"Two years ago, Daesh occupied one of Iraq's largest cities Mosul, where church bells fell silent after over 1,600 years as the city's Christians were forced to flee head over heels," Liberal activists wrote. However, it was only a premonition of what was to come. Shortly thereafter, the Nineveh Plains in Iraq were emptied of its indigenous people, as hundreds were slain and over 50,000 were forced to flee.
Unfortunately, not all Assyrians managed to escape the black-clad jihadists. Women and children were captured, raped and enslaved. Girls were sold as sex slaves. This is a human tragedy difficult to grasp, the Liberals pointed out. According to them, many Assyrians still dream of a future in Iraq and Syria, despite today's nightmare. Therefore, it is important to support these people's desire for a life of peace and freedom.
Previously, the Liberals decided in 2011 to push for an Assyrian autonomy in the Nineveh Plains, their historic area of origin. Some two years later, the Iraqi government endorsed a similar decision, which, however, was never put into practice on account of the Daesh invasion. Today, the Liberals continue to push for Assyrians' right to self-determination in the Nineveh Plains and will require a similar decision in Syria, once the war comes to an end.
The number of Assyrians in Iraq has fallen sharply in recent years. Including the 2003 war in Iraq, the country's Assyrian community dropped from 1.5 million to about 300,000. The international Assyrian diaspora number over 4 million.
