THE ASSYRIAN SOLUTION STARTS FROM A PROVINCE AND ENDS IN AUTONOMY OR SELF-RULE

Every Assyrian wants an autonomous region or even an independent state in American 'liberated' and reshuffled Baghdad and most of us express it openly, but the dithering status of our political movements especially at home make this approach untenable. They talk too much but achieve very little. The flimsy and empty promises of democratic Baghdad and recognition of the Assyrian ethnicity do not suffice the current mentality of grab as you can and impose as you can. The status quo and the status quo ante before it do not serve our ambitions as a distinctive nation.

This sloganeering might have been raiseable in post T E Lawrence's Baghdad and the following misrule of Baghdadi officialdom and up to 1968 prior to the Baathist takeover. The Kurds, Arabs central and Arabs south plot to carve up what the want willy-nilly leaving us the indigenous Assyrians and Yezidis hoisting the banners of democracy and representation, inebriating ourselves with miraculous and heavenly Baghdad contrited from its past iniquities and future sins. The fascist Baath would not go along with these slogans but the successors and the new comers in Baghdad are ready to go along with it knowing in advance that such claim does not perturb the autocratic structure of Arabic Baghdad. They will numb us with a cabinet portfolio like Wazir el Baladiyat (minister of municipalities), something already offered to us in 1966, and just to be annulled later. There is no guarantee of written and unwritten status in Middle East politics and mentality:

1- From Assyrian point of view asking for representation in a united country and in the present situation will not serve us but will cease us. We are Assyrian and Christian and always the odd one is out in term of the dictatorship and abuse of the majority. We will continue to dilute and sacrifice our national and cultural existence.

Add to this we are not populated and will remain so due to low birthrate and emigration and this means that year after year we will sink further in the pool of the majority.

2- The current climate may be democratic while the American soldiers are patrolling the streets of Baghdad, but in the long run the emergence of another clown like Saddam or even another Arius like Tariq Aziz is not a far fetched scenario. In my lifetime I have witnessed five successful military takeovers, with numerous failed attempts.

Our political movements have to enter the corridors of power in new Baghdad with enthusiasm, energy and strength and force their way and impose by the scruff of the neck and stop begging. We have to erase and forever the catchphrase that dubbed us for so long as 'a tiny Christian community'. Our indentity is written on our foreheads as the indigenous and aborigine people and we belong to this land. Until the advent of the fascist Baath to power in 1968, the country was divided into 14 provinces (14 muhafathat), 2 Kurdish, 3 Arab central, 7 Arab south and 2 mixed or neutral.

With the Baath in power and to appease the Kurds and to promote their tribal influence the country was redivided into 18 provinces (18 Muhafathat), 3 Kurdish, 4 Arab central, 9 Arab south and 2 mixed or neutral. Here part of Mosul was given to the Kurds as the province of Dohuk. Currently the Kurds have three provinces Dohuk, Arbil and Sulaymaniya but we have nothing because our lands are under the Kurds and the Arabs in the mixed or neutral province. The Kurds can blackmail the new comers in Baghdad for a federation and they have the means to do it. We can not because
we do not have a geographic region allocated to us, and therefore we must ask for an Assyrian province. This new Assyrian province (province 19) must include a large part of Nineveh province with parts taken from Dohuk, Arbil and Aqra region. Such geographical map has been circulated by various Assyrian groups, one of them is the AUA.

With the Assyrian province in our bag then we force our way in a way that if the country remains based on provinces we will have our own, but should the country be federated we must stand head and shoulder with the other groups demanding equal destiny.

This must be implemented and with defiance because others are jockeying for power and all is not sympathetic to us. Here we use the current circumstances to further our cause and our national aspiration before the departure of the American troops. Anyone who is able to go to Baghdad in the current circumstances should do so and take the example of Rev Ken Joseph and impose the Assyrian stand as Zinda Magazine explored it in the last issue. Circumstances are not the same for every Assyrian to go now but once the country is secure, law enforced, transport is easier and living becomes normal then an Assyrian delegation from abroad should be arranged preferably by Zinda Magazine to officially meet the new government and those at the very top and present our Assyrian position-Assyrian province first and then if the country is federated we will be part in that federation.

