Thread by @Matthew__Barber

1) The KDP is the most responsible actor for inhibiting #Yazidi post-genocide recovery & preventing resettlement/reconstruction in #Sinjar. The @HudsonInstitute should be cognizant of these well-documented issues before featuring a mouthpiece who routinely defends these abuses.

2) A perusal of any number of articles/reports would enlighten event organizers as to the reaction of incredulity that such an embarrassing choice engenders on the part of Iraqi minorities and those involved in advocacy, humanitarian endeavors, and human rights work.

3) A good place to start for essential background is "The KRG’s Relationship with the Yazidi Minority and the Future of the Yazidis in Shingal (Sinjar):"
joshualandis.com/blog/krgs-rela…

4) A second essential resource is the @hrw report documenting the economic blockade levied by the KDP against #Sinjar—the existence of which is routinely denied by KDP spokespersons:
hrw.org/news/2016/12/0…

5) Today, almost 2 1/2 years since the blockade began, it is more severe than ever. During the first year of its implementation, the blockade prevented Yazidis from carrying goods and materials to their homes—from food to live on to supplies needed to rebuild their damaged homes.

6) But now the blockade even prevents Yazidis from traveling from the IDP camps in Dohuk—where they have been forced to live for almost 4 years—to their homes in Sinjar. Yazidis wishing to travel to Sinjar must travel through Mosul, a route that creates significant fear.

7) Some KDP-owned media have been brazen enough to blame the blockade on the Hashd al-Sha'bi—this is a blatant lie. The approach of the KDP to disputed territories is: "If we don't get to rule you, we'll make sure you starve."

8) Third, on KDP techniques for cooptation of minority faces to legitimize their political messaging—which extends into parading token minority faces at public events—see sections on patronage in the report “Erasing Assyrians” (pp. 35-41; 55-56):
joshualandis.com/blog/krg-targe…

9) On minority perceptions of the Kurdish mission to Washington—which effectively serves the function of PR and propaganda to deflect attention from these seriously harmful policies—see Part Four of the "Erasing Assyrians" report (pp. 74-75):
joshualandis.com/blog/krg-targe…

10) Fourth, on KDP attempts to railroad disputed territories into accepting KRG annexation, see "Resolving Article 140: Settling the Issue of Iraq’s Disputed Territories Ahead of an Independence Referendum for Kurdistan:"
joshualandis.com/blog/resolving…
@meganconnelly48

11) Fifth—and perhaps most importantly for the @HudsonInstitute event—see my article on last year's #Yazidi Genocide memorial which involved the flagrant exploitation of Yazidi suffering for KDP political gain:
joshualandis.com/blog/krg-targe…

12) The resources I've listed here are mainly just a few of those that I've been personally involved in. If one would spend a single day of research, one would encounter many more resources from a variety of organizations, journalists, and institutions raising related concerns.

13) Think tanks like the @HudsonInstitute must speak to power and take a stand for human rights, rather than give platforms to the representatives of authoritarian interests who justify their policies by parading a few tokenistic, co-opted individuals around their events.