Assyrian Beauty Supplies Store Owner Killed in Mosul

(ZNDA: Mosul)  On 3 June, the residents of the Assyrian town of Karamles bid farewell to a Rahima Elias Isha'ya, 33, originally from Karamles who was murdered by a group of armed men in the crowded commercial neighborhood of Dargazliyya in Mosul.

Ms. Isha'ya owned a small business where she sold perfumes and beauty supplies. The fanatic murderers fired their guns at Rahima while she was inside her shop and fled, said the police.

Gym Owner Murdered in Mosul

(ZNDA: Mosul)  On 30 May, Ra'aad Yousif, 30, was found murdered in the "industrial" quarters of Mosul. Yousif, from Bartella, was married with one child.

Yousif owned a bodybuilding gym. Reports from Mosul indicate that the murder was an act of revenge over the ownership of his gym.  He was threatened by certain Kurds to withdraw his, bid but he refused.  A financial offer of 4 million Iraqi Dinars was made by the competing Kurds days before the attack.

Church in Baghdad Attacked with Rocket Bomb

(ZNDA: Baghdad)  On the evening of June 1, Kaneesat al-Si'aood (the Church of Ascension) was attacked by a rocket bomb. The bomb caused damage to the church building and a punctured hole in the church dome. No injuries were reported.

Christian Engineer Killed in Basra

(ZNDA: Basra)  On 2 June, armed men murdered a Christian engineer in front of his residence in Basra.  The Christian engineer, whose name was not released at Zinda Magazine press time, was employed at the al-Najeebiyya Electrical Circuit in al-Ma'aqal.

The murder took place in the evening and is suspected to be a hate crime against Christians of Basra, a city in the south with majority Shi'ai population.

Assyrian University Students Beaten by Iraqi Police

Courtesy of the Assyrian International News Agency
Reported by the ChaldoAssyrian Student Union, Nineveh Branch

(ZNDA: Mosul)   On 14 June at approx 11:30 am Iraqi policemen approached a group of Assyrian students leaving the University of Mosul after completing their final exams, with the order of the police team leader, began severely beating and harassing the students.

In addition to the physical and verbal abuse, the police held the students down and shaved their heads as a form of public embarrassment and forced them to walk down the street to further display their 'shame' to the public.

The victims are natives of the Nineveh Plain town of Qaraqosh (Bakhdeda) and were waiting for their bus to take them back from the troubled city of Mosul to the relatively safe yet vulnerable Assyrian Christian area known as the Nineveh Plain.

The University of Mosul branch of the ChaldoAssyrian Student Union released a public condemnation of this act.

Explosion in Baghdad Kills Young Assyrian Student

Story revised on 19 June 2006

(ZNDA: Baghdad)  An explosion on 11 June in Baghdad killed Ninos Adam Shmuel, an Assyrian university student, 21, four days before reciving his university diploma from Bet-Nahrain University (formerly Saddam University) of Baghdad.  Ninos completed a degree in computer engineering with an average of 98 points.

According to his aunt in Toronto, Victoria Yonadam, many questions remain unanswered surrounding the murder of Ninos, who according to his family in Baghdad seldom left his home or school to attend social events.

On the day of his killing a few friends asked Ninos to join them for shopping for clothes for the coming graduation ceremony.   Ninos and his friends were somehow led to a location where the bomb was planted.  The bomb killed 5 friends and injured another who remains in critical condition.  Some family members believe that Ninos was the target of anti-Christian and anti-academia hatred that runs rampant in major universities of Iraq.  Hundreds of professors and top students in Iraq have already been murdered in the last 3 years and many Christian students continue to sustain injuries and maltreatment from fellow students and Islamist groups.

Family members in Iraq and Sweden held funeral services for Ninos Adam last week.

Ninos was planning to complete his university studies in U.S. or Canada. His aunt Victoria and her husband Jacob were preparing for his arrival to Canada this year.  Mrs. Jacob tells Zinda Magazine that her nephew was to study abroad having received full scholarships for the next academic year.

Final Statement of Expanded Meeting of ADM

Expanded Meeting of the Central Committee
Assyrian Democratic Movement
Baghdad
21 May 2006

The Central Committee of the Assyrian Democratic Movement held an extensive meeting in mid May to discuss the internal affairs of our people, and the movement. Further, the overall political situation and process in Iraq as reflected by the formation of the central and Kurdistan regional governments were examined.

