Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On many occasions in the past this House has considered the plight of the Assyrian people of Iraq and Syria and today, unfortunately, I have to rise again and update the House on their plight.

The Assyrian people, of course—Christian by religion—are the indigenous people of Iraq and Syria. They have been targeted by the cult, Daesh. Daesh has many enemies, of course, but the Assyrian people are primary amongst them. Just between June 2014 and July 2014 alone 45 Assyrian churches were destroyed. Clergy have been targeted and murdered, and many thousands of Assyrians in Mosul, the Nineveh plains, Kubu and the Al-Hasakah province have been forced to flee.

It is the case that the Assyrian people are the subject of what is an attempt by Daesh at genocide. It is important that the world not allow this to occur. This has been one of the reasons the opposition has provided bipartisan support to Australia's efforts and will continue to do so.

The Assyrian people are a great people. They have suffered continual persecution at successive hands both in Iraq and Syria. They deserve to be in the thoughts, prayers and considerations of this parliament and parliaments, congresses and democratic forums throughout the world because they are a good people who have been persecuted for far too long and they deserve not only to be in our thoughts but in our actions as well.