Statement Issued by the Assyrian Democratic Party

Statement Issued by the Assyrian Democratic Party

Regarding the Laying of the Foundation Stone for the Memorial of the Victims of the Simele Massacre

The Assyrian Democratic Party is following with great interest the recent event of laying the foundation stone for a memorial to the victims of the painful Simele Massacre— a crime that constitutes one of the most heinous massacres in the history of the modern Iraqi state and that has left a deep wound in the national memory of our Assyrian people.

While the Party affirms that commemorating the martyrs of Simele is a legitimate right and a moral and national duty, it also believes that overarching national causes— foremost among them the issue of the Simele Massacre— must not be treated as individual initiatives or ceremonial occasions. Rather, they require comprehensive national coordination and consultation with Assyrian political parties and institutions, in order to preserve unity of stance and to respect the feelings of the sons and daughters of our people.

The Party also expresses its clear reservation regarding any symbolic step related to commemorating the martyrs of Simele in the absence of official constitutional and legal recognition of this massacre as a crime committed against the Assyrian people, whether at the level of the Iraqi state or in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Commemoration cannot be a substitute for recognition, nor can it replace the historical justice that remains absent to this day.

In this context, the Assyrian Democratic Party rejects rhetorical discourse or descriptions that strip the occasion of its true meaning, particularly the statements made during the foundation-stone-laying ceremony, which failed to take into account the sensitivity of the occasion and the magnitude of the tragedy. Such statements contributed to increasing feelings of anger and resentment within the Assyrian public, instead of offering explicit acknowledgment of the historical injustice inflicted upon them. During that ceremony, the victims of the Simele Massacre were described in ways that do not align with historical truth nor with the feelings of our Assyrian people.

The martyrs of Simele are martyrs of the Assyrian people, and their martyrdom was the result of being targeted as a nation and an identity. Any discourse that leads to diluting this fact or re-formulating it is rejected entirely and unequivocally. The Iraqi state, in all its administrative structures, must take into consideration that memorials are to be erected only in areas of sovereignty that possess their own sanctity, independence, and particularity, and that the state bears responsibility for protecting them against any present or future political contingencies.

The Party affirms that the dignity of the martyrs of Simele is not preserved by monuments alone, but rather by:

Official recognition of the massacre as a crime of genocide;

Its inclusion in educational curricula and the national memory;

Guaranteeing the national and civic rights of the Assyrian people;

Preventing the recurrence of such crimes under any circumstances.

In conclusion, the Assyrian Democratic Party calls for a responsible Assyrian national dialogue aimed at shaping a unified position toward our existential causes and preventing the exploitation of our people’s suffering or its political instrumentalization. The Party reaffirms its unwavering commitment to defending the rights of our people and their historical memory by all legitimate means.

Glory to the martyrs of Simele

Justice for their cause

And full rights for our Assyrian people

The Homeland: 17/10/6775 Assyrian Calendar

Corresponding to: 17/1/2026 AD

The Assyrian Democratic Party

The Executive Committee