Newly formed Athra Alliance calls for protection of Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian rights on 90th anniversary of Simele Massacre

NINEVEH PLAINS, Iraq — On 7 August, the 90th anniversary of the Simele Massacre, the newly formed Athra Alliance issued a statement marking the solemn occasion.

The Athra Alliance is comprised of five Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian political parties in Iraq — Bethnahrin Patriotic Union (Huyodo Bethnahrin Athroyo, HBA), the Assyrian Patriotic Party, Abnaa al-Nahrain, the Assyrian Democratic Movement (Zowaa), and the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian Popular Council.

On 7 August 1933, Iraqi forces, under the command of General Bakr Sidqi, launched a brutal and indiscriminate military campaign against the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian villages in the Simele region. The soldiers conducted mass killings, pillaging, and burning of villages, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian men, women, and children.

The Simele Massacre led to widespread international condemnation and further heightened tensions between Iraq and the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian population. The atrocity remains a painful chapter in the history of the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people in Iraq and began a wave of emigration.

The Athra Alliance statement recalled the massacres endured by the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people in their ancestral land of Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia) and called on the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and the international community to safeguard their rights and stand in solidarity with them.

They solemnly commemorated the innocent victims and demanded justice for them.

The Alliance addresses the failures of the Baghdad government in fulfilling promises towards the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people and their rights in Nineveh Plains and throughout the country. The statement highlighted concerns about security forces from outside the region controlling Nineveh Plains and its resources under the pretext of it being a “disputed area”.

The Alliance called on the international community to do more to ensure the areas affected by decades of atrocities, including those most recently committed by the Islamic State (ISIS), are stable, secure, and prosperous. They urged the Iraqi Parliament to take action against future crimes and massacres, ensuring the return of displaced communities, and increased assistance in rebuilding of their villages.

Additionally, the statement emphasizes the need to create an autonomous province in Nineveh Plains to counter deliberate attempts at demographic change. The Alliance appealed to the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people to stand side-by-side in solidarity with one another and ensure their continued presence in their ancestral homeland.

The statement concluded with the Alliance’s reaffirmation to its commitment to continue the struggle for the rights of the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people and to follow in the footsteps of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for this cause.