(AINA) -- The Assyrian people, as one of the indigenous nations of Mesopotamia, face an increasingly coordinated campaign of political, social, and economic marginalization in northern Iraq. This campaign extends beyond neglect and reflects a sustained pattern of interference by the so called Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), aimed at weakening Assyrian political organizations, fragmenting social cohesion, and neutralizing independent representation.

Assyrian political organizations and religious institutions in northern Iraq have been systematically infiltrated through KRG-linked channels. Financial inducements, selective employment, and political privileges are used to co-opt individuals, while those who maintain independent positions are sidelined, discredited, or excluded from decision-making processes. These practices undermine institutional autonomy and convert representative bodies into mechanisms of external control.

Intimidation remains a central tool in this strategy. Activists, clergy, journalists, and community leaders who document land seizures, demographic manipulation, or violations of Assyrian rights often face administrative obstruction, security pressure, or professional retaliation. Such conditions suppress legitimate dissent and foster an environment in which silence becomes necessary for personal safety and economic survival.

Equally damaging is the deliberate use of propaganda to erode Assyrian national identity. KRG-affiliated media outlets and aligned organizations promote narratives that recast Assyrians solely as a religious minority, distort historical realities, and portray indigenous political demands as destabilizing. This systematic narrative shaping weakens collective identity and disrupts intergenerational continuity.

Economic exclusion reinforces these pressures. Despite producing highly qualified graduates, Assyrian communities in northern Iraq are largely denied equitable access to public-sector employment, development programs, and economic decision-making structures. Employment and opportunity are frequently conditioned on political loyalty rather than merit, ensuring continued dependency and accelerating forced migration from ancestral lands.

These practices, political infiltration, intimidation, propaganda, and economic marginalization, form a coherent and deliberate pattern. Their cumulative effect is the gradual depopulation of Assyrian areas, the erosion of independent institutions, and the silencing of indigenous political agency. Under such conditions, migration is not a voluntary choice but the result of sustained pressure.

Call to Action

The so called Kurdistan Regional Government must immediately end interference in Assyrian political and religious institutions in northern Iraq and guarantee their full independence in line with democratic principles and international human rights standards. This includes safeguarding freedom of political expression, ensuring equal access to employment and economic opportunity, protecting individuals from intimidation, and recognizing the Assyrian people as an indigenous nation with legitimate collective rights.

International human rights organizations, diplomatic missions, and Iraqi federal authorities must urgently examine these patterns and establish credible monitoring and accountability mechanisms. Continued inaction risks enabling the irreversible erosion of one of Mesopotamia's oldest indigenous communities.

Protecting Assyrian institutions, identity, and economic viability is not a symbolic demand, it is a prerequisite for justice, pluralism, and long-term stability in northern Iraq.