girls. so it was the site of presence of isis or they were already attacking the district every day, weekly but the government, because they are busy with isis or so i'm so there was not any action to stop the.

in march 2016 there will workplace attacked by isis. the one was about 22 -- [inaudible] the total number was about -- automatic some of it will be directly and some would have been after days and months and years. still today we have around according to the report, we have around 30,000 civilian attacked or injured or affected by this. and mustard gas according to the official reports by the organization. they declared that it was the conference by mr. assad before two miles or so they declared that it was really mustard gas.

so it was genocide against turkmen. but today some action has been taken steps by our petition to send some people to turkey or iran but there was not any strategic plan to resolve this or take care of such peoples. >> doctor, what would that strategic plan look like? maybe that's part of articulating, had we provide, how do we know the layout the scope of the problem but address some of the means by which, what would the response look like? >> first of all before three days i had some news from intelligence officials in iraq that isis want now to protect another turkmen city, also in the province and it is about 80 kilometers to the north of baghdad. the problem that isis is still

in some areas, a few kilometers away from civilian inhabited places, trying to get a victory in some places and letting the other places not liberated. i meant that. still inhabited by isis, if they cannot attack at any time. everyday there is new evidence or criminal acts around our cities. first of all we must prevent because all we're talking about the ability of isis to form chemical weapons and their ownership of such. i think forcible we should prevent such events may occur at any place in iraq. they cannot attend can attack any city, any province. deal with those people in proficiently. the environment should be

cleaned and should be dealt with professionally and by professional organizations. in syria they send clinics to deal places for cities. after that we need giving care for such peoples. we need to escape our long-term complications according to my colleagues they told me many of them would develop leukemia in the future. black cancer. so we need also medical evacuation for some severe cases. this is what is related and what we need in this issue. >> and now to our colleague. i don't know if you'd agree but they are the least heard from along with others. who hears about what's happening? this is a really good moment to hear historically about what persecution has looked like and

what they are suffering now. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: i just introduced to you what they were up out. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: since the iraqi state was formed in the last century -- [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: the religion is -- was not mentioned in the iraqi constitution when the country was first formed. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: and that's the reason that make us a note to people are not close to the

community. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: for example, many would know that they exist for the muzzle the areas where kakai live. have no idea what the kakai is, what it is all about. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: it's similar to what my colleague here said about his community and of people are asking him about the background of that community. we also face the same problem. [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: many claims were made that we are devil worshipers, that we had to turn out all the lights in the new year. such unreasonable things that are out of ignorance. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: the first iraq institution ignored us and did not make mention of us. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: since the year 2003, a selected group of iraqis legal experts and activists visited the iraqi parliament. [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: they made a big push for the kakai to be included. >> i think that's part of our next question, which is the solution to write? at this point with a look at about what each community is facing, who they are, what they are not hearing about the news, which is everything it report about the systematic attempt to destroy different people. we've heard about targeted campaigns of massacre of rape, kidnap for ransom had been kidnapped for taking children into what daesh calls the c.o.p.s. program, child soldiers. i myself into the mouth of a three-year old girl who was taken isis and has yet to be returned. so this problem could not be more pressing or a multifaceted. now let's turn to solutions. lets you for each of these guys about what has been their communities most effective solution?

is a simple solution? is it a military solution in hell performance militia? attached right to that is hasn't been more successful to leave the country? what is the reality of flight and displacement what we will turn to that now, what has beach communities response been and where has it been effective? what we will end with is the question 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 with the yazidi responsible to you guys down to be effective, if anything? and what are you seeing in terms of self-defense, civil society, what's working? >> so i think we can identify the current situation of the

yazidi people right now, it would be displacement, mistrust, not be confident to live in the homeland. if you go and ask the question to the yazidi, they will tell you whether there will be international protection of the genocide globally and preserve rights as a committee of the other choice but i will leave. about 70,000 have already existed from the region. -- exited. there would've been no 100,000 just left from half a million people. talking about the solutions. after no now we have the resolun from the u.n. report that what happened to the yazidi was a different treatment -- >> is that helpful? doesn't have any teeth for you on the ground for the international community to acknowledge the genocide? >> i think it been lacking irresponsibility. they have been dragging basically defeat not to take the case before the icc or a tribunal court.

