Assyrians in Syria’s Tel Tamr recall Martyr’s Day
TEL TAMR, Syria (North Press) – On Saturday, Assyrians in Tel Tamr town, northeast Syria, commemorated Assyrian Martyr’s Day to recall the Simele massacre, which happened in 1933 in Dohuk governorate in what is today Kurdistan Region Government of Iraq.
Dozens of Assyrians in Tel Tamr gathered at the cemetery of Tel Shinan village, east of Tel Tamr, which was subjected to Turkish artillery shelling only a few days before.
On August 4, Tel Shinan and five other villages in the towns of Tel Tamr and Abu Rasin, north of Hasakah, were subjected to Turkish bombardment. A shell also fell on the cemetery.
“On August 7, we recall the massacre committed against the Assyrians 88 years ago,” head of the office of the Assyrian Democratic Party in Tel Tamr Shamoun Kako told North Press.
“We recall this day that the cemetery and Tel Shinan village were subjected to Turkish shelling days ago, despite the fact that we call for love and goodness,” he added.
“The international community should put an end to the violations of Turkey and the Turkish-backed armed factions, who commit violations against the people of the region through the bombardment and cutting electricity and water,” he explained.
The memorial ceremony included speeches by the pastor of the Virgin Mary Church in Tel Tamr Baghus Ishaya, and the administrator of the Assyrian Martyrs’ Families Foundation Jamila Kako. They condemned the perpetrators of the massacre against the Assyrians on their historical land.