On the national level, the suffering of our people along with the growing distress of all Iraqis, as a result of the repercussions of the political process and the deteriorating security and economic situation and their direct implications on the lives of the citizen was thoroughly discussed. These implications have directly caused tens of thousands of our people to move from their insecure homes and head either to the villages and safer areas, or emigrate to Syria and Jordan. In these new locations our people are living in difficult conditions and losing hope in the improvement of their circumstances. This adds to the suffering of the principal of the Iraqi component. The Central Committee appeals to the competent authorities and humanitarian organizations, in particular the National Organization of the United Nations to assume its responsibilities and take concern for the homeless and displaced, and attempt to rescue them from these squalid conditions.

Regarding our national and religious institutions the meeting stopped at the internal fragmentation situation fed by external parties for particular political interests. That are exploiting the absence of awareness, demographic dispersion and economic conditions to continue the sectarian intolerance that dominates the manner and practice of some clergies. This paves the chance for others to secondment the natural right of our people to exercise their will, according to their independent decision.

In evaluation of the political process’ development in Kurdistan Iraq, the meeting assessed the Kurdish leadership’s decision in consolidating the two departments in the government, displaying a positive reflection on the general situation and consolidating peace and progress. However, despite the fact that our Movement has made dramatic efforts in the peace process during the bloody conflicts in the region, on the basis of faith in national sisterhood and the partnership in citizenship, and its approach to the building and consolidation of these relations since its founding days, and its struggle against the dictatorship for over two decades and a half, the method used in the formation of the government in Kurdistan didn’t take into regard our previous relations and the common history of struggle.

Moreover no attention was paid to the will of our people as expressed in the last parliamentary elections towards the slate that received the overwhelming majority of the ChaldoAssyrian Syriac’s votes, within religious and nationalistic characteristics. That attitude came as a reaction to the understanding and on the pretext that the Assyrian Democratic Movement stands behind abroad campaigns aiming to bring to light and remove the current limitations and boundaries imposed on our people in our territories and villages. Consequently, certain symbols in the Kurdistan Democratic Party alleged that our movement is racist and it stands against the rights and aspirations of the Kurdish people and that it exaggerates its national propounds. Here, the meeting confirmed that the movement was born to defend the rights of the ChaldoAssyrian Syriac people and their free will within a progressive and democratic principles, notion and way. In this context, the meeting addressed the Kurdish people and its political, cultural, social organizations and indicated that although these policies do not serve the common interests, we will continue to support the rights of the Kurdish people, in rightful issues. It also appealed to our people the, ChaldoAssyrians to keep away from negative reactions while legitimately defending its national democratic rights, in the interest of national relations of brotherhood between the two peoples.

At the national level, the Meeting examined the evolution of the political process and the obstacles encountered by the enemies of the new Iraq and international terrorism. This adds to the fuelling sectarian strife and complicates the security situation. Also the manifestations of administrative corruption, authoritative monopolization, low level of services and finally sectarian displacements are continued.

The formation of a new government in Baghdad that was extended for a period of five months, as a result of the conflicting approaches to the sectarian quotas and the construction of a government with a national unity. The meeting analysed that the bargaining formula on which there was an agreement across, was the Turkmen’s representation as a share of the Coalition and the "Christian’s" as they were named be the influential political groups, as a share of the Kurdistan Alliance. The imposition of trusteeship of the main bloc of small nationalities such as the ChaldoAssyrian Syriacs and Turkmen is to be rejected. This is a significant abridgement to the right of a genuine Iraqi component. At the same time, it is a direct violation of the constitutional rights of these components that is not compatible with the concepts of democracy in the new Iraq. The meeting called on officials to revise this policy, to honour justice, and to eliminate the historical inequity caused by the policies of ethnic and religious racisms.

However, the meeting emphasized that this phase, which marks the end of the transitional phases and, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolution, is a new stage on the path to full sovereignty. The Assyrian Democratic Movement’s Central committee congratulated the Iraqi people and asked them to continue their support of the political process, and Iraqi national factions. Their support of the people must also be forwarded to the government's programme for the consolidation of security and stability and to impose the rule of law and strengthening the sovereignty, independence and prosperity to the Iraqis. The meeting also underlined that these negative attitudes towards us will not move us from our belief in the principles aimed at achieving equity between components of the Iraqi people and the consolidation of democracy and national and religious brotherhood. To translate the principle of partnership, and to continue the struggle and determination to remove inequity and the historic injustices and remove any abuses directed on the rights and property of our people previously or presently. There is no place of injustice, exclusion and marginalization in the new Iraq.

The meeting appealed to the masses of our people to together and collaborate and contribute to their historic responsibility towards our national issues and country, at this delicate stage in the history of the nation. The Central Committee promises our people that neither the attempts made to isolate the elected faction that represents our people, nor will trying to unload our nation from the political content be useful. Further, the militant movement will continue to strive on the path of our martyrs to achieve the just aspirations of our people and to live in security, freedom, and dignity in the land of our ancestors. The meeting also discussed other aspects of the movement’s internal affairs and took on a series of resolutions and recommendations.