we are pursuing a legal case. we are trying to open the cases for the international criminal court. i think it's important. i think what atrocities on this scale are committed against a community the first thing you can do for them is bring justice. the first thing they will tell you, i want what happened to me to be recognized even if there's nothing coming out of the. i think the solutions on several levels. they are on solutions need be done internationally, done locally. basic a government solution is to be done by the muslim community internationally. one thing i would expect, come out and say this statement of his yazidi woman was not right, something i never heard. that i can challenge whoever wants to bring to question that the muslim clerics internationally never came out

against the genocide. never came out and never said the rape of the yazidi woman was not in line with the sharia, for example. i think that's something with the muslim, they go into a lot of chaos with anything against their religion has been said internationally. i think what happened underneath of islam, islamic state which does not represent any religion, just be clear of that but the muslim committee should have came out in iraq. now we talk about the sunni community in iraq insurgent the sunni committee, the tribal leaders could have said no to the rate. they could've said no to the distribution. they could've said no to the genocide but they didn't say that. that's one angle. also view to ask my community, to find own solutions. and how can a community that basically lost everything they possess for three generations, the best ucd person left his

home with his clothes on. that's the best situation if you're very lucky, if you're very happy person and to be able to just escape with your own close. so for the international community to ask me for solution is not fair. i think the international committee should stand up for its obligations. there must be clear recognition of the genocide with the parliament, with the public, the public should know that the yazidi were subject to genocide. i think a legal case must be pursued against daesh and there must be two legal systems and international ecosystem or a tribunal court and also system within iraq. from my experience and from our experience back in 2006 and 2007 when terrorist groups were able to commit their crimes, at the same time they were able to get back to the political process in iraq. this is something my committee

will never accept a i will tell them bring to justice war first before you ask for reconciliation. it is very painful to me when i sit with someone while i still have 3200 engrossed in captivity that are being raped every day. it's painful for me such as the to reconcile. this reminds me of something that observed with my own eyes. we had two people mentally ill people. one of them was beating the other one of the one who was being beaten to his face, you know, he was a very terrible situation but the guy who was beating in was crying and he was saying come, please hold them so i can escape it to what is happening, the yazidi is that victims come of being beaten up, persecuted, they have been given two choices but the international community is asking for reconciliation even before asking for justice. to me justice is very important. to me for the short term about

30% of the yazidi homeland must be freed right now. >> can we come back to this? >> just a minute to finish. >> if we can let out what the long-term solution would be for the yazidi people after we get how each committee is responded. with that makes its? i'd like to go back to that because i think we do so with the iraqi constitution allows for, what homeland might look like for minority staff that's okay. >> i think so far i've been really trying to keep it short. >> that would be great because we super are running out of time. >> but to be there i'd like to give more background. i'm talking about all three denominations. we come from the church of the east, the catholic church and the street orthodox and a few participants will. when i see israel i meant all that. i don't separate it because ethically we are all this union. that's number one.

-- we are all this union. there's a misconception out there that the christians are being given a choice. was a recent article that publicly stated that has been a two under 78 page report done by the knights of columbus and i do see together where we gathered testimony everything to show that there's been legal papers, 35 page legal paper, all these are committed secretary kerry and i think moment before he was about to announce a declaration of genocide, you know, christians were included in there so that's one thing. that's why the u.n. is hesitating to include us into the genocide because they keep claiming that it's a misconception that they were given -- and it was extortion. >> that is my experience reporting in the region, but just make sure everybody is up

to speed on the attacks. the idea being that this is since the promotional videos saying with happy faces of creation so i'll have to do is paid a small amount of money when the lived experience that is not at all true. it's extortion or i'll take your three year old daughter is not a viable, isis is, in fact, not of the christians debate some tax that lets them off the. >> and this tax goes back to the beginning of islam. it was a security tax and they're using that as an excuse but they are really not offering it. or the offer so ridiculous at $8000 a month. it's extortion. so that's the other misconception i wanted to say to the world. so since june of 2014, the political map in iraq has

changed and the vision of the people has totally changed completely about their own future. if there isn't a future it's hard psychologically to take the next step. what is the next thing to do, if all i'm doing is trying to feed i found that's it, what is the next up is for us career and future for the kids and everything? all that is lost once that comes to stop. the future is unpredictable. the security, the insecurity push the people to immigrate, number one. since 2003 the exit is has been massive, and to the point of extinction. we have been there over 6000 years and we were one of the first groups to adopt christianity. but whe we knew just the christs were talking about only the past 2000 years and you just knocked off 4000 years of existence.

