North Iraq (AINA) — Turkish jets bombed the Assyrian village of Upper Sharanish in north Iraq on the 16th, under the pretext of targeting Kurdish PKK fighters who had entered the village. Weiterlesen
(AINA) — The Syrian National Coalition (SNC), an umbrella group for Syria’s numerous opposition groups, recently formed a new government in exile but failed to include Assyrian representatives. Weiterlesen
(AINA) — Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs) have opened their first school in Baghdad in more than 50 years. In 2005 the Iraqi parliament passed legislation to allow minorities to teach their own language in school. Weiterlesen
The European Parliament adopted a report on human rights in the world, paying close attention to EU action for the human rights of minorities. The report also comments on a range of new measures, including the creation of an EU Special Representative on Human Rights, calls for a consistent implementation of the European human rights policy and demands that the EU introduce detailed human rights benchmarks for future cooperation on all policy areas. Weiterlesen
Insufficient security, lack of opportunities, and discriminatory laws deprive members of the Assyrians community of any perspective in Iraq. They neither receive sufficient protection by the Iraqi and Kurdish government nor do they enjoy fundamental rights that guarantee their existence in Iraq. Persistent violence and pervasive rejection of other ethnic and religious elements in society turn life impossible for Iraqi minorities. Weiterlesen
The US withdrawal from Iraq could spell the last push factor for the remaining members of Iraq’s vulnerable minorities. Iraq is far from a safe and functioning country. Attacks continue to threat civilians. The violence has forced more than 60 percent of Iraq’s Assyrian population to flee the country. Assyrians in Iraq continue to be the targets of systematic violence, whether in areas under the central government or the Kurdish administrated area. The latest attacks on Assyrian businesses in Northern Iraq clearly prove the continuing discrimination. Weiterlesen
Four Kurdish men gathered a group of Christian female survivors in the cathedral’s yard. They pointed their weapons at the women while forcing them to carry out all the books they could find in the cathedral’s library and pile them up on the yard. Weiterlesen
As heir to the ottoman empire, Turkey has during 94 years denied the genocide they committed on the Assyrians and other Christian minorities. Lately some intellectual Turks have tried to settle with their history by publicly apologizing for the actions during 1915. This reconcile-process has however not reached the impact that many had hoped for and was subdued in Turkish media. Weiterlesen