(AINA) -- Iraq is currently at a critical juncture requiring the reinforcement of national sovereignty and the cohesion of state institutions. However, ongoing political and security developments in the north indicate a recurring pattern of policies that weaken the central government and exploit instability for political and economic gains, threatening Iraq's unity and the future of its indigenous...
(AINA) -- The Assyrian people, as one of the indigenous nations of Mesopotamia, face an increasingly coordinated campaign of political, social, and economic marginalization in northern Iraq. This campaign extends beyond neglect and reflects a sustained pattern of interference by the so called Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), aimed at weakening Assyrian political organizations, fragmenting...
(AINA) -- The use of the "Christian" label for indigenous peoples in Iraq, particularly in northern Iraq, is not neutral. It carries political, legal, and historical consequences that undermine indigenous identity and collective rights. Religion Is not an indigenous Identity; "Christian" describes a religious belief, not a people, nation, or indigenous group.
(AINA) -- For 6775 years the Assyrians have been an indigenous population of Mesopotamia, with a continuous presence in what is today northern Iraq and the wider region. Our identity is not solely religious, nor is it a modern construct; it is rooted in a distinct history, language, culture, and collective memory that long predates contemporary political borders.
(AINA) -- The Simmele Massacre of 1933 was not an abstract tragedy. It was a crime committed against the Assyrian people by the Iraqi army, with the participation of local Kurdish forces, resulting in the mass killing, displacement, and terrorization of an indigenous nation in its own homeland. Any commemoration of this atrocity must begin with an honest acknowledgment of responsibility.
(AINA) -- The laying of a foundation stone for a memorial commemorating the Simmele Massacre by parties historically responsible for the massacre itself is not an act of reconciliation, it is an act of moral violence. It represents a deliberate attempt to appropriate Assyrian suffering while stripping it of truth, responsibility, and justice.