George Aslan, also known by his birth name George Aryo (), is a Turkish politician of Assyrian descent. He is currently part of the

Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (; , abbreviated as DEM Party) is a pro- Kurdish political party in Turkey. It is the legal successor of the Green Left Party and with the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) handing over its work to this ...

and has been a deputy for

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

in the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

since

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. He previously resided in

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

for 37 years.

Early life

Aslan was born in 1958 in the village of Arbo, Nusaybin (known in Turkish as Taşköy), completing primary school there and secondary education in

Midyat Midyat (, , , ) is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,241 km2, and its population is 120,069 (2022). In the modern era, the town is populated by Kurds, Mhallami Arabs and Assyrians. The old Estel neighborho ...

. After the

1980 Turkish coup d'état The 1980 Turkish coup d'état (), headed by Chief of the General Staff General Kenan Evren, was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been the 1960 coup and the 1971 coup by memorandum. During ...

, Aslan spent 26 months in the Mamak prison in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and settled in

after his release. While living in the Netherlands, Aslan had been involved in organizations aimed towards the Dutch Assyrian community. He had been an editor of the Shemsho Magazine, as well as a member of various organizations such as the Dutch Tur-Abdin Federation and the Assyrian Mesopotamia Enschede Association (AMVE). Additionally, Aslan had been a member of the Assyrian Federation of Holland and a representative on the Kurdish Parliament in Exile and had voiced public support for

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...

in the wake of his arrest, as well as for Assyrian cooperation with

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

. Aslan returned to Turkey in 2015, having followed the political developments of the country for years up to that point. When he went to Mardin, he wasn't able to recognize the same place that he grew up in, noting how completely different everything was.

Political career

Aslan had been selected as a candidate for the Party of the Greens and the Left Future in the

2023 Turkish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Turkey on 14 May 2023, alongside presidential elections, to elect all 600 members of the Grand National Assembly. The incoming members formed the 28th Parliament of Turkey. The elections had originally been ...

, winning the spot. He had emphasized Assyrian returns to Turkey as a key part of his election to parliament, as well as standing against discrimination that the community faced and land grabbing, which had been a continuous issue that the community faced up to that point. Aslan has previously advocated for

Assyrians in Turkey Assyrians in Turkey (, Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܝܐ ܕܛܘܪܩܝܐ) or Turkish Assyrians are the indigenous Semitic-speaking ethnic group and an oppressed minority of Turkey, who are Eastern Aramaic–speaking Christians, with most being members of ...

in parliamentary sessions. After the murder of 92 year-old Gevriye Akguc in the Enhil village of

Tur Abdin Tur Abdin (; ; ; or ) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria and famed since Late Antiquity for ...

, Aslan brought up the issue in parliament, stating that the killing could've been orchestrated to prevent Assyrians from returning to their villages. In 2024, Aslan revealed that 57,000 square meters of land had been stolen from Assyrians and sold at lower prices to people who weren't native to the villages where the land had been grabbed, which he claimed exacerbated the displacement of minorities living in the country. He has also supported other Christian communities in Turkey, opening an investigation after the selling of the Surb Karapet Monastery in

Muş Muş (; ; ) is a city in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Muş Province and Muş District.İl Beled ...

and in regards to land grabbing after the Kurdish-Turkish conflict. Aslan delivered a speech in 2023 after the first Syriac library was opened in Hah, expressing his support and admiration for its opening. In 2025, he extended wishes to the Assyrian community in Turkey on the occasion of Kha b'Nissan (the Assyrian New Year).

Harassment in parliament

Aslan has been through two instances of harassment in the Turkish parliament, both around

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

for delivering holiday messages to the Assyrians of the country. In 2023, Aslan faced intervention from members of the

Turkish nationalist Turkish nationalism () is nationalism among the people of Turkey and individuals whose national identity is Turkish people, Turkish. Turkish nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Turkish cu ...

Good Party The Good Party (Turkish language, Turkish: ''İYİ Parti'') is a Turkish nationalism, nationalist, Kemalism, Kemalist and Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, established on 25 October 2017 b ...

after delivering a Christmas message in

Turoyo Turoyo (), also referred to as Surayt (), or modern Suryoyo (), is a Central Neo-Aramaic language traditionally spoken by the Syriac Christian community in the Tur Abdin region located in southeastern Turkey and in northeastern Syria. Turoyo ...

, with permission from

Deputy Speaker of the Grand National Assembly The Deputy Speaker(s) of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi Başkanvekilleri'') serve on the Speakers Council (Turkish: ''Başkanlık Divanı'') in the Grand National Assembly of Turk ...

Sırrı Süreyya Önder Sırrı Süreyya Önder (7 July 1962 – 3 May 2025) was a Turkish film director, actor, screenwriter, columnist and politician. Elected to parliament in 2011 as an independent backed by the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), he later joined the p ...

. He responded to the Good Party by stating, "I want to repeat what I said in the Parliament: We did not bring this language from another planet. Syriac is a language of this land. We are the indigenous people of this land for 12,000 years. We were here when no one else was on these lands. Why they react so strongly is incomprehensible. However, we know that this is a denial of real history." Aslan once again faced a similar issue in 2024, when while delivering another Christmas message in Turoyo, speaker

Bekir Bozdağ Bekir Bozdağ (born 1 April 1965) is a Turkish lawyer and politician of Kurdish origin and former Minister of Justice. On 6 July 2011 he was appointed the Deputy Prime Minister in the third cabinet of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. On ...

turned off his microphone, to which Aslan replied with, "Some deputies are reading

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

verses from the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

on the podium. Please turn it off when the verses are read. If it doesn't turn off, I, who never tease anyone, will tease you very much, believe me. If there is holiness, all holiness is given importance."

Personal life

Aslan can speak five languages, namely Syriac,

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

, Turkish, and

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

, with some degree of

References

External links

YoutubeInterview with AssyriaTV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aslan, George Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Deputies of Mardin Members of the 28th Parliament of Turkey Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party politicians Turkish people of Assyrian descent Assyrian politicians Assyrian activists Turkish Christians People from Nusaybin Dutch people of Assyrian descent 1958 births