10.2006 - Source: European Centre for Minority Issues

The Yezid religion is a monotheistic religion; there is controversy over the origins of the religion; it is influenced by Zoastrianism, Sufi Islam, Judaism and Christianity ("Implementing the Framework Convention for the Protection of Minorities in Georgia: A Feasibility Study") [ID 18368]

"The Yezid religion is a highly complex and little-known monotheistic religion that isoften described as ‘pagan’. The Yezid God, Malak Tawus, sometimes referred to as the‘Peacock Angel’, symbolises fire and encapsulates both good and evil. There is controversy over the origins of the religion; some scholars claim that it was founded by Sheikh Adi ibn Mustafa during the 12th and 13th centuries, although most Yezids claim that their religion is far older and co-existed alongside Mithraism in the beginning of the first Millennium BC. Whatever its origin, it is clearly influenced by Sufi Islam, Judaism, Christianity and, above all, by Zoastrianism. Yezids are divided into three castes: two elite castes, the sheikhs and the pirs, and a lower caste, the murids. The sheikhs and the pirs are charged with instructing the rest of the community on matters of religion; the former group is expected to perform the role of ‘spiritual brothers’, while the latter are ‘spiritual teachers’. Yezid society is endogamous and every Yezid male has a ‘spiritual brother’ and a ‘spiritual teacher’ drawn from sheikh and pir families with which his family has had a spiritual relationship over generations. The mother tongue of Georgian Yezids is the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish, an Indo-Iranian language that belongs to the Indo-European family."

Document(s): Open document

02.06.2005 - Source: International Federation for Human Rights

General Information on the Yezidi Kurds ("Ethnic minorities in Georgia") [#32580],  [ID 5168]

"The Yezidi Kurds are an ethno-religious group which speaks Kurmanji, one of the most common Kurdish dialects. Yezidism is a syncretic religion combining elements of Zoroastrism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It was developed in the past by the Kurds in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, the Caucasus, and now, due to their recent immigration, in the countries of western Europe. The Yezidi Kurds of Georgia are the Kurds who fled from persecution by the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire between 1914 and 1917. They settled in Armenia and in Georgia, where they lived alongside the Muslim Kurds until 1944, when the latter were deported by Stalin. Today a small number of Muslim Kurds remain, but the overwhelming majority are Yezidi.

The ethnic identity of the group is built on ideological connections which are themselves based on blood: one is born Yezidi, and cannot become Yezidi by one's own volition. The group is divided into religious castes, the Sheiks, the Pirs, and the non-religious Murids. The tradition is passed on by word of mouth.

The several hundreds of Muslim Kurds living in Georgia are in fact nomadic Azerbaijani citizens. From the few interviews with them, thanks to a Yezidi Kurd who translated from Kurmanji for the mission, it appeared that their situation was incomparably worse than that of the Yezidi Kurdish citizens of Georgia (widespread poverty, poor knowledge of Russian and of Georgian, general illiteracy of uneducated girls, etc.).

According to the censuses of the Georgian population, the number of Yezidi Kurds has changed as follows:
1926: 10.27 Kurds and 2,262 Yezidis,
1939: 12,915 Kurds
1959: 16,212 Kurds
1970: 20,690 Kurds
1979: 25,688 Kurds
1989: 33,331 Kurds
2002: 2,514 Kurds and 18,329 Yezidis.
Local associations nevertheless feel that these figures are artificially inflated, and estimate that the number or Yezidis remaining in Georgia is about 6,000. The participants of a round table organised in 2003 by the NGO, Caucasian House, was able to stress, in Kavkasckij Akcent, the association's newspaper, that the proportion of Yezidi Kurds who had emigrated is probably the greatest of all the communities living in the country."

Document(s): Open document

02.06.2005 - Source: International Federation for Human Rights

Negative stereotyping of the Yezidis ("Ethnic minorities in Georgia") [#32580],  [ID 5169]