Dr George Habash
United Kingdom

IRAQ’S PATRIARCHS & BISHOPS DEMAND EQUAL RIGHTS

(ZNDA: Baghdad) The following is a statement of the Iraqi patriarchs and bishops released last week in Baghdad. Published and published through the Vatican press office:

At this moment, when Iraq is turning a page and is beginning a new chapter in her millenary life, we, the Patriarchs and Bishops of the Christian Churches in Iraq, driven also by pressure from our faithful, wish to express our aspirations relative to the future of this country, in the hope that the Iraqi people, which has had a long history marked by defeats and successes, will be able, without religious or ethnic distinction, to live in freedom, justice and respect for interreligious and multiethnic coexistence.

When Hammurabi sculpted his Code on the stone of this land, law became the basis of the development of civilization.

When Abraham looked at the heavens above Ur, they opened up to him and, by this revelation, Abraham became the Father of a multitude of peoples.

When Christianity and Islam met, their respective "holy ones" began the two religions in respectful and reciprocal coexistence.

In addition, by virtue of our original right of belonging to the most ancient peoples of this land, we claim for ourselves and for all those who live in it today, whether a majority or minority, united by a long history of coexistence, the full right to live in a state of law, in peace, freedom, justice and equality, according to the Human Rights Charter. Consequently, we -- Chaldeans, Assyrians, Syrians, Armenians, Greeks and Latins -- forming together one Christian community, ask that the new Iraqi Constitution:

-- Recognize our religious, cultural, social and political rights;
-- Envision a legal statute in which each person will be considered according to their capacities, without discrimination, so that each may have the right to actively participate in the government and the service of this country;
-- Consider Christians as Iraqi citizens with full rights;
-- Guarantee the right to profess our faith according to our ancient traditions and our religious law, the right to educate our children according to Christian principles, the right to freely assemble, to build our places of worship, and our cultural and social centers according to our needs.

And, lastly, we make this appeal before everyone, the Iraqi people, rich in ethnicities and religions, the political and religious authorities, as well as to everyone who has the good of the country at heart, and to the leaders of the international community.

FINAL DECLARATION OF THE AMSTERDAM CONFERENCE

DECLARATION

This declaration by delegates working for national unity in regard to our people in Iraq was adopted unanimously at a conference held in Driebergen, The Netherlands on April 2003. In attendance at the conference called and hosted by the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA), were observer activists, government dignitaries involved in the Assyrian Question, and the undersigned political parties, organizations, and federations.

The Assyrian Nation includes Chaldean and Syriac … and are the indigenous people of Iraq and the remnants of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian numbers over four (4) million scattered throughout the world with two (2) million still in the homeland of Iraq. They are the second largest minority and as Christians the second largest religion of Iraq. The declaration points adopted are:

1. That we support the integrity of an undivided Iraq.
2. That the Iraqi Government must be democratic and secular.
3. That the constitution recognizes equally all Iraqi citizens.
4. That Assyrians receive all ethnic and religious rights (The terms ethnic minorities or religious minorities must be interpreted to have the same meaning in all languages).
5. That Assyrians be acknowledged as the indigenous people of Iraq.
6. That all living Assyrians and their descendant children be granted dual citizenship, thereby allowing a fair representation.
7. That Assyrians in any Iraqi government where autonomy is declared for any group or where a federal government established, then the Assyrians must be provided autonomy or given a state named Assyria accordingly.
8. That Assyrians must be able to freely exercise their customs, traditions, language and religion.
9. That Assyrians be entitled to representation and participation at all levels of Government.
10. That the homes and lands of Assyrians illegally removed be returned to all including those at home and abroad.
11. That any constitution for Iraq must include a bill of rights for all citizens.
12. That the statement of basic principles adopted at Ankara on March 19, 2003 by the governments of the United States and Turkey and by the Iraqi opposition groups be included in the interim Iraqi regime and any subsequent government.
13. That all Assyrians have the right and are entitled to resettle in their ancestral homeland, Iraq.
14. That we Assyrians support the inclusion of the Yezidies in our Assyrian nation.