Translation from Arabic by Sennacherib Sada & Alda Benjamin in Toronto, Canada.

Statement of the Assyrian General Conference

Baghdad
21 May 2006

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Living in the shadows of acute crises at different levels, the Iraqis waited for a long time until the announcement of forming the Iraqi government even if incomplete but it became a glimpse of hope to improve the living and security conditions for the persevering Iraqi people with all their ethnic and religious affiliations. However, the governmental formation came about with new practices on the Iraqi political arena unsuitable to the Iraqis hopes for a democratic Iraq built on equality between its sons/daughters as per the constitution which the Iraqis had adopted despite its pitfalls and lapses particularly in what concerns us as Assyrians.

Representing some factions of the Iraqi people in the government through ministers who were nominated through the larger slates in the parliament is a promulgation of past attempts which used to take place in a covert manner in order to impose guardianship on Iraq's sons/daughters by the powers enjoying political and armed influence in today's Iraq.

We declare as Assyrians our explicit protest against the confiscation of the Assyrian decision and we hold onto the constitutional right which guarantees our representation in the Iraqi government because passing over this representation and giving it a Christian religious form, even though we're extremely proud of our religious belonging, but conferring the ministry to the Kurdish slate is a clear violation of our political rights and doesn't suit the democratic bases which our new Iraq is supposed to be built upon away from the fictitious democracy or to be more accurate away from the majority's dictatorship which marginalizes and alienates the opinions of inveterate Iraqi factions who strived and continue to strife for this beloved homeland in order for it to be properly built according to the notions of equality, justice, and rights for all its sons/daughters, but what's happening today is a confiscation of the striving Iraqi people, imposing guardianship on their decision, and confirming the faulty principles in the political process, which is made very obvious through the alienation of the less numbered Iraqi factions by those in control, and this can't in any way lead to building a safe and stable homeland.

History is showing us what happens when the present feeble and fragile political regime excludes the country's sons/daughters from the political process. However, this isn't the image which we wish for the new Iraq.

Submitted by Mr Namrood Shiba, an executive committee member of the Assyrian General Conference.

Priceless Assyrian Relics Used for Target Practice

Courtesy of the Inter-Press Service
13 June 2006
By Lisa Söderlindh

(ZNDA: United Nations)   Home to some of the most significant standing monuments of ancient Assyria, the Khinnis site in northern Iraq is a historical and cultural hallmark in desperate need of protection, warn Mesopotamian archaeologists and Assyriologists.

A recent expedition to northern Iraq to assess the social, economic and cultural rights of the Assyrian people and other minority groups in Iraq, led by the Washington-based Iraq Sustainable Democracy Project (ISDP), found that the ancient Khinnis site has been thrown open to unfettered tourism and its accompanying ravages.

"When we arrived at the site, there were people and picnickers climbing all over the area, as if it was a jungle gym," ISDP Project Director Michael Youash told IPS. "For us, this is not just a world heritage site -- it tells us who we are, reminds us of where we are from, and what our place in history has been."

Located northeast of ancient Nineveh on the eastern bank of the Tigris River in modern-day Mosul, the almost 2,700-year-old Khinnis site, also known as the Bavian site, highlights the geographical start of a impressive engineering feat of ancient Assyrian culture. It remains important to the Assyrian Christian people of Iraq, historically traceable to the Mesopotamian cradle of civilisation.

Khinnis was part of a large-scale construction work initiated by King Sennacherib, who founded Nineveh as the new capital of the Assyrian Empire in 705 BC. It comprised an aqueduct system by which water could be brought down to the fields and the city of Nineveh.

A gigantic rock relief of King Sennacherib overlooks the Gomel River and the cliff faces are carved with numerous ancient symbols and cuneiform inscriptions that depict the life and events that went on in relation to the water supply.

During the recent trip by ISDP -- a special project launched by the Chicago-based Assyrians Academic Society, with members worldwide -- the delegation not only observed the damage caused by tourism, including visitors having chipped off pieces from the rock carvings, but also noted bullet holes, indicating that the reliefs have been used for target practice.

ISDP further reported that the site faces the threat of dynamiting. According to Firas Jatou, a member of the delegation, Kurdish authorities have ordered a small construction company to use dynamite to carve out caves in the sun-spotted rocks to create shade for the picnickers.

Jatou said the work has been sanctioned by Jarjis Hasan Khinnis, a member of the central committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by the president of the Autonomous Kurdish Government in Iraq, Massoud Barzani.

"One of the workers told us that he was simply doing his job -- that he was contracted to blow out the side of the cliff to create shade," Youash said. "For the workers, it is just a public works project rather than an act of cultural genocide."

"This is just another example of us being treated as second-class citizens. Destroying the site would be a nail in the coffin of the ethnic cleansing of Assyrians in northern Iraq -- our ancestral home," he added.

Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the Assyrian Christian population of Iraq, mostly living in the north, has increasingly become the target of ethnic and religious attacks. According to various sources, they were estimated at around one million before the recent exodus of Assyrians seeking refuge outside the country.

"The Khinnis is a beautiful area and we want all people to be able to come and enjoy the site, but it is worthy of utmost respect," said Yoush. "It is unthinkable in terms of world heritage that it would not be protected and preserved."

McGuire Gibson, an authority on Mesopotamian archaeology at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, also stressed the importance of the site. "The reliefs are of great historical and cultural value, in terms of how the Assyrians saw themselves in relation to God and to nature, and they also tell about the relationship of mankind and water," he told IPS.

Before the war, Iraq was one of the best places in the world in terms of preservation and protection of antiquities, Gibson said. And until now, the north has been relatively safe from looters, although a great deal of damage was done to sites in the south, particularly since the U.S. invasion, he said.

"Hundreds of archaeological sites have virtually been destroyed by illegal digging, and if these reliefs at the Khinnis, which have lasted for thousands of years, are finally going to be damaged in the name of tourism, or for whatever reason this is being done, it would be a great tragedy," Gibson said.

The protection of all archaeological sites in Iraq is under the control of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH), so they should have been consulted before anything was done at the Khinnis. It is now primary their task to handle the issue and hopefully get on top of the situation, he added.

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Last week, Muzahim Mahmud and his team from the SBAH's office in Mosul went to Khinnis to check up on the situation. The delegation reported that while there has been some dynamiting at the site, the sculptures themselves have not been harmed, and the construction work has been confined to the building of a road nearby rather than creating shade for the picnickers, the chairman of SBAH and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Donny George, told IPS.

However, "according to my knowledge, and what I have seen in pictures, there must have been some new shooting, because there has been new chipping on the sculpture," George added, agreeing that Kurdish authorities must take protective measures.

According to the new Iraqi constitution and the Law of Antiquities and Heritage of 2002, the archaeological sites and antiquities of Iraq are the wealth of the country, and they should be handled by the central government in collaboration with the provinces.

"It is our duty to protect the cultural heritage of the people of Iraq, which is also the cultural heritage of mankind, and to preserve it for the coming generations," said George. "But the cooperation with Kurdish authorities controlling the northern region is not functioning, they are not responding to our concerns, which is why we want to rearrange the connection between us -- the central government and the north."

The best way to protect the Khinnis site and the sculptures from further harm is to post guards there, he said. And to ensure this, "We will need to have a bigger delegation going up to the north, to stop any unnecessary acts against antiquities at the Khinnis and at other sites in the region."

But because of the delicate security situation, it is hard to plan things in Baghdad right now -- as it is to protect any sites either in the north or in the south, from looting, attacking, or any other harm, continued George.

"The special patrolling police force that belongs to the SBAH has also had difficulties doing its duties because it lacks cars and communication systems," he said. "It is very important that the international community support Iraq, at least by providing cars and helping us improve the petroleum and the communication systems throughout the country."

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Assyrians: The Middle East’s Natural Democrats

The protest in DC last week by hundreds of Assyrians was a true testament to the nature of the minds of Assyrians: Assyrians from age 5 – 85 went en masse by bus, barely sleeping, so they could carry not only Assyrian and American, but also Iraqi flags to show their determination for democracy.

You will likely never, ever see a Kurd carry an Iraqi flag at a demonstration – only one that represents the Kurdish north of Iraq (the Kurdish flag).

The Middle East has a long history, and a long memory. Arabs, Persians, Jews, Armenians, Turks, have all fought endless battles, waged massacres and genocides, been subject to their own vicious rulers, and lost massive amounts of their population. Assyrians, in general, have been the victim in all of the above. No group in the Middle/Near East has been abused and massacred like the Assyrians, considering the small size of their population.

Assyrians in the Diaspora are generally split three ways regarding the possible future of Assyria and Assyrians – those who are calling for equal rights under the central Iraqi government; those demanding nothing short of an independent autonomous region (eventually becoming Assyria); and those who believe an alliance with Kurds will help Assyrians in the long-run. With the exception of the last group (which is relatively small), Assyrians are aware of their current status, and that this is a critical time to move on what it is we want achieved for Assyrians in Iraq. Assyrians are the first to call for true democracy in Iraq, mainly because their small population size requires it for their survival.

Imagine a country where Assyrians maintained the political infrastructure, managed the military, and was charged with the economic development. Imagine this ally to the West, in the Middle East, that never had a threat of Islamism within its borders.

Not even an iota.

The truth is, no Muslim group in Iraq, whether Kurd or Arab, are going to “allow” Middle East Christians thrive on their own land, much less help the Assyrians achieve it. Land has almost always been won through bloodshed, and it is truly the fool who believes the Kurds have Assyrian interests in mind at all. Each are out for their own interests – Iraq will go one of two ways: split into different countries (Shia, Sunni, and Kurd) or unified under one flag. No one is a friend of the Assyrians. Frankly, no one is a friend of anyone – Kurds, Arabs, Turks – all of these groups that surround the Assyrians have learned something the Assyrians haven’t – do not take “friendships” and “alliances” too seriously – these are temporary relationship to gain long term power over the other. Are we, as Assyrians, thinking long-term in this context? Or are we placing all of our trust in the fact that “Kurdistan” will exist, and hopefully, they will be our “protectors”, on our very own land? Are we ensuring that, regardless of what may happen to the Kurds, or the Arabs, that Assyrians will not be subject to Muslim authorities, making us susceptible again, to massacre and genocide?

Try as they may, Arabs and Kurds can never guarantee that portions of their population are not anti-democratic religious Islamist zealots. No Islamic society can guarantee that. Frankly, in many “democratic” elections held in Muslim countries (Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, etc.) the Islamist parties win (fairly in squarely!!), and begin unraveling the democratic progress that was made. The fact that Assyrians are all of the Christian faith, be they Jacobite, Orthodox, Eastern Catholic or Chaldean Catholic, makes them unique in the Near East – they do not identify with the Arab culture like other Middle Eastern Christians, (for example, the Lebanese or Palestinian Christians). Their language, culture, and history are distinct – and much, much older.

A strong, western backed Assyrian presence in the Near East is a natural democratic ally (if, of course, the U.S. and E.U. are actually serious about bringing democracy to the Arab world). The society will be stable, the government will be democratic in nature, and businesses can operate and run smoothly, without the threat of anti-Western, Islamist-like hatred of the foreign companies operating there. Dealing with Assyrian Christians rather than, say, Kurds in the north, is just smarter long-term investment practice – in terms of both economic and political investment.

The problem, however, is clear. Assyrians are not speaking with a unified voice, and this gives Western coalition forces developing Iraq the idea that we are not ideal to work with, even though they likely know all of the above. Assyrian political entities are engaged in verbal-warfare, and for some strange reason, there are even some who prefer working with – or rather for – the KDP.

Assyrian autonomy is certainly a feasible idea, especially if the Kurds of Iraq have managed to put forth the illusion of a “stable government” in the north. The “illusion” of a democratic “Kurdistan” translates into their relationships – their “friendship” with these Assyrians is also an illusion, and temporary. It frightens me to think what will become of the Assyrians once the coalition forces leave, and the Kurds are left to deal with dissent as they see fit…the Assyrians have felt this wrath before.

However, regardless of a marginal part of the population, which believe the KRG have Assyrian interests in mind, Assyrians in Diaspora have tasted democracy, and the future is in the hands of the youth that will eventually take the place of the older generation. They know nationalism in a different way – diplomacy where it’s necessary, and tough political shrewdness when it’s necessary. Reverand Joseph Naayem once asked, “Shall This Nation Die?” While some are actively working to ensure this (whether they realize it or not), the majority of Assyrians have survived too long to allow it to happen now.

Assyrian Reps Meet First Lady, US Sen. Jon Kyl

By Joseph V. Danavi, reporting from Chicago

(ZNDA: Phoenix)  On the morning of Friday, 16 June, a ChaldoAssyrian Syriac delegation from Chicago and Phoenix ascended to the Hilton in Scottsdale, Arizona as invited guests to a lunch in honor of United States Senator Jon Kyl. 

First Lady Laura Bush was also present to support the candidacy of Honorable Jon Kyl as the keynote speaker.

The ChaldoAssyrian Syriac delegation's mission was to congratulate Senator Kyl as well as the First Lady on their rightful stances on Iraqi democracy, and to voice and elaborate the alarming crossroads at which the ChaldoAssyrian Syriac nation stands.

The ChaldoAssyrian Syriac delegation was comprised of prominent and active members. In attendance were the North American head of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), Dr. Adam Benjamin; ADM Public Relations Director, Dr. Agnes Merza; ADM Phoenix Chapter Directors, Mr. Noel Kando and Mr. Sargon Zomaya; Chairman of Public Relations of the Assyrian American National Federation, Mr. Sam Darmo and his wife; Secretary of the Assyrian American Association of Arizona, Mr. Steve Younan and his wife; as well as the Chairman of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac Student Movement, Mr. Joseph Danavi.

The delegation checked in at the Hilton hotel at 11:00 am to participate in a cocktail hour with prominent members of the United States Government as well as other beneficiaries.

As a member of the elite Host of Committees for Honorable Jon Kyl, Mr. Sam Darmo was invited to a private reception with both Senator Jon Kyl and First Lady Laura Bush. At this exclusive function, Mr. Darmo privately expressed the distress of the ChaldoAssyrian Syriac nation in regards to human, civic, religious, geographical, and political rights.

On behalf of the entire delegation, Mr. Sam Darmo presented the First Lady with a detailed compilation of the CAS rights and voice infringements in Iraq. Within the compilation, a transcript of the 6 June 2006 press conference at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., following the demonstration led by the Assyrian Democratic Movement, as well as the official memoranda the Assyrian Democratic Movement presented to U.S. Government leaders and to the Iraqi Ambassador to the United States during these demonstrations.

The First Lady was ecstatic, yet alarmed by the report presented to her regarding the deplorable conditions of the ChaldoAssyrian Syriac and Christian populous in Iraq as well as the impoverished refugees scattered in neighboring countries. She assured and guaranteed the delegation that the report would be hand delivered to President George W. Bush that same night.

Mr. Sam Darmo of the Assyrian American National Federation said he believed “this was a historic event due to the fact that some of the most important and active organizations representing our unified nation were present to hand deliver the anguished message of our nation to President George Bush through the First Lady."

Following the private reception between Mr. Sam Darmo, Honorable Jon Kyl, and First Lady Laura Bush, the main event resumed with lunch being served. During the luncheon, both Honorable Jon Kyl and keynote speaker Laura Bush spoke about the prospects and tribulations affecting the United States of America. They both reaffirmed their stance to root out the evil and terrorism that is infuriating Iraq and their promise to stay the course for a democratic and secure Iraq.

Following the speeches and luncheon, members of the ChaldoAssyrian Syriac delegation were given an opportunity to greet and meet with the First Lady, US Senator Jon Kyl, and other statesmen and diplomats.

Dr. Adam Benjamin of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, along with the delegation, amplified the prospects and concerns about the status of the Christian ChaldoAssyrian Syriac nation in Iraq and its surrounding areas in this meeting session. In his discussion with both First Lady Laura Bush and US Senator Jon Kyl, he stressed that ADM has been the only ChaldoAssyrian Syriac and Christian organization that not only was a part of President Bush's Liberation Act, but has been a part of the Iraqi Opposition Parties (those against Saddam Hussein) since its inception. He avowed that one of the missions of ADM is directly aligned with that of the United States: the establishment and promotion of a free, democratic, united, secular, and secure Iraq with protected human and civic rights bestowed to all her citizens. He then informed both dignitaries of the extensive oppression afflicting the ChaldoAssyrian Syriac nation in Iraq, not only in the areas of physical harm and ethnic cleansing, but also in the political arena. He relayed the discontent arising from the sidelined and trampled voice of the ChaldoAssyrian Syriac nation through the appointment of nondependent, Kurdish-affiliated, and unelected ChaldoAssyrian Syriacs in place of the popularly and democratically elected independent Assyrian Democratic Movement.

Dr. Benjamin concluded the conversation with US Senator and the First Lady by cautiously alerting them "that the only means to preserve and secure our culture, faith, historical and geographical identity is through the establishment of an administrative unit in Iraq for the Christian ChaldoAssyrian Syriac peoples in the ancestral homeland."

After the salutations and photo shots, both the First Lady Laura Bush and Honorable Jon Kyl personally thanked the delegation for their participation and for voicing their concerns.

The US Senator from Arizona concluded the delegation’s attendance and visit by stressing that "the fate of the Assyrians in Iraq is certainly in my mind as well as the President's."

Mr. Joseph Danavi is a senior in Molecular & Cellular Biology and an Illinois Student Senator at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  The author of this report is also the current chairman of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac Student Movement organized in Chicago.  

Assyrian Object to Exclusion in Iraq Homeland

Courtesy of the Arizona Republic
By Daniel González
7 June 2006

(ZNDA: Phoenix)  Mona Oshana sells real estate for a living, but the topic of conversation doesn't have to be the Valley's cooling market to get the Glendale resident going.