if there ever to return back home, there needs to be this conference that we have self-determination, security and that we will not be abandoned again, again, again. that i say that over and over again. in history. and the most recent was in june of 2014 when we were disarmed and abandon. >> so that's excellent the we're going to return to that. i'm going to look at nick for a highside on how much time we have left. 25 is left. thank you very much. so i'm going to turn it over to questions in five to seven minutes. that's going to be the aim. so let's hear from both the turkmen and kakai community on this question. then we will talk for one minute about, we for a little bit, a couple of regions left with the yazidis are still strong, this idea of returning, what would it

take internationally. first we are going to your from both the turkmen and the kakai about what effective response your community has been able to take so far or what is working? >> thanks again. i think, i still am thinking to put solution and to treat disease you must diagnose the. what happened rooted in terms of issues, something internationally. there is a cultural problem in iraq. there is a misunderstanding of democracy. i know any movement in the hand needs the nipples in the nerve center of the brain and to be transmitted and when you move. so i think -- in the brain of many groups. he told it was present before i

says and it will regain to another phase. so we must put an educational and cultural programs to solve this problem. this can happen both by ngos and help by the community. another problem, the fact of disputed areas, the larger lands and most, such plans with the lives of minority, turkmen and other minority, called disputed area. disputed area between who and who? between us in government? i don't know. who is responsible for such? to extend more to get more opportunity because they have external support and they won't accept because they have a bad history and they don't trust anyone.

the other group was the same period we have constitution problem and it must be changed. this is a problem. another problem is extra. the pub in iraq is there's external from iraq. everyone trying to support their group, and weakening all the others. this is a problem. we need a real democracy, a real implementing of rules of democracy and human rights, reducing such intervention, for helping, okay. i think to put solution about the crisis on the ground we need to divide it in short-term and long-term. short-term we must deal with the crisis. we must deal with the abducted women urgently. not just to talk to we must deal with victims of chemical weapons

and deal with the women and children according to unicef. now have about 2 million children in danger. for the last for the ongoing tenures, how will they draw? they will be a real source of criminal action in the future. i think the best way to empower the local ngos, support them, supported by training, supported by establishing human rights institutions in europe i think. this is a message from us to georgetown university, thankfully, to study this issue and to help the iraqi people to establish institution specializes in human rights. because it is absent. >> okay, doctor, i'm going to wrap you up right there. great.

because our kakai colleague talked about the problems with the constitution to i think that's where we want to go now. we want to talk about just to wrap up and opened it up for questions. if minorities in iraq were to return post basis, what might thaitlook like? -- post-isis. is that safe haven possible? certainly the trend is likely to support any boots on the ground effort over no-fly zone to that's unfortunately the reality. so let's take it as a given that were not going to see an international force fighting force on the ground. we are not going to see a no-fly zone. it's simply too expensive. if i sat there and i were an adviser so sorry, we can't help you with those things and you said yes, we can still have a safe haven. what does the iraqi constitution allow for? what might self-determination and self protection look like with what might a solution for a safe haven look like?

and then we'll turn it over to you guys for questions. >> so i think as principal a system that produces genocide you should not ask for the system to establish. that would be so stupid. if you tried to bring everything to what it was before and basically you prefer the ground for genocide atrocities against everyone. so we need a different solution. that solution must be internally accepted. but the fact is within iraq and within th the culture in peace,f you on the other, you will never be embraced. if you on the other you always be put on the edge. you will never be listened to. the yazidis had seats in the parliament. now out of the last election we have one or two but a lot of times the yazidi politicians with the implant, not real voices of the community.

we don't have any ministers, any director at. we don't have anyone in the government. we always -- in our own area. we have to accept always the orders. we never allowed to have a voice, a real voice. if you want to do voice you have had a certain voice, not your own voice. i think the new system must allow all the minorities to have a real voice. the conversation that the u.s. was having, having this sort of national guard forces, something like the used system where we will have like a federal system where everyone, every area is visibly in charge of their own space. i think that's a good system. we can apply it where instead of someone coming from baghdad or from irbil or someone else to protect me, if i was the one particular children and i would have had this morning emotional,

so that security wise but also if you have people running their own staff, then you are respecting them. they know that they are summon into. i think we are novice in the region. we are nobody. we are basically begging for food, begging for a place in the government. we are begging for a simple as -- the mayor used to be yazidi historically and now he is no longer a yazidi. with the yazidi parliament members, i don't know what happened but the decision was no yazidis would go to the parliament. maybe just one person cannot be certain if you. so that's a problem. although we had six members, in principle the deputy of the cabinet should be a yazidi but never will be yazidi.

