It would be a devastating blow to maintaining our language and culture in an area where the Assyrian language has been routinely oppressed. In addition, having had only introductory classes in the Kurdish language, closing these schools would place Assyrian students at a distinct disadvantage vis a vis their Kurdish counterparts and would make their advancement to higher education nearly impossible. Assyrian Americans are deeply concerned that the Ministry of Education's refusal to approve Assyrian schools marks yet another example of Kurdish attempts to block Assyrian cultural expression. Kurdish officials have reportedly stated that the decision not to approve Assyrian schools is political and aimed at limiting Assyrian cultural aspirations. Unfortunately, there has been a longstanding pattern of Kurdish attacks against the Assyrian language.
Assyrian schools are of vital interest to the existence of the Assyrian culture in Iraq.
In addition, these are the fields where pro-Western, democratic ideals are cultivated. Assyrian Americans are proud of the courage their fellow Assyrians have shown in northern Iraq in providing for their own education. They urge their representatives to remind the Kurdish authorities that democratic ideals necessitate a free educational system. They also urge them to remind the Kurds that the United States will not condone Kurdish oppression of Assyrians but rather the United States demands equal and democratic treatment of all of the communities in Iraq. In 1994, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights established a Human Rights Hot Line, a 24-hour facsimile line that will allow the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva to monitor and react rapidly to human rights emergencies.