"Generally the attitude of the population is one of suspicion, even outright distrust directed against certain groups who find themselves, or are seen to be, at the bottom of the social ladder, in particular against the city dwelling Kurds. Ethnic stigmatisation is coupled with socio-economic stigmatisation. The image presented by the Kurds in Georgian society is poor, and they suffer from a shared distrust, linked to their position at the bottom of the social ladder. The homophony between the Georgian terms meaning Kurds and the word meaning a "thief" (kurti) is an illustration of this. It is due to this image that there are so few mixed marriages. The only case of this we encountered during the mission was that of a Yezidi woman married to a Georgian who was, nonetheless, ostracised by her family due to the ethnic group of her husband (this woman had appealed to the Ombudsman). Many of them hold down very lowly jobs: street sweepers, porters, etc. The number with higher education qualifications is lower, and there are few intellectuals. Social improvement however is not altogether impossible: some Kurds occupy important positions and are well integrated socially and economically. The Kurds we spoke to generally stressed the gap between stereotypes and reality:
"Georgians see us all as street sweepers, whilst many of us are well educated, and some are doing well in business".
The authorities and police are also guilty of treating them with this poor esteem and current stereotyping. The press or official announcements are often a reflection of it. For example, a Georgian daily newspaper, Dilis gazeti, on 17 April 2002, published two photos on its front page, one of three Kurdish street sweepers, and the other of a sculpture illustrating a traditional dance, the samaia, with the ironic comment "How Summer becomes the samaia dancers". Nevertheless, the Georgian speaking press does sometimes open its columns to Yezidi Kurds for their right to reply."

Document(s): Open document

02.06.2005 - Source: International Federation for Human Rights

Poor representation of Yezidis in executive and legislatve bodies ("Ethnic minorities in Georgia") [#32580],  [ID 5170]

"Not one Kurdish deputy was elected to parliament in March 2004. This situation reflects the general trend. Whilst in Soviet times, several seats were automatically granted to representatives of the minorities implicitly, the place allocated to them today continues to diminish with successive parliaments. Non Georgian candidates are often relegated to non-eligible positions on the electoral lists drawn up for proportional representation. In some districts where there is a non Georgian population (as in Gardabani or Dmanissi), the voters, because they feel their interests would be better protected by a Georgian, or quite simply through fear of becoming too visible, prefer not to vote for a non Georgian candidate. In answer to their complaints about the drop in the number of deputies from certain ethnic groups, the authorities explain that as parliament is now democratic, there is no longer any need for the quota system which was in existence in Soviet times. Madame de Félice (Cimade - Paris) recounts the words of Levane Gvinjilia, then President of the Chamber for the Georgian Language:
"We are no longer in the times of the Soviet Union when there were quotas for ethnic groups and professions - a farm girl, two tea growers, three Armenians, etc. This type of practice would be completely unconstitutional in a democracy […]. It is not the government's fault if there isn't a single Kurd on the staff of the State. Parliamentarians are elected by constituency, not on the basis of ethnic groups. It is up to them [Yezidis] to deserve the votes of the electorate; and for this, they should at least be able to speak Georgian".
Expressing its concern about the "the barriers to participation of minorities in political institutions, for instance with regard to the limitation on the participation of minorities in local executive bodies due to a lack of knowledge of the Georgian language", The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was also worried in 2001 by the under-representation of ethnic minorities in parliament. The Committee therefore published its recommendations concerning the steps which should be taken by Georgia to improve the representation of ethnic minorities in parliament and in local authorities.
The situation is even worse with regard to the executive: not one minister has come from the minorities. Everyone we spoke to complained about the difficulty in reaching high positions in public offices: "When you are a Kurd, there is no position for you in the administration"."

Document(s): Open document

02.06.2005 - Source: International Federation for Human Rights

Lack of protection: Several cases of police violence against Yezidi Kurds reported ("Ethnic minorities in Georgia") [#32580],  [ID 5171]

"The Yezidi Kurds find that they are an easy target for acts of violence by the forces of order as there are no Yezidis in the police hierarchy. A contrario, the Assyrians we spoke to explained that they suffered less from the arbitrariness of the police due to the fact that an Assyrian General of the Ministry of the Interior gave them protection.
Although the mission did not meet the victims, and although these acts of violence did not appear to be any different from those reported by the NGOs and the press in similar cases concerning other nationalities (including Georgians), several cases of police violence against Yezidi Kurds were reported. The case of Jemal Teloyan who was tortured by the police on 8 May 1998 after extortion of money, is a case in point.
Nonetheless, some isolated acts of violence on the part of certain agents of the State may be motivated by the ethnic group itself of the victims. The case of a particularly violent police raid on an outlying Kurdish suburb of Tbilisi, when several people were manhandled, in 1995, was cited on several occasions.
The people we spoke to put forward the administrative harassment which prevents them from asserting their rights, as, for example, the right to a disability pension.
"I fought in Abkhazia as a conscript in the Georgian ranks, where I lost a leg, but it has been impossible for me for several years now to assert my status as a disabled ex-serviceman".
Some of them were obviously afraid to talk about their problems to strangers, including members of the NGOs. This fear, whether founded or not, shows at least how weak the integration of the Yezidi Kurds is in Georgian civil society and also a feeling of great vulnerability.

