Statement by the Assyrian Democratic Party on the Occasion of Assyrian Martyrs Day and the Anniversary of the Party’s Founding – August 7, 2025

Every year, the seventh of August carries a profound dual meaning for Assyrians, where the sanctity of martyrdom intersects with the will for political organization. On this very day in 1977, the Assyrian Democratic Party was founded as a conscious continuation of the martyrs’ memory and a practical expression of a people’s cry to shift their cause from the fields of pain to arenas of action.

The coincidence of our party’s founding with Assyrian Martyrs Day was not a matter of timing—it was a deliberate and conscious act. It affirms that the blood of the martyrs is not an end, but a beginning—a launchpad for a political liberation project that arises from tragedy to build hope, turning suffering into awareness, and memory into resolve.

Assyrian Martyrs Day is not a sentimental occasion, but a moment of confrontation with history and the present. It is when we recall the massacres of Simele in 1933, Sayfo in 1915, and other episodes of genocide and ethnic cleansing—not merely as tragedies, but as part of a sustained attempt to erase the Assyrian people from the geography and political memory of the region. Yet what the executioners failed to understand is that Assyrian identity is not mere physical survival—it is a deeply rooted civilizational project that rejects extinction and insists on its rightful place as an indigenous partner on this land.

On this day, we renew our pledge to the martyrs and reaffirm our commitment—both as a political party and as a national institution born out of catastrophe—to be the voice of a people still demanding justice, recognition, and dignity.

As our region undergoes critical transformations, the exclusion of the Assyrian people from political equations in Syria and Iraq—and their deprivation of representation, protection, and recognition—makes the pursuit of transitional justice, the acknowledgment of the Assyrian genocide, and the restoration of our people’s rights urgent and non-negotiable priorities.

As we commemorate this eternal occasion, we affirm that the convergence of Assyrian Martyrs Day and the founding of the party represents a lasting moral and political commitment to remain faithful to our people’s sacrifices and to shoulder the responsibility of transforming pain into a unifying national project. The massacres committed against Assyrians must be incorporated into the official historical narrative in both Syria and Iraq, for states that do not acknowledge their crimes cannot build a truly democratic future.

We therefore call for a new social contract in Syria and Iraq—one based on equal citizenship and the recognition of national communities as partners in the homeland, not as vulnerable minorities.

Furthermore, the self-empowerment of Assyrians in their historical regions—within the framework of a decentralized democratic state—is the only viable path to ensuring their fair and stable future.

The international community, led by the United Nations, must go beyond temporary aid to play a real role in guaranteeing national rights and preserving human diversity in the Middle East.

To the sons and daughters of our Assyrian nation,

Loyalty to our martyrs means building a modern political project—one that preserves memory without being imprisoned by it, and that engages in the democratic struggle from a place of partnership, not supplication. Let us renew our vow to those who came before us and transform August 7 from a day of mourning to a day of action and national revival.

Glory and eternity to our righteous martyrs.

Freedom for our Assyrian people in a homeland that recognizes them and safeguards their future.

Ashur Year: 7/5/6775

Gregorian Date: 8/7/2025

Assyrian Democratic Party

Executive Committee