Assyrian International News Agency
Assyrians Commemorate Martyrs Day Worldwide
Posted GMT 8-8-2007 16:53:33
Los Angeles (AINA) — Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs)
commemorated Martyrs Day on August 7th, the official Assyrian memorial
holiday. The holiday was observed in cities worldwide, including Los
Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Toronto, Stockholm, London,
Amsterdam and North Iraq.
The Assyrian Martyrs day remembers the victims of genocides and
pogroms, including the Turkish Genocide of Assyrians, Greeks and
Armenians in World War One, in which 750,000 Assyrians (75%) were
killed.
The date August 7th was chosen because in 1933 the newly formed Iraq,
having gained its independence from the British just one year earlier,
massacred the Assyrians of the village of Simmele and its surroundings
in north Iraq, killing 3000 Assyrian men, women and children.
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