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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 YEREVAN 001259 
 
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TU, IZ, AM 
SUBJECT:  SANCTUARY AND ECONOMIC HARDSHIP FOR ARMENIA'S 
YEZIDI/KURDISH MINORITY 
 
REF: A) YEREVAN 723 B) YEREVAN 528 C) YEREVAN 274 D) 06 YEREVAN 1484 
 
E) 06 YEREVAN 1424 
 
YEREVAN 00001259  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) Numbering 40,000, the Yezidi minority in Armenia has found 
sanctuary as well as economic hardship since taking refuge in 
Russian Armenia in the 1830s.  Based on fieldwork by Dr. Mark Yoffe, 
a George Washington University researcher participating in the U.S. 
Embassy Policy Specialist Program, Armenia's Yezidis espouse few 
nationalistic or political aspirations, favor integration in 
Armenian society, and seek a better economic future for their youth. 
 At the same time, Yezidis take pains to preserve their culture, 
traditions, and religion, and care about the plight of their 
brethren caught in the crossfire in Iraq.  While Yezidis acknowledge 
the presence of the terrorist PKK in Armenia and some express 
sympathy for the group, PKK support is confined to small pockets of 
the Yezidi population, and its depth is marginal.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
CRISIS OF IDENTITY:  KURDISH OR YEZIDI? 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In the last Soviet census conducted in 1989, out of 
approximately 60,000 Kurds who had been formerly identified as 
living in Armenia, 52,700 for the first time were given a new 
official status as Yezidis.  The 2001 census performed in Armenia 
put the number of Yezidis and Kurds in Armenia at 40,620 and 1,519 
respectively.  These Kurds practice the Yezidi faith rather than 
Islam.  According to data Yoffe has collected in country, the number 
of Armenian Kurds who are practicing Muslims has steadily dwindled 
over the years, to below 100.  Yezidis are not Muslims, although 
like their Kurdish brethren in Armenia speak the same dialect of 
Kurdish (Kurmanji).  Yezidis, however, use the Cyrillic alphabet to 
write what they refer to as the "Yezidi" language, while Kurds here 
use the Latin alphabet to write in Kurdish.  (Note:  Armenian 
passports currently recognize and list Yezidi as a nationality.  End 
note.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to Yoffe, who for the past month has visited some 
of the most populous Kurdish Yezidi areas in Armenia, most Yezidis 
in Armenia are offended when identified as Kurds.  This resentment 
stems from religious persecution Yezidis historically suffered at 
the hands of Muslims - Kurds and Turks alike.  Yoffe stated that 
increasing attacks on Yezidis in northern Iraq, allegedly by Muslim 
Kurds, has intensified this resentment.  (Note:  Yezidis are 
reported to number 1.5 million worldwide, with 800,000 to 1.2 
million living in Iraq.  End note.)  Yoffe said Yezidis in Armenia 
likewise still harbor ill will toward Sunni Arabs in Iraq as a 
result of Saddam Hussein's 1988 gassing of Kurds that claimed Yezidi 
lives as well. 
 
--------------------------------- 
THE PASTORAL EXISTENCE OF YEZIDIS 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Yezidis lead a largely pastoral life in low-lying villages 
around Mount Aragats in western Armenia, where they eke out a 
hardscrabble living through animal husbandry and subsistence 
agriculture.  They summer their cattle and sheep in the Aragats 
highlands.  Yezidis generally reside in either villages all their 
own or ethnically mixed villages alongside poor rural Armenians. 
They often barter their agricultural production amongst themselves 
and with Armenian neighbors. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
SANCTUARY, UNDERSTANDING, LOYALTY IN ARMENIA 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Yoffe says Yezidis began to appear in Russian Armenia in 
the 1830s, during the tumult of Russian-Turkish wars, as a result of 
religious persecution suffered at the hands of Turks and Muslim 
Kurds.  Muslim disdain for the pagan, sun-worshipping practices of 
Yezidis drove the latter into Armenia, where they were allowed to 
observe their faith unmolested.  (Note:  The Yezidi religion is a 
complex, syncretic faith that contains elements of Sufi Islam, 
Shiite tenets, and Shamanism that historically has been influenced 
by Judaism and Christianity as well.  End note.) 
 