Adopted unanimously on April 27, 2003
Driebergen, The Netherlands

R E S O L U T I O N S

1. To achieve the goal of unity to connect the divisions affecting our people, the Assyrian, Chaldean, Malachite, Syriac, and Maronite … church denominations through centuries. We call for an official invitation from this conference to be issued to all Church Leaders to begin a dialogue of understanding and unity to heal the wounds of all sects of our nation.
2. The conference acknowledges the historical unity between Assyrians and Yezidies and requests the rights of Yezidies be secured and implemented equally as outlined in the declaration statement adopted heretofore.
3. We ask that the appointed committee pursue immediately with the present legal government in IRAQ and with the governments of the coalition representatives and bring to justice the incident of the eight Assyrian men that reportedly have been imprisoned by the Kurdish Democratic Party, KDP.
4. We support Assyrian national effort for democracy, and the fulfillment of our national and human rights in the homeland.
5. This body is to create a temporary Leadership Committee to be composed of nine representatives for implementing the mandates and resolutions adopted here in a voice of unity agreed at this Amsterdam Conference.
6. The ten member temporary Leadership Committee to consist of the nine present political parties and the Assyrian Universal Alliance.
7. We resolve to thank and recognize the efforts and dedicated hard work of President Shlimon Haddad and the members of the Dutch Assyrian Society of Holland in organizing, preparing, and conducting this outstanding Amsterdam Conference.

Adopted unanimously on April 27, 2003
Driebergen, The Netherlands by

Signatories

Assyrian Universal Alliance
Assyrian Democratic Party
Assyrian National Organization
Assyrian Liberation Party (GFA)
Assyrian Liberation Movement
Assyrian Patriotic Party
Bethnahrain Freedom Party
Bet Nahrain National Alliance
Patriotic Union of Bethnahrain
Shuraya Party
Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac Union
Dutch Union of Christians of the Middle East
Syriac Assyrian Federation of Sweden (SARS)
Assyrian American National Federation
Assyrian Australian National Federation
Assyrian Federation of Russia
Assyrian Youth Federation of Middle Europe
Atour Assyrian Association of Armenia
Babylon – Institute for Assyrian Kultur – Eu
Dutch Assyrian Society
Syriac League of Lebanon
Assyrian Youth Federation of Sweden
Free Women of Bethnahrain (HNHB)
Svenska Kommitten for Assyrier (SKA)
Union of the Assyrian-Syriac Associations in Germany (UASD)
International Assyrian Congress of Georgia
CaldoAshor Organization Communist Party of Iraq
Union of Syriac Associations in Switzerland (HHS)

IN WASHINGTON ASSYRIANS DEMAND BETTER REPRESENTATION

Courtesy of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (2 May); report by Sterling Wright

(ZNDA: Washington) A group of Iraqi activists met in Washington last week to discuss the makeup of a future government in Baghdad. The participants say a viable Iraqi government must allow the participation of all segments of society.

Participating in a panel discussion at RFE/RL's Washington offices this week, activists for Kurdish, Christian, and Turkoman interests shared their respective goals and visions for a pluralistic Iraqi society.

Dr. Katrin Michael, a Chaldean, works with the Iraq Foundation in Washington. Michael Flannigan is a Washington lobbyist representing Iraqi Chaldean and Assyrian Christians. Both insisted that the territorial integrity of Iraq be maintained and that the country's resources be fairly distributed to all citizens. But like the Kurds, they also wanted Christian communities granted localized self-rule.

Lacking representation under Saddam Hussein, Chaldean and Assyrian Christians have now adopted a unified political front -- the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM) -- to lobby for representation within the new government. Michaels says a primary goal of the ADM is to establish secular democracy in Iraq: "We should insist that democracy not be made into the means of the majority to rule over the minorities. It means that all ethnicities [ethnic groups] have equal status."

Within a federal system, the Assyrians want decentralized political and administrative control over their community and the freedom to run churches, schools, and media outlets.

Additionally, they want to assure the preservation of their cultural heritage by protecting the archaeological sites of Nineveh and Ur.

Flannigan says people will need to be firm but also will need to allow for compromise in the debate over who owns and controls what land:

The policy of Arabization did not count Chaldeans and Assyrians as separate cultural and ethnic groups. Therefore, Flannigan and Michaels say a census is needed to accurately determine Iraq's Christian population.

Flannigan says, "We want the ability to live as ourselves -- to be Assyrians within a pluralistic Iraq."

ASSYRIAN MENTAL PATIENT REMAINS IN AUSTRALIAN DETENTION CENTER AFTER 11 YEARS

Courtesy of the Courier Mail (3 May); by Mark Phillips

(ZNDA: Melbourne's) Almost 11 years after arriving in Australia as an asylum seeker, Vilperit Betkhoshabeh is still in Melbourne's Maribyrnong detention centre knowing he could one day be deported back to the country he fled.

He has spent just 18 months of those 11 years as a free man.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee recommended in October that Mr Betkhoshabeh, 42, an accountant who suffers a mental illness, should be released and compensated for what was called "cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment".

Although the Federal Government was asked to respond within 90 days, it has failed to do so.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said the Government was still finalising its response.

Mr Betkhoshabeh's family in Australia continue to maintain hope he will one day be released but fear if he is deported to Iran he will face persecution because of his Assyrian Christian religion.

His only taste of freedom is being allowed an accompanied visit for Sunday lunch once a month to the Tullamarine house of his brother Victor and mother Youlieh.

His sister-in-law, Violet Betkhoshabeh, said the family encouraged him to remain positive.

"We're just trying to give him courage," she said.

Mr Betkhoshabeh spent his first two years in Australia in the Maribyrnong detention centre after arriving on a one-way ticket in July 1992. In August 1994, he was released into the care of his family with paranoid schizophrenia.

His psychiatrist, Professor Patrick McGorry, claims the illness was triggered by the detention centre environment.

Mr Betkhoshabeh was granted a protection visa as a refugee on March 16, 1995. But the Government has wanted to deport him since 1997 because of an offence he committed after his protection visa was granted.

Mr Betkhoshabeh served an 18-month sentence for aggravated burglary and making threats to kill after breaking into the home of an immigration official who was also a family friend.

Under the Immigration Act, any jail term of more than 12 months results in a visa cancellation and deportation.

However, the Immigration Minister has the discretion to stop the deportation.

Mr Betkhoshabeh has remained under detention, initially at Port Phillip Prison and now at Maribyrnong, since the jail sentence finished in December 1998.

Professor McGorry said as long as Mr Betkhoshabeh continued taking the drug Clorazil he posed no threat to the community.

"The worst you can say at the moment is he appears quite depressed," Professor McGorry said.

"The continuing uncertainty about the situation is most damaging but, also, institutionalisation means he must have lost all of his survival skills.

"On a human rights basis, he's been incarcerated for 10 years which is the best years of his life."

The UN Human Rights Committee became involved in November 1999 and found Australia had breached its obligations under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights by detaining Mr Betkhoshabeh when he was suffering a mental illness.

It said he should be compensated and should not be deported.

However, the Government is under no obligation to accept the committee's recommendations.

Human rights barrister Nicholas Poynder, who represented Mr Betkhoshabeh before the UN committee, said its decision was an indictment on the system of mandatory detention.

"What sort of country are we to lock up a person who was found to be a genuine refugee until he goes crazy and then when he goes crazy and commits a crime because of us locking him up, we will deport him to a country where he will be persecuted?" he said.

MICHIGAN CHALDEAN CENTER TO OPEN IN SUMMER 2004

Courtesy of the Associated Press (5 May)

(ZNDA: Detroit) Chaldeans living in Michigan want to preserve their culture. So, they're planning a $5 million Chaldean Community Cultural Center in the city of West Bloomfield.

Adhid Miri, the president of the Chaldean Iraqi American Association, says the community center will be a base for the community's values and history. The center is being touted as the first of its kind in the world and is scheduled to open in the summer 2004.

It will feature a library, an historic time-line exhibit and a gallery with replicas of murals and ornate relics from ancient Chaldean society.

THE ASSYRIAN MONESTARY SADDAM ADMIRED SO MUCH

Courtesy of the Cox News Service (4 May); by Mike Williams

(ZNDA: Baghdad) It's hard to imagine a bloody dictator like Saddam Hussein visiting this stunning Christian monastery perched high on a craggy mountain, where monks have prayed in rooms carved from rock for more than 1,700 years.

But Saddam did once visit, according to Father Paulus, a blind Assyrian Christian monk who has lived here in isolation for more than 40 years.

The dictator was apparently so moved by the breath-taking view that he ordered a government-funded renovation of the monastery and the construction of his own private retreat.

"We welcome all here, and we spoke about our history," said Father Paulus, recalling Saddam's 1980 visit. "He didn't stay long, and never returned."

The anecdote is one more odd tidbit in the legacy of a dictator who terrorized his people for decades. A Sunni Muslim, Saddam was tolerant of the estimated 1.5 million Christians who live in Iraq, but also violently repressed the majority Shiite Muslims whom he apparently saw as rivals of his own Sunni tribe.

While scholars have decried the terrible looting of Iraq's museums in the war's chaotic aftermath, the St. Matthew Monastery escaped untouched, both by Saddam's brutal regime and the war.

The retreat is a window into Iraq's fascinating past, as well as an indication that modern-day Iraq is a place of surprising religious diversity.

In northern Iraq, there are dozens of Christian villages dotting the rolling fields and steep mountain slopes. It isn't uncommon to see a domed church topped by a cross only a few blocks from a mosque marked by minarets and the crescent moon symbol of Islam.

In the mountain village of Shaqlawah in the Kurdish region, Roman Catholic priest Zaya Shaba prepares his Sunday homily beneath a picture of the pope, even as the 4 p.m. call to prayers from a nearby mosque echoes down the valley.

"Our history here goes back to the time of Christ," he said. "Our first church here was built in 200 A.D. We have been here longer than the Muslims, and we have never had problems. Our families live mixed together with one another."

Shaba often takes tea with Mullah Ottoman Abdullah Ismail, who runs the nearby mosque.

"We have the same problems of clergymen everywhere," said Ismail. "We must tend our flocks."

The ministers sometimes visit each other's services for important ceremonies, and have grown accustomed to presiding over marriages and funerals attended by people from the other faith.

"We love and respect each other," said Ismail, a notion that may bring comfort to Americans accustomed to hearing mostly of the anger of Islamic extremists who believe western culture is decadent and should be destroyed.

But there are other faiths in northern Iraq that, while obscure to many, trace their roots back to ancient times. One of the most interesting is the Yezidi sect, a group that worships Lucifer, the fallen Angel that in Judeo-Christian lore became Satan.

The group's members pray at sunrise and sunset. They won't eat lettuce and never wear blue, for reasons long forgotten. They believe that Lucifer did not become Satan, but instead was restored to his position as God's chief angel, and they credit him with creating the material world.

The sect has a shrine high in a mountain valley north of Mosul, and claims a following spread through dozens of villages north of Mosul.

With Saddam now gone, some from the minority sects wonder if the tolerance the dictator showed toward groups other than the Shiites will hold. There are worries that long-simmering tensions between the Sunni and Shiite Muslims will break into new conflict and that Iraq might fall under the sway of religious extremism and intolerance, as has happened in other parts of the Muslim world in recent years.

But blind Father Paulus, secure in his mountain retreat where Christian monks have prayed undisturbed since the 3rd Century seemed unmoved by the tumultuous events that have shaken his country in the past few weeks.

"All are welcome here," he said, repeating the words he once spoke to Saddam. "We want nothing but peace for the world."