Moreover, in contrast to the Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Russians, Greeks, etc., the Yezidi Kurds do not have a proper State which could come to their defence and promote their interests with the Georgian authorities. When Georgia was considering Turkey as a strategic partner, their possible connections with the Kurdish organisations in Turkey could, on the other hand, have led to increased discrimination against them. Several alleged members of the PKK, for example, have been handed over to the Turkish authorities, without it being known what has become of them. After a meeting about the problems of the Yezidi Kurds organised by the NGO, the Caucasian House, in 2003, some newspapers were alarmed to see "new Ocalans" in Georgia. The Tbilisi office of the PKK has not however been closed.

Although the great majority of Yezidi Kurds has settled in some districts of Tbilisi, they are a divided community, without any spokesman or association to represent them effectively and to promote their collective interests. Different associations have different priorities. Some seek to promote the preservation of Yezidi culture in Georgia (Union of Georgian Yezidis) or the integration of Yezidis into Georgian society (Association of Yezidi Youth), and are preoccupied by the massive emigration which, in the end, is ruining their efforts. Others put the emphasis on discrimination."

Document(s): Open document

22.07.2003 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Statements of interview partner with regard to the situation of Yezidis ("Reisebericht Georgien 18. - 25. Mai 2003") [#14436],  [ID 5172]

"YezidInnen lebten nach Angaben der Repräsentantin des Büros der Volksanwältin hauptsächlich auf dem Land. Auch im Zusammenhang mit der Situation der YezidInnen sei die Wurzel des Problems wieder auf die mangelnden Georgischkenntnisse zurückzuführen.
Anders als oben erwähnt, lebten die heute noch etwa 15.000 Yeziden nach Aussage eines – selbst yezidischen - Mitarbeiters des Informations- und Dokumentationszentrum (HRIDC) nur in großen Städten – der interviewte CIPDD-Mitarbeiter unterstreicht ebenfalls die Ballung von Kurden und Yeziden in den Städten.
Die wirtschaftliche Situation georgischer YezidInnen wäre generell sehr schlecht und sie würden zudem keinerlei staatliche Unterstützung erhalten. Darüber hinaus hätten nur die wenigsten eine gute Ausbildung, wodurch YezidInnen kaum höhere Positionen in der Arbeitswelt bekleideten. Auch was den Zugang zu Bildung betreffe, hätten YezidInnen größere Probleme als die georgische Bevölkerung. Zum einen stelle der Schulbesuch der Kinder viele yezidische Eltern aufgrund ihrer schlechten finanziellen Situation vor schwerwiegende Probleme. Darüber hinaus gebe es generell Anzeichen für eine ethnisch motivierte Ungleichbehandlung von Schulkindern. Yezidische Kinder und Jugendliche - die mehrheitlich russische Schulen besuchen würden – sollen häufig einem größeren Druck seitens der Lehrer ausgesetzt seien als georgische SchülerInnen.
Nach Aussage des Repräsentanten des CIPDD hätten sowohl YezidInnen als auch Kurden generell keine Probleme."

Document(s): Open document

05.03.2002 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

SFH: Persecution of Yezidis ("Lageanalyse Februar 2002") [#8057],  [ID 5173]

"Die JezidInnen sind eine relativ geschlossene ethnische und religiöse Gruppe. Diese Geschlossenheit ihrer Gemeinschaft ist einer der Gründe für ihre Verfolgung. Die Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte (IGFM) berichtete verschiedentlich über Hänseleien und Gewalt gegen Kinder von JezidInnen und über Diebstahl von Eigentum. Anstatt gegen die Täter vorzugehen, wurden die Opfer von den zuständigen Stellen bedroht.
Die von der (IGFM) und anderen Menschenrechtsorganisationen gemeldeten Fälle und vorgelegten Beweise über Verfolgung von JezidInnen (und andere Menschenrechtsverletzungen) in Georgien werden in Asylverfahren vom deutschen Auswärtigen Amt als "Gefälligkeitsauskünfte" bezeichnet, dass JezidInnen staatlicher Schutz versagt worden sei, sei nicht bekannt geworden. Benachteiligungen und Übergriffe der Polizei (willkürliche Ausweis- und Verkehrskontrollen) und eine harte Behandlung während des Militärdienstes würden alle georgischen Staatsangehörigen gleichermassen betreffen.
Im "Lagebericht Georgien" vertritt das Deutsche Auswärtige Amt die Meinung, dass die Religionsfreiheit in Georgien für alle gewährleistet sei. JezidInnen gehören wie auch die anderen Kurden zu den ärmsten Bevölkerungsschichten, so dass das Problem sozialer Natur sei. Staatliche Repressionen in Form von Misshandlungen, Erpressungen, Drohungen und Eigentumsbeschädigungen existierten nicht.
IGFM hält dem allem entgegen, dass sich das Auswärtige Amt vorwiegend auf Auskünfte staatlicher Behörden bzw. Regierungsorgane stützt. Eigene Recherchen des Amtes über das Schicksal abgeschobener Asyl Suchender in Georgien seien in keinem Fall durchgeführt worden,so dass der Länderbericht als Spiegel der aussenpolitischen Beziehungen im Interesse einer unbelasteten deutsch-georgischer Politik zu sehen sei."

