Assyrian representatives from Sweden held a series of meetings with Turkish officials in Ankara in February to discuss several issues affecting Assyrians in Turkey, with the question of Assyrian lands in the Tur Abdin region, transferred to state ownership, at the top of the agenda.
These meetings followed an initial visit to Ankara in 2024, during which the same Assyrian delegation submitted a comprehensive 22-point demand file to the relevant authorities. After the 2024 meetings, the Assyrian side conducted a detailed and systematic study, resulting in a 132-page report, which they presented during this follow-up visit.
During the delegations meeting in February with the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Mr. Murat Kurum, the property issue was discussed in both its technical and legal dimensions, the delegation said in a press release.
Swedish-Assyrian lawyer İlhan Aydın, a key figure in the process and member of the delegation, told the Post that the facts they presented regarding the scope of the problem surprised the minister. "It became clear that the extent of the issue was, to some degree, surprising even to the Ministry," Aydın said, adding: "We also emphasized that if this matter is not addressed, there is a significant risk of negative demographic change in our villages."
The lands in question, which were transferred to state ownership at a time when few Assyrians were present to contest the process, encompass most Assyrian villages and cover many millions of square meters. Their current monetary value would amount to billions of dollars.
The Assyria Post
As a result of the meeting, Minister Kurum decided to establish a review and evaluation commission to examine the matter in a comprehensive and systematic manner. The commission will consist of legal and technical experts, including İlhan Aydın himself as a representative of the Assyrian side.
Aydın explained that the goal is to approach the matter methodically, including a site visit to Tur Abdin to assess the situation on the ground. "The work will then result in a report to be submitted to the Ministry as a basis for further measures," he told the Post.
The hope is that the commission will suggest legal mechanisms to allow for Assyrian lands that have shifted to state ownership to be returned to their owners.
In their request letter to Minister Kurum, the Assyrian delegation also called for the precautionary suspension of "sales, transfers, and allocation transactions concerning properties deemed to be disputed until the review process is completed."
Commission on Protected Heritage Sites
In a separate meeting with the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the delegation discussed issues related to protected site designations in Assyrian villages, the preservation of historic churches and monasteries, environmental planning, safeguarding Assyrian cultural heritage, and UNESCO processes.
This meeting also led to the minister’s decision to establish an evaluation commission to conduct on-site inspections and submit a report to the Ministry.
"We Were Heard"
In a press release following the meetings, the Assyrian delegation noted that the establishment of review and evaluation commissions within both ministries demonstrates that Assyrian property and cultural heritage issues will, for the first time, "be addressed at this level within an institutional framework." The approach allows for the systematic examination of these matters from technical, legal, and administrative perspectives, the delegation has stated.
"Our overall impression from the meetings is that there is a genuine willingness to listen and to engage in discussion," Aydın said. He cautioned, however, that the process is complex: "Some potential solutions are legally complex and may, in certain cases, require legislative amendments, which naturally makes the process more demanding. Nevertheless, we experience a serious and constructive attitude toward examining the matter and identifying possible solutions."
While no formal timeline has been adopted for the work of the two commissions, Assyrian demands regarding property, cultural heritage, and legal status were carefully heard for the first time and taken under consideration by the relevant authorities.
Apart from Mr Ilhan Aydin, the delegation participating in the visits in Ankara included Swedish Member of Parliament Yusuf Aydın, as well as two representatives from the Syriac Orthodox Church in Sweden.