 
YEREVAN 00001259  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) This centuries-long sanctuary appears to have endeared the 
Yezidis to Armenia, and engendered an enduring loyalty.  During an 
interview with the noted Yezidi religious and intellectual figure 
Hassan Tamoyan, who anchors the popular weekly TV program, 
"Minorities of Armenia," Tamoyan stated that when one looks around, 
"there is no better place on the map" for Yezidis than Armenia.  A 
middle-aged Yezidi language teacher told poloff during a visit to 
his village that besides Armenia "we have nowhere else to go." 
 
¶7. (SBU) Yezidis also appear to be proud of their history as 
brothers-in-arms to Armenians.  During visits to primary schools in 
multiple Yezidi villages, Yoffe and poloff saw some of the new 
Yezidi-language textbooks which are being introduced in Armenia. In 
the second grade reader one can find a section on the 31 Yezidi 
"heroes" who died fighting alongside Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh 
in the late 1980s/early 1990s.  Yoffe reports that a monument 
dedicated to joint resistance to Turkish forces at the turn of the 
20th century by Armenians and Yezidis was erected in a Yezidi 
village on Armenian's border with Turkey.  (Note:  This history does 
not prevent some Yezidi youth from being as eager as their Armenian 
neighbors to avoid the present-day military draft, whose hardships 
offer little attraction.  End note.) 
 
----------------- 
ECONOMIC HARDSHIP 
----------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Yezidis suffer the same kind of economic woes as Armenia's 
rural poor:  dilapidated - or an absence of - basic infrastructure 
(water, gas, telephone); difficult access to markets for their 
agricultural output; no processing facilities for their dairy and 
animal products; exploitation by unscrupulous middlemen; low level 
of education; and the socio-economic burden of early marriages and 
large families. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Leaders such Tamoyan from Yerevan, and the bombastic though 
unrelated Aziz Tamoyan from the village of Zovuni both told Yoffe 
that Yezidis' most pressing needs are economic.  Living like poor 
rural Armenians in ramshackle dwellings, young Yezidis' only hope 
for a better standard of living is via integration in Armenian 
society.  Although both Tamoyans are strong proponents of preserving 
Yezidi culture, they stated that Yezidi youth must be educated in, 
and learn to speak, Armenian language to move beyond peasant status. 
 Yezidi villagers whom poloff met in the Talin region echoed the 
sentiments of the Tamoyans, and one wife of a Yezidi village head 
complained her husband would not allow her family to move to Yerevan 
for a better life. 
 
¶10. (SBU) In trying to understand Yezidi emigration, mainly to 
western Europe, Yoffe came across anecdotal reports of Yezidis 
claiming discrimination in Armenia to bolster their political asylum 
cases.   He also heard of reports of ethnic Armenians posing as 
"oppressed" Yezidis, again a ploy to seek a better economic future 
abroad.  Yoffe heavily discounted these reports, based on his 
extensive observations of harmonious Yezidi-Armenian relations, and 
observed neither racism nor social ostracism of Yezidis during his 
field research.  Russia was also a common destination for economic 
migrants; the Yezidis' Armenian citizenship and Russian language 
proficiency make Russia an easy destination. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
LACK OF POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS OR ANIMOSITY 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶11. (SBU) At present there are no Yezidis in elected office at the 
national level, though Aziz Tamoyan - the dubiously self-proclaimed 
leader of Yezidis worldwide - ran and lost a parliamentary race. 
According to Yoffe, Hassan Tamoyan refuses to run for parliament in 
spite of the fact he has previously been nominated.  The latter told 
Yoffe that he does not want to "turn the nationality issue into a 
political" one.  Tamoyan also stated that while Yezidis seek no 
special privileges from the Armenian authorities, neither are any 
given.  According to Yoffe, the Yezidi Diaspora is nascent, without 
means, uneducated, and wields little influence over Yezidis in 
Armenia. (Note:  Yoffe is researching the question of special 
privileges for Yezidis, but so far has heard only anecdotal evidence 
of its existence.  Both Yoffe and poloff were struck, however, by 
the educational resources at their disposal.  In several villages, 
three schools serving between 20-40 Yezidi children total each had 
six-eight, mostly Armenian, faculty.  End note.) 
 
