The Genocide against the Nastorian Assyrians in Iraq, A study in the Historical of Simele Massacare (111933-8-)

Abstract

The present study has investigated the massacre committed by the Iraqi army in 1933 against the defenseless Assyrians in the village of Simele, located 16 km west of the city of Dohuk. A few days before the massacre, the Iraqi government asked the Assyrians in the neighboring villages to gather in Simele to come under the protection of the police station and Iraq’s flag. Most of the books and previous studies on modern and contemporary history of the Assyrians as well as the attempts of the Iraqi government to hide the truth have been reviewed. A study carried out by the English inspector in Mosul, Lt. Col. Ronald Stafford, entitled “The Tragedy of the Assyrians”, Mr. Odisho Barzana’s book “Hardship Years : The Battle of Derbon and the Tragedy of Simele”, and Abd Al-Razzaq al-Hasani’s book “The History of the Iraqi Ministries” are considered the most reliable sources on that massacre. Both Stafford and Barzana participated in the events and are considered eyewitnesses, but Al-Hasani’s book represents the viewpoint of the official Iraqi government. He recorded the government’s statements on the events, and thus moved away from the facts. It is worth mentioning that the Al-Hassni has lived the era, but his book is only an official document on the formation of the Iraqi governments in the royal era, their actions and the most prominent events in Iraq. Nevertheless, the book is of a great importance in which a researcher can extract useful information from it. The testimonies of women and boys or girls who witnessed the horrifying massacre with their own eyes are important documents that reveal the untold story and refute the government’s story about what really happened in Simele. The League of Nations recorded these testimonies and kept them in a special file. After studying and investigating the aforementioned and many other sources, it was crystal clear that what happened in Simele was premediated. Accordingly, the massacre is to be considered crimes against humanity in general and Genocide, in particular. Consequently, the Iraqi Council of Representatives (the Parliament) and the Iraqi government should recognize the massacre of Semeil as a crime against humanity and that the Iraqi army and the government were involved in that crime. Moreover, they should offer an official apology to the victims and their relatives who remained alive, and that they compensate the families of the victims who witnessed the massacre with their own eyes. Indeed, the prophecy of W. A. Wigram and E. T. A Wigram was fulfilled when they indicated in their book “The Cradle of Mankind” that massacres could actually take place and the perpetrators would not be punished if the slaughterers were strong and ferocious enough (The Cradle of Humankind: p. 338 ). Unsurprisingly, the failure to hold the Iraqi government accountable for its crimes against humanity at that time encouraged the successive Iraqi governments in Iraq to commit other crimes against humanity, especially against the Kurds. The crimes reached its climax in the Anfal (genocide) operations committed against the Kurds in 1988. Moreover, the crimes of the terrorists against the Iraqi people in general, and the Yazidi Kurds, in particular in August 2014 have also to considered crimes against humanity as well. The terrorists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) invaded the lands of the Yazidi Kurds, killed their men, enslaved their women and children, and made their money their booty in front of the civilized world and still thousands of Yazidis are still missing.