Document(s): Open document

07.2001 - Source: Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Germany)

BAFl: Human rights situation of Yezidis in Georgia ("07/2001 - BAFl: Zur Situation der yezidischen Minderheit") [ID 5175]

"Das Auswärtige Amt verfügt über keine Anhaltspunkte dafür, dass Yeziden in Georgien durch staatliche Stellen einer Verfolgung in Form von Misshandlungen, Erpressungen, Drohungen oder Eigentumsbeschädigungen ausgesetzt sind. Nach diesen Erkenntnissen gibt es keine politisch bedingten, jedoch große wirtschaftliche und soziale Probleme für diese Volksgruppe. Deren Angehörige entstammen zumeist den ärmsten Schichten Georgiens. Dies schließt Diskriminierungen im Alltag und Benachteiligung im Verkehr mit staatlichen Behörden, insbesondere der Polizei, nicht aus. Doch handelt es sich hier auch nach Einschätzung georgischer Menschenrechtsorganisationen um Einzelfälle, die durch die mangelhafte Qualifikation einzelner Vertreter der Sicherheitsorgane zu erklären sind und nicht auf eine generelle Schutzunwilligkeit oder eine staatliche Billigung von Übergriffen Dritter schließen lassen.4Dem amerikanischen Außenministerium liegen auch keine Erkenntnisse vor, dass Yeziden aufgrund ihrer Volkszugehörigkeit Übergriffen oder staatlicher Verfolgung ausgesetzt sind. So respektiere die Regierung im Allgemeinen die Rechte der ethnischen Minderheiten.5 Nach Feststellungen der Fact-Finding-Mission Dänemarks6 gibt es für Yeziden keine politischen Probleme. Sie werden nicht verfolgt. Im letzten Hintergrundbericht des UNHCR zu Georgien werden ebenfalls keine Übergriffe oder Verfolgungsmaßnahmen gegenüber Yeziden erwähnt.7 Auf direkte Nachfrage teilte UNHCR mit, über eine Gruppenverfolgung der yezidischen Minderheit sei nichts bekannt. Im Einzelfall seien jedoch Diskriminierungen oder Verfolgungsmaßnahmen vorstellbar.8 Zur Situation der Yeziden in Georgien hat amnesty international (ai) keine eigenen Erkenntnisse.9 In einem ai-Länderkurzinfo vom Februar 2000 prangert ai Menschenrechtsverstöße wie Folter, Misshandlungen von Untersuchungshäftlingen oder unfaire Gerichtsverfahren an. Übergriffe gegenüber ethnischen oder religiösen Minderheiten werden nicht genannt.10 Im Gegensatz dazu spricht als wohl einzige Stelle die Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte (IGFM) von politischer Verfolgung der Yeziden seit 1992. Dies zeige sich in fehlender Schutzbereitschaft des Staates und Verfolgungs- und Vertreibungsdruck durch staatliche Organe.11 Mit Pressemitteilung vom 01.02.2001 behauptete IGFM sogar, das AA habe seine bisherige Einschätzung der Lage der yezidischen Minderheit dahingehend korrigiert, dass diese in Georgien nun doch verfolgt würde.12 Dies entspricht jedoch nicht den Tatsachen. Unverändert gilt der bisherige Erkenntnisstand des AA. Es gäbe keinen Anlass - so die Antwort auf Nachfrage des Bundesamtes - Änderungen vorzunehmen: Die von Yeziden immer wieder beklagten willkürlichen Polizeikontrollen und die Erpressung von Bestechungsgelder fänden in der Tat statt und seien täglich auf den Straßen zu beobachten. Allerdings seien davon alle Georgier, unabhängig von ihrer Volkszugehörigkeit, betroffen. Die Polizei, insbesondere Verkehrspolizisten, die nur ein sehr geringes Einkommen hätten, versuchten auf diesem Wege, ihr Gehalt aufzubessern. Auch dass Yeziden bevorzugte Opfer von Überfällen und Kapitalverbrechen, z.B. durch georgische Nationalisten oder Angehörige der Polizei, seien, bestätigt das AA nicht. In Georgien tätige yezidische Vereinigungen hätten weder gegenüber dem AA noch dem georgischen Staatskomitee für Menschenrechte und nationale Minderheiten oder dem Ombudsmann auf Fälle von Versagung staatlichen Schutzes hingewiesen. Ebenso würden yezidische Wehrpflichtige gleich behandelt wie ethnische Georgier. Grundsätzlich gelte, dass der Wehrdienst aufgrund fehlender materieller und finanzieller Mittel sowie mangelhafter Ausbildung der Vorgesetzten nach wie vor sehr hart sei. Doch gebe es auch nach Angaben von georgischen Menschenrechtsorganisationen keine Unterschiede in der Behandlung in Bezug auf die jeweilige Volkszugehörigkeit."