 
YEREVAN 00001259  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶12. (SBU) As a researcher with ethnographic studies experience, 
Yoffe reports he has been taken aback by the absence of animosity 
toward Armenia and by the apparent "our lot is their lot" attitude 
that Yezidis espouse.  Yoffe says he regularly hears Yezidis refer 
to Armenian neighbors as "brothers and sisters," and at the wake for 
a Yezidi man he attended, numerous Yezidi-speaking Armenian 
neighbors also paid their respects.  Yoffe reports also having met 
Armenian mayors or village leaders who speak Yezidi. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
PRESERVING YEZIDI CULTURE AND TRADITIONS 
---------------------------------------- 
¶13. (SBU) In spite of their political passivity, Yezidis take pains 
to preserve their culture, traditions, and religion.  Aziz Tamoyan 
is working to introduce new Yezidi textbooks into the elementary 
curriculum in Yezidi areas, and Hassan Tamoyan uses the airwaves - 
TV and radio - to propagate Yezidi culture, history and religion. 
According to Yoffe, there are also half a dozen Yezidi language 
newspapers (weeklies and monthlies) that are produced in Yerevan and 
distributed to Yezidi villages.  Several of the Yezidi villagers 
told poloff they follow closely Yezidi news, especially after the 
August attack in northern Iraq which claimed Yezidi lives. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Observance of Yezidi religious practices, and respect for 
the three-tiered caste religious system is a central part of Yezidi 
life.  Sheikhs, peers, and murids (laymen) - all men - pray several 
times a day, participate in religious ceremonies as professions of 
their faith, and carry certain rights and responsibilities within 
Yezidi society.  Villagers whom poloff met said they regularly 
observed their faith, which constitutes a core pillar of Yezidi 
life, and one woman showed poloff her household's prayer altar. 
Sheikhs, the highest caste, are traditionally considered both 
religious and secular leaders, and are responsible for leading 
community prayers and assemblies.  Peers are a hereditary priestly 
class one rung lower than sheikhs, and may lead community services 
when no sheikh is available. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
THE ROLE OF GENDER:  WOMEN PLAY A TRADITIONAL ROLE 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶15. (SBU) Yezidi women lead a conservative, traditional lifestyle as 
hard-working homemakers who tend to their usually older husbands and 
large number of offspring.  They rarely if ever do fieldwork or care 
for animals, which is normally left to men.  They also eat 
separately after serving their spouses and families.  Although 
divorce exists in Yezidi culture, and Yezidis are not prohibited 
from marrying non-Yezidis, social estrangement by families can ensue 
in such cases.  One villager told poloff that outside marriages 
"brought curses" to the Yezidi household.  While Yezidis respect 
women's standing in society, Yezidi women in reality have little 
opportunity for social-economic advancement. 
 
