06:03, 20 April 2015

In Georgia, activists demand to stop terror against Assyrians in Iraq and Syria

Posters in front of the Parliament. Photo by Inna Kukudzhanova for the "Caucasian Knot"

On April 19, various cities of Georgia hosted actions in support of Assyrian Christians. Activists appealed to the authorities asking to provide shelter to children from Assyrian families.

Trapped in the combat zone in the territories of Syria and Iraq, Assyrian Christians are being persecuted because of their religion by militants of radical groupings. Since mid-2014, 173,000 Assyrian Christians emigrated from Iraq. Because of the Syrian-Turkish-Kurdish conflict, the number of Assyrians in Syria decreased from 260,000 to 30,000, the "blagovest-info" reports with reference to Ashur Givargis, the leader of the Assyria Patriotic Movement.

According to the police, the action was attended by about 700 people. The organizers have explained that the main purpose of the action is to support families and children, "whose tomorrow is not guaranteed, while everyone has the right to life."

The Georgian government is working on the issue of providing assistance to Assyrian Christians. About 200 Assyrians from Syria appealed to the Georgian authorities with a request for refugee status, and five of them were granted it. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by David Lortkipanidze, an MP from the ruling coalition "Georgian Dream".

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Inna Kukudzhanova

Source: CK correspondent