The House of Representatives of Cyprus has adopted a resolution condemning the historical massacre of Assyrians in a unanimous vote during its plenary session on Monday, the Cyprus News Agency reports. The measure, put forward by Independent Socialist MP Kostis Efstathiou, formally recognizes and denounces the atrocities suffered by Assyrians.
In his remarks, Efstathiou highlighted the shared suffering of Assyrians in 1915 alongside Armenians and Pontic Greeks, characterizing the events as part of a devastating “trilogy of genocides” targeting Christian communities. He underlined the historical contributions of the ancient Assyrian civilization.
The resolution also designates August 7 as an official “Day of Remembrance,” commemorating the 1933 Simile massacre in what was then the newly formed Iraqi state, which brought further waves of violence against Assyrians. Efstathiou framed the House’s action as consistent with Cyprus’s own history of ethnic cleansing and minority suffering, emphasizing solidarity with persecuted peoples.
All major political parties in the parliament welcomed the resolution making it pass unanimously.
Efstathiou used a recent event in a church in Nicosia on 19 November to focus on the need of recognition of the genocide of Assyrians, where he also read the text of the proposal for the parliamentary resolution that has now been adopted.
Kostis Efstathiou serves as a Member of the House of Representatives of Cyprus and has been active in European and human rights issues through the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and related committees, focusing on areas like the European Court of Human Rights and implementation of its rulings. He has also participated in international parliamentary work on Turkey and human rights issues.
