On April 1st, the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) and the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) sent a joint letter to Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop. The joint letter addresses the issues and concerns of both the Armenian and Assyrian communities in regards to the decision made by Turkey to take ownership of more than 6000 properties in the Sur district of the Diyarbakir region, including Saint Giragos Church, which is the largest Armenian Church in the Middle East, as well as the Virgin Mary Ancient Assyrian Church. This expropriation comes after a violent crackdown on the Kurdish minority in the region, further contributing to the questionable human rights record that Turkey has with respect to the treatment of its minority groups. The letter makes references to the reports covering this ruling. It also references statements made by Garo Paylan, an Armenian member of the Turkish Parliament and member of the Kurdish Peoples' Party (HDP), the Co-chair of the HDP, Figen Y