¶16. (SBU) Yoffe learned that in Yezidi villages, girls are 
frequently pulled out of school by the eighth grade to be prepared 
for marriage by their mid-teens.  This violates Armenian law, but in 
small, remote villages local officials can generally be persuaded to 
look the other way.  For this reason, rural Yezidis have generally 
resisted GOAM initiatives to build larger, more centralized schools 
which would offer better facilities and bus in students from 
surrounding villages.  The concern is that officials running such a 
school would be more aggressive about requiring attendance through 
the legally-required age. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
MARGINAL SUPPORT OF KURDISH NATIONALIST MOVEMENT 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶17. (SBU) While neither Yoffe nor poloff noted any visible 
manifestations of support for Kurdish nationalist movements abroad, 
Yezidi and Armenian interlocutors acknowledged the presence of the 
PKK (KGK) in Armenia.  Pro-PKK sympathies appear to be confined 
geographically, however, by village, and their depth marginal.  In 
Yeraskhaun, due west of Yerevan in the Armavir region, Yezidis 
claimed they had refused advances by PKK militants offering 
financial and material assistance (ostensibly in exchange for 
loyalty to the Kurdish cause).  Ethnic Armenian directors of Yezidi 
schools in the villages of Gialto and Hakko located near Talin 
acknowledged that past visits to the area by PKK militants bearing 
assistance had taken place.  But both doubted whether this 
 
YEREVAN 00001259  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
assistance yielded any PKK loyalties, with one joking that in these 
cases the Yezidis "were Kurds during the day, and Yezidis again the 
next morning."  Between them both, only one knew - in their combined 
30 years of residence in the area - of a single case of a Yezidi 
youth going to "serve the struggle" in Turkey.  And neither had ever 
heard of wounded PKK militants seeking medical treatment in the 
area. 
 
¶18. (SBU) Yoffe reports that Yezidis who reside in suspected pro-PKK 
areas have been coy about any leanings.  Many of these have denied 
links, or declared that PKK militants are neither popular nor 
welcome in Yezidi villages.  However, others have openly admitted 
the visits of PKK militants and even their leaders in the past. 
Yoffe was also told that one of the Yezidi newspapers circulating in 
Armenia is allegedly funded by the PKK, though Hassan Tamoyan stated 
he "chases away" funding offers from the PKK.  For his part, Yoffe 
heard of no reports of wounded PKK militants seeking medical care in 
Armenia. 
 
¶19. (SBU) When asked about the apparent contradiction in Yezidis' 
contempt for Muslim Kurds and some Yezidis' sympathy for the PKK 
cause, Yezidis and Armenian scholars  answered differently. 
Armenian scholars stated that the PKK's non-religious banner enabled 
Yezidis to support their territorial struggle.  Yezidis who answered 
the question, usually indirectly, intimated that they can relate to 
the Kurds' feeling of having no homeland.  This sense of being 
dispossessed of a land all their own appears to resonate keenly with 
Yezidis here. 
 
----------------------------- 
KURDISTAN CONSIPARCY THEORIES 
----------------------------- 
 
¶20. (SBU) Yoffe also heard conspiracy theories within the Yezidi 
community that the PKK in the long-term eyes Yezidi lands in Armenia 
as part of a greater Kurdistan.  The thinking apparently goes that 
if "our people" live there now, it will be "our land" when the day 
comes to found a new state.  Concomitantly, the attempts to 
destabilize Yezidi lands in northern Iraq are part of a long-term 
strategy to force Yezidis into Turkey and then into Armenia, thus 
adding new foot soldiers to the Kurdistan cause.  Another 
conspiratorial view sees Yezidis holding out in Iraq and approaching 
the U.S. government to support the eventual founding of a Yezidi 
homeland. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶21. (SBU) Yoffe's research has given post a clearer view of the 
Yezidi population in Armenia.  In general, the Yezidis share the 
fate of rural Armenians struggling in new economic times.  Clinging 
to their cultural traditions and pastoral ways, rather than their 
minority status, appears to be the principal cause of their 
socio-economic woes.  Although Yezidis lament not having a state of 
their own, as evidenced by pockets of sympathy for a greater 
Kurdistan, Armenia continues to provide Yezidis a stable refuge in 
which they can openly practice their way of life. 
 
PERINA