Kurds will not go back to the mountains: French philosopher

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – In an exclusive interview with Kurdistan 24, French philosopher and author Bernard-Henri Lévy affirmed that the game was not over for Kurds despite the fact they were betrayed.

Lévy, whose documentary “Peshmerga” premiered at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, claimed the Kurdish cause is “inscribed in the sands of history,” and that nothing could prevent “truth and justice” from prevailing.  

“In this case, truth and justice are on the side of the Kurds,” said Lévy. “It might take time, but they will prevail.”

The French director, philosopher, and author—who visited Peshmerga frontlines in 2016—was confident the current situation was not the end of the line for Kurds.

“There will be a follow up to this tragic situation,” he said, addressing the tensions between Erbil and Baghdad which escalated following the Kurdistan Region’s historic Sep. 25 independence referendum.

“The Kurds are engaged in a terrible battle, but the game is far from being over. [The Kurds] will not go back to the mountains,” he continued.

Lévy described the Oct. 16 attack and takeover of the disputed province and city of Kirkuk by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militias as an “indescribable horror.”

He recounted the terrible crimes being committed in Kirkuk, including the murder of Arkan Sharifi, a Kurdish cameraman whom he knew, late last month.

Lévy added his harsh criticism to the silence of western nations, most notably the US, regarding what has been happening in Kirkuk and other disputed territories. “It is the shame of the world to allow this to be done [to the Kurds].”

For Lévy, Kurds were “clearly betrayed” despite the public’s opinion being on their side. “If I were a Kurd, I would be in a state of total anger, humiliated, and infuriated by this incredible and, in a way, unprecedented betrayal.”

The French philosopher, who strongly championed the September referendum, accused the US of “behaving badly” as friends of the Kurds, while France is “at least trying its best to recall the historical rights of the Kurds.”

Of his film premiere at the UN, Lévy said he wanted the nations of the world and their representatives to understand who the Peshmerga are and what the world owes them as part of his contribution to the Kurdish cause.

“We have a debt to the Peshmerga for how brave and valiant they were in the fight against [the Islamic State]. I am adding my little stone to the wall of allies and friends of the Kurds and Peshmerga,” he concluded.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany