November 9, 2020
Open letter from Kurdish journalists and civilian activists.
To: President-Elect Joseph Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris,
Dear President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris,
We extend our warmest congratulations to you for winning the presidency and wishing you a successful journey in the coming years. We the people of the Kurdistan region of Iraq were eager to see this essential win of all the Americans and to restore the values of democracy which has also affected the Kurds.
Your excellencies,
It is true that the Kurdistan region of Iraq was not fully able to prosper its domestic democracy, but since 1991, the region has been a safe beacon for freedom seekers and a refugee for those being persecuted in the rest of the country and the region. Furthermore, the Kurdistan region has been an important entity and a significant geopolitical area that served the national security of the United States in the Middle East, especially when the US faced challenges in the region. Therefore, allow us kindly to once again address your presidency the wishes and appeals of the people of Kurdistan, including minorities such as Christians. We are confident that your efforts will help the persecuted people of Kurdistan.
Under President Donald Trump, not only the Kurds faced unfair treatment but they also were betrayed by the US. As a result, thousands of Kurds were killed, hundreds of thousands of Syrian Kurds and Christians were displaced, and a large swath of the Kurdish land was occupied by Turkey. In Iraq, after the physical defeat of the ISIS “Caliphate” by the Kurds and with the help of the US-led coalition, Kurds should’ve been rewarded not punished. Unfortunately, due to the attacks by the Iraqi government with help of Iran and their sponsored militias, the Kurdistan region lost control of 50% of the Kurdish areas known as “disputed territories” in October of 2017.
Therefore, we ask the United States, under your leadership, to rebuild trust with the Kurds. Further, we ask the United States not only to protect but also to strengthen the deep friendship with the Kurds. Finally, we appeal to normalize the situation of Kirkuk province and the rest of the disputed territories from the traces of the October 16, 2017 events.
Once again, congratulations to you, Americans, and the world.
On behalf of 142 journalists and activists
Hemin Hassib
Names can be found in this link: https://www.facebook.com/satnews.co/posts/176876937435891
PDF format with signatures letternov9
The appeal letter is translated by the Washington Kurdish Institute