because if you are a yazidi you are a third class citizen. you were not respected. i think there must be some international parameters working with the iraqi government. you cannot have a heaven in the middle of health. you cannot have something beautiful in a war zone where you of all areas that are collapsing. so you need to work with everyone should work together to great system but that must be some international oversight. if we do not have international oversight we will never have a voice because the system produced the genocide and international community have that responsibly to prevent that from happening again. >> i'm going to put you on the spot with what international oversight might look like viably? look of the international community to as part of the solution? >> i just want to say that in the world, probably not saying it correctly or write exactly,

but the knights of columbus had second class citizenship is a precursor to genocide. and that is so true. when you talk about third class citizenship, forget that. not even second class. we don't deserve that, okay? the over all recommendations we're talking about is just that. but we deserve to be treated as equal to everybody else. that's number one. so the international community is saying we need to support, to the indigenous minorities, directly to their legitimate ngos that have been established. that's number one, to deliver the eight and humanitarian activities during the crisis. -- delivering the eight. if it's done for the governing powers most of the time it's not trickling down because we are not in the unhcr camp or government run places. so that's what they. empowering indigenous minorities

to establish, safe interest the protected zones. that keeps coming up over and over again on the panel. for long-term and parallel about and establish the problems with the federal government, and neutralize the region between baghdad and irbil for now. later that could be a referendum winner they could vote and they could be organized to let the people decide for themselves if they want to stay with baghdad comparable or established in the region. but for now this is short-term, support local security forces who are the only independent groups that are the will of the people. and encourage them to participate in the liberation of their lands. also to provide local security in the future for their own region. that's really the only way to get people back on this within a they are being protected by their own --

>> those people have the way, that militia as a way to be integrated into a larger iraqi governmental system. >> so maintaining this rich cultural diversity in the region is essential for peace to prevail in the region at all. >> that sounds great. [inaudible] >> what? [inaudible] >> for now they just need to be able to self govern. once things settle, we are in the middle of a crisis. we need to grieve for us. we need to tak take a breath. right out and it's been neutralize the money to be able to take care of ourselves right now in our own homes, in our own land. later on with things settle down people feel secure, then there could be a democratic vote as to which way to look south to

baghdad or to irbil, or to create an independent province. >> as the doctor pointed out, this might be something people are not familiar with, many of the minority areas in iraq were disputed areas between the kurds and the iraqi government before. so this area, these minority communities that have the rights to the on budget. they couldn't build their own bridges. they didn't control their own water. they didn't have a budget or the right to self protection. so a future that allows them some self empowerment over those things within a federal system may be part of the solution. so one minute each and i'm going to be a tough one and cut you right off. >> thank you. really want to be part of system everyone for democracy to continue but we need to move. such events must be move. we need also for international

community take the responsibility because we are over 13 years of an experimental, failed for testing we love the trust with the iraqi government and krg. we need an international protection not just for multiple because we are suffering, and some parts -- inhabitants, so we need at first international protection by the international community, the empowering of the local groups in an official way. i don't want it to be just grouping because it's another problem. we know that, for example, we have a military force of the turkmen and there is a kurdish force. twice there was an aggressive attack, and they attacked us with heavy weapons.

conflict on the ground. so i think we need an official way to be part of province, to be part of the central government. so after that because we are dependent on constitution and iraq and in the constitution that is the rights of forming religion, the rights of forming new provinces. for example, it is the way to form three provinces for minorities. we can divide it into three provinces. already a resolution for provinces. the last thing i think our democracy in iraq gives a message to the world. i think we can begin the trust democracy by forming a diversi diversity. >> absolutely. excellent, thank you, doctor.

so there is a means under a federal system already to establish this province with its own right to self-determination. that already within the iraqi constitution. thank you. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: he spoke more than me. >> you have the right to enter the first question from the audience, but one minute. start one minute? [laughter] [speaking in native tongue] >> we are wasting time. >> solution. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: some solutions

that have come up with, my colleague here, the yazidis have mentioned most of them. >> okay, great. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: we want to kakai religion to be mentioned in the prostitution the not a matter of having -- a matter of recognizing. >> and with that, thank you so much. we have 10 minutes left to ask questions. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: he stole my time. >> okay, thank you. so with that we have 10 minutes for questions. so why do we take three questions at a