Bring up the plight of Assyrian Christians in Iraq and she can go on for hours.

The Assyrian Christians are the indigenous people of Iraq, Oshana says, comparable to Native Americans in the United States.

After years of being persecuted by Saddam Hussein's tyrannical regime, they were hoping to have their voices heard under Iraq's new democratic government, the one the United States helped create.

But so far, that hasn't really happened, says Oshana, an Assyrian Christian whose family fled Iraq in 1977, when she was 8. Assyrian Christians continue to be politically marginalized and persecuted, she said.

"It's almost like we lost one oppressor to get another one," Oshana says.

That's why Assyrian Christians in the Valley are determined to help their countrymen back home, she said.

Today about 30 will join others from California, New York, Illinois and Michigan in Washington, D.C. They plan to demonstrate in front of the Iraqi Embassy and the U.S. Capitol to call attention to the continued challenges facing Iraq's Assyrian Christian population.

"We want the U.S. to take action," said Glendale resident Sargon Zomaya, 57, one of those traveling to Washington.

With about 15,000 Assyrians Christians, the Phoenix area has the fastest-growing Assyrian Christian community in the country. Most have relocated here over the past 10 to 15 years from the Chicago and Detroit areas.

In helping Iraq establish a democratic government, the United States has focused most of its efforts on striking a political balance between Iraq's three largest ethnic groups, the Shiites, the Sunnis and the Kurds, overshadowing the Assyrians, said Steven Cook, an expert on Arab politics at the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

He doubts today's protests will make much difference.

"The United States' policymakers have larger issues to worry about than to what's happening to a relatively small community," Cook said.

With a population of about 800,000 people, Assyrian Christians make up just 3 percent of Iraq's 27 million population.

Because of a rise in Islamic extremism and political persecution, roughly 100,000 Iraqi Christians have fled the country or have been displaced since the start of the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, according to Michael Youash, project director for the Iraq Sustainable Democracy Project in Washington, D.C.

"The straw that broke the camel's back," Youash said, was the recent appointment of Iraq's cabinet ministers. None was a member of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, even though the political party garnered 79 percent of the votes cast from Assyrians both inside and outside Iraq during Iraq's parliamentary elections in 2005, he said.

The only Christian appointed to a minister's post came from the Kurdish Democratic Party. Most Assyrian Christians consider that unacceptable, accusing the Kurdish Democratic Party of being responsible for driving Christians from their homelands in northern Iraq and discriminating against them, Youash said.

Though Assyrian Christians are a small minority in Iraq, they make up the largest proportion of Iraq's exile community, numbering between 250,00 and 400,000, Youash said.

By organizing demonstrations, Youash said, the community hopes to push the U.S. government to use its "diplomatic muscle to indicate its dissatisfaction with the political marginalization of the Assyrians."

Welsh Members of UK Parliament Recognize 1915 Genocide

Courtesy of Yerkir
6 June 2006

(ZNDA: Yerevan)  Over half the eligible Welsh Representatives of the UK Parliament have signed a motion recognizing the Armenian and Assyrian Genocide of 1915.

“This is a historic day for Wales. "There can no longer be any doubt that Wales has recognized the Armenian and Assyrian Genocides. We will continue to expose this government denial of the genocide in order to protect British investment in Turkey and to further Britain's strategic interests in the region. Our priority will be to put the issue of restitution and reparations for the genocide on the political agenda.

The reunification of Armenia must no longer be a taboo subject during Turkey's accession talks. We in Wales can raise our voice to insist that Turkey should yield back land to the Armenian nation if she is to accede to the European Union,” said a spokesman for Wales-Armenia Solidarity.

Parliamentary Debate in Australia Focuses on
Plight of Assyrians

For immediate release

Hermiz Shahen
Secretary
Assyrian Universal Alliance-Australian Chapter
31 May 2006

In a private members business session on Monday, 29 May 2006, in the house of representative of the Australian Federal Parliament and under the title of religious minorities Mr Allen Cadman MP., member for Mitchel raised a motion with reference to the Republic of Turkey and its relations with the different Christian minorities in the area. Mr Cadman commended the Australian of Greek and Turkish origin for the peaceful and harmonious relationship they have established in Australia which is an example to all communities coming from older cultures, he requested the Turkish government as it moves towards joining the European Union as a full member to return private property to minority groups of all religious backgrounds, to permit r-opening of the Greek Orthodox Theological College on the island of Halke and to permit Christian denominations to operate seminaries of their own, wether Greek, Armenian or Syriac.

