THE TRAGEDY OF THE ASSYRIANS [To the Editor of THE
SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Your review of Colonel Stafford's book entitled The Tragedy of the Assyrians states that. the Assyrians "have been dispossessed of their ancestral lands by a decision of the League" of Nations. May I suggest that you refer to pages 45 and 46 of the book, where it is stated that "In 1922 the whole of the Upper and Lower Tiyari, the two most important tribes, together with the Tokhuma and some of the Jilu and Baz, proceeded to their pre-War homes in Hakkiari. They appear to have met with no opposition from the Turks, . . ." ? "In August, 1924, however, an affray occurred- between a party of Tokhtuna tribesmen, the wildest of all the Assyrians, and the Turkish Vali of Julamerk, who was on a revenue-collecting tour." "A large military force was collected and immediate steps were taken to drive the Assyrians out of Turkey. The Turks succeeded."—Yours
[Our reviewer writes : "The British Government, as Mandatory Power, urged the inclusion within Iraq of the Hakkiari area whence the Assyrians were driven out by the Turks in 1924. The Commission of the League of Nations did not accept this proposal, but awarded it to Turkey, thus making the return of the Assyrians to their ancestral lands in this region impossible. The facts are fully set out in the Report of the Commission on the frontier between Iraq and Turkey and in the Annual Reports of the Mandatory Power."]
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