16 October 2010, 09:00
In Armenia, Yazidis protest against violation of their rights
On October 15, Yazidis held their rally near the presidential residence because of the decision of the Ministry of Education of Armenia to publish textbooks in the Kurdish language and allocate lessons for studying Kurdish in schools, which, according to the protesters, infringes the rights of the Yazidis as a national minority.
Yazidis assert hat Armenia almost has no Kurds, while Yazidis are more than 60,000 in number; that books published in Kurdish make a problem for teaching Yazidis; and it prevents them from receiving normal education; and this violates their national interests and rights.
This is also stated in the letter addressed to the Armenian leader by the group of Yazidis, who gathered for protest. "We are more than 60,000 in Armenia, and we want our rights to be protected in reality, not in words," said one of the protesters.
The Yazidis promised to organize mass rallies, marches and protests all over the country, if they do not get a satisfactory answer, the "NEWS.am" writes.
The protesters were 11 persons strong; and the organizers explained this small representation by the fact that they decided to wait for a response from President Serzh Sargsyan to their letter, the "Armenia Today" reports.