Document(s): 07/2001 - BAFl: Zur Situation der yezidischen Minderheit

01.12.2000 - Source: Danish Immigration Service

Danish Immigration Service: About 34 000 Yezidi Kurds are living in Georgia ("Report on roving attaché mission to Georgia") [#6081],  [ID 5174]

"A western embassy added that the Yezidi Kurds have social problems, and are discriminated against as regards employment in public posts. The discrimination is motivated by their lack of command of the Georgian language. They are not persecuted and do not have political problems.

CIPDD was of the opinion that the Yezidi Kurds were a group which had always had problems in Georgian society. There have also been a few cases of the police deporting Yezidis who they believed were members of the Kurdish organisation PKK to Turkey, where the organisation is banned.

The Ezidi Union of Georgia explained that about 34 000 Yezidi Kurds are living in Georgia, 90% of them in Tbilisi, Rustavi and Batumi. About 70 000 live in Armenia. The Yezidi Kurds came to Georgia in connection with the war between Armenia and Turkey between 1915 and 1918. The Kurds in Georgia are all Yezidis. The Muslim Kurds, of whom there were about 10 000, were deported to Central Asia with the Meskhetians during the Stalin period, and no Muslim Kurds are living in Georgia nowadays.

[...]

The Union arranges various cultural events and has a folk theatre, a dance group and music groups. However, a poor financial situation is curtailing activities, and in recent years the state subsidy has fallen from 30 000 to 20 000 lari a year . The financial situation also makes it difficult to publish books and journals. Some research into Yezidi Kurd history and religion is taking place in Tbilisi's Institute for Asia and Africa, of which the Union's president is pro-rector. There is also research into the language, including the old Yezidi alphabet (nowadays the Yezidis use the Roman alphabet instead of Cyrillic, which was used in Soviet times). As the Union does not itself have funds, and as it has not managed to find a sponsor for the publication of this work to a wider public, it can only be published within narrow academic circles. Funding is also the reason why a Yezidi Kurd newspaper could only be published twice. A radio station, on which the Yezidis had a daily 15-minute programme for a year, went bankrupt. However, according to its president, it should be possible for the Union to make a similar agreement with another radio station. There is mother tongue teaching at six or seven state schools. The teachers come from the Union, and for their teaching receive an allowance of approximately 15 lari a month from the State.

Until the general elections in 1999, the Yezidi Kurds were represented by one Member of Parliament, who stood on the Citizens' Union list. According to the Union, he was not allowed to stand again at the 1999 elections. The Yezidi Kurds did not attempt to put up other candidates as they thought it was unrealistic to expect that they might be elected. However, a western embassy thought that Yezidis in the Citizens' Union had again been offered the opportunity to put candidates on the party's list, but had not been able to agree on a candidate.

The Union added that because of the poor economic situation in Georgia many Yezidis had emigrated, to e.g. Russia, Germany, Belgium and England. Others had emigrated because of problems with the police and the political structure. However, the Union did not believe that the problems which Yezidis have with for example the police were different from those experienced by others living in Georgia. The Union denied that Yezidis faced discrimination, e.g. on the labour market and regarding their religion, which the Union explained was ensured by the law on religious freedom. The Union has had problems in regaining a piece of land in connection with the church, but puts this down to bureaucratic problems. Generally the Union feels that it has a good relationship with the authorities."

Document(s): Open document