[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 61 (Thursday, May 14, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E862-E863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PERSECUTION OF ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LUIS V. GUTIERREZ

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 14, 1998

  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to 
recognize the religious persecution and ethnic bigotry confronting the 
Assyrian Christian community in Eastern Turkey, Syria, Northern Iraq 
and Iran. As we consider the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act, I 
believe that the record should document our Nation's concern and 
commitment to stopping the violence and oppression facing the Assyrian 
people.
  The Assyrian people have faced persecution throughout their history. 
As a religious and linguistic minority throughout the Near East, 
Assyrian Christians have long been the victims of violence and 
repression. Forced assimilation and gross brutality against this 
persevering people have occurred too often. From the murder of 
thousands of Assyrians by the Iraqi military in August of 1933, known 
as the Simele Massacre, to the recent attacks on Assyrian villages in 
Northern Iraq by Kurdish terrorist factions, the Assyrian people have 
and still continue to be the victims of violent persecution for their 
beliefs and values.
  More than 30 Assyrians have been killed in Southeastern Turkey during 
the past three years. Assyrian Christians are caught in the escalating 
warfare that has long engulfed this crossroads at the head of two 
ancient rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates. The conditions facing 
Assyrian Christians continue to deteriorate. It is also clear that our 
nation must do more to protect the Assyrian people, their unique 
culture and their religious freedoms.
  Reports of religious intolerance toward members of the Syriac 
Orthodox Church and the Church of the East have been documented by 
United Nations (UN) human rights observers. The education of young 
Assyrians about their history and the traditions of their ancestors has 
been prevented by national and local authorities across the region. 
This persecution threatens the ability of Assyrians to

[[Page E863]]

freely practice their faith in their ancient homeland.
  I believe our Government should pursue a policy that works to end 
this blatant religious bigotry toward Assyrian Christians. We must work 
with local and national leaders in Turkey to demand that the religious 
and civil rights of the Assyrian people be protected under Turkish 
laws. We must continue to pressure the various Kurdish factions across 
the region to respect the rights and autonomy of individual Assyrian 
towns and villages. We must also maintain the safe zone in Northern 
Iraq, to ensure that Saddam Hussein's tyranny cannot cause further 
destruction of the Assyrian community.
  The traditions and customs of the Assyrian people have endured for 
countless generations. Our Nation must do all it can to ensure that 
these proud people can continue to abide and thrive in their ancestral 
homeland for countless more.

                          ____________________