Coordination and Consultation Committee honors martyrs of Simele Massacre in Tel Tamr, North and East Syria

TEL TAMR, Syria — In remembrance of the tragic Simele Massacre of 1933, the Coordination and Consultation Committee, comprising the Syriac Union Party (SUP), the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), and the Assyrian Democratic Party (ADP), organized a commemorative event in Tel Tamr, North and East Syria.

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.

In attendance was President of the International Religious Freedom Secretariat and former Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Nadine Maenza

graced by the presence of Nadine Maniza, Chair of the American Commission for International Religious Freedom, Co-Chair of the Hasakah Canton Council Samar al-Abdullah, along with representatives from the constituent parties of the Coordination and Consultation Committee, military and security forces, and members of the public.

Afram Ishaq, a member of the SUP Executive Committee, delivered an address that honored the martyrs of the Simele Massacre. He highlighted that historical agreements such as the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 and the Treaty of Lausanne signed in 1924 had been designed to fragment the region’s peoples. These agreements, he emphasized, had relegated indigenous communities to minority status.

ADO Deputy Official Bashir al-Saadi recalled the countless martyrs who selflessly defended the existence and national identity of the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people. He lamented the injustices and persecutions endured by the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people in their quest for a life imbued with freedom and dignity.

Johnny Hormuz, a member of the ADP Central Committee, reiterated the imperative of acknowledging the genocides and massacres perpetrated by pasted governments in Iraq and Turkey, underscoring the necessity of universally recognizing these crimes.

The event featured the reading of telegrams by civil institutions, political parties, and military forces, each expressing solidarity and remembrance.

The commemoration culminated in the screening of a documentary film chronicling the massacres endured by the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people.