Ishtartv.com /
EVANSTON, IL – Today,
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky released the following statement in remembrance of
the Simele Massacre of 1933:
“August 7, 1933. 87 years
ago, this day was the first of several filled with terror that will forever be
remembered and recognized by the Assyrian community. Forces from
the then-Kingdom of Iraq began systematic assaults on Assyrian villages,
killing over three thousand innocent people and displacing many more.
“In 2014, when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) invaded the
Nineveh Plain, the invasion also began on August 7 – again subjecting Assyrians
to terror and bloodshed on an already infamous day in their
community.
“I stand with members of the
Assyrian American community as we recognize the anniversary of this massacre,
and I am so proud to represent a large Assyrian American population in the 9th
Congressional District of Illinois. My colleagues and I on the
Congressional Assyrian Caucus and the Tom Lantos Human Rights commission
will continue to work hard each and every day to better protect religious
minorities in Iraq and around the world from violence and persecution.”
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