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Mr. Chris Bowen MP, member for prospect who raised the Assyrian Universal Alliance petition in the Australian Federal Parliament on May last year, calling on the Australian Government to urge the Iraqi Government to create a ‘protected administrative region for the Assyrians‘, seconded the above motion and added his concerns about the rights of Christians in Iraq which he have spoken about previously in the house. Mr Bowen said, ” It is hard to conceive that the position of Christians in Iraq has actually deteriorated since the fall of Saddam Hussein. As a member of the coalition of the willing, this government has an obligation to speak up for Christians in Iraq. I am sorry to say that the government’s response has been less than adequate, and I used the forum of this motion to again call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs to make representations at the highest possible level to insure the protection of Assyrians, Chaldeans and Mandians in Iraq. The government also needs to be doing more in relation to providing save heaven for Christians who have left Iraq. I again call on the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to review the way her department handles applications for refugee status from Christians and Mandeans who have fled Iraq”.

On the Turkish issue Mr Bowen added, “ It is also important for the future that the wrongs of the past are acknowledged. I believe the Assyrian people, among others, have a legitimate concern to insure that the terrible event of 1915 are properly acknowledged and commemorated. The Turkish people and the Assyrian people could then join together in the acknowledgement that we must all work together to insure that such event can never happen again-just as the Turkish and Australian people joined together in friendship after Gallipoli,…”

To read the whole motion please click here. In the House of Representatives Hansard page click here and then go to page 23 for “Private Members Business” / Religious Minorities.

On behalf of the Assyrian Universal Alliance-Australia Chapter and the Assyrian Australian community we would like to thank Mr. Chris Bowen MP, member for prospect for raising the Assyrian issue with the Australian Government, for his great determination, sincerity and outstanding effort to support the indigenous Assyrian rights in Iraq and for his dedication in serving the people of his electorate, which give us as Assyrians the citizens of this country; despite being citizen of many countries of the Middle East the pride to be known as Australians.

ADO Statement on the Recent Arrests in Syria

ADO Politial Bureau
Damascus, Syria
19 May 2006

In the past few days the security forces in Syria have cracked down hard on the nationalist democratic opposition forces in Syria through fresh and organized arrests considered the biggest in years. The campaign started with the arrest of Fateh Jamous, the leading member in the Syrian Communist Labor Party and Damascus Declaration (D.D), then Michel Kilo, the opposition democratic writer, activist and member of D.D., reaching up to the following human right campaigners and national democratic opposition activists:

• Anwar Buni, the leading lawyer and activist and spokesperson of al-Huriat center
• Suleiman al-Shamari leading member in the Revolutionary Labor Party and member of D.D.
• Ghaleb Amer, member of Arab Organization for Huamn Rights.
• Khalil Husein, leading member of Kurdish Future Party
• Abbas Abbas, journalist and activist
• Eng.Muhamad Mahfouz, activist
• Kamal Sheikh, activist
• Mahmud Isa, ex-detainee and activist
• Dr. Safwan Thaifour, activist

No doubt these arbitrary arrests, which came on the backdrop of the signing of the Damascus–Beirut Statement, have no legal or political grounds.  It is a flagrant violation of Syrian constitution and all other agreements and conventions signed by Syria, particularly those related to human rights, civil and political liberties. As a matter of fact, this campaign is aiming at extending the "reign of terror", spreading the culture of fear through terrorizing and silencing the Syrian people which is aspiring to build a state of law and institutions and a democratic society free from injustice and discrimination.

We, in the Assyrian Democratic Organization, condemn these arbitrary arrests and express our full solidarity with the recent victims of political detention and all prisoners of conscience in Syria, and further, affirm our complete support for their stance in introducing peaceful democratic changes and consolidating democracy and human rights in Syria.

Moreover, we call upon the Syrian authorities to set them, as well as the other political prisoners, immediately free and close once and for all the file of political detention in Syria, and furthermore to give up the old policy of solving national issues by security means, as these policies, over the years, have only brought about destruction and damage to the country.

Freedom for Aref Dalila, Ali al-Abdalla and his son, Riad Darar, Fateh Jamous, Michel Kilo, Anwar al-Buni, Suleiman al-Shamari, Nidal Darwish, Mahmoud Murei, Khalid Husein, Mahmus Isa, Abbas Abbas, Ghaleb A’amer, Safuan Tayfour, Yacoub Shamoun, Kamal Shekho, Mahmoud Issa Muhamd Mahfouz and for all prisoners of conscience in Syria.

Long live Syria, a free country for all its people.

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ADO Calls for the Release of Michel Kilo and His Friends

ADO Politial Bureau
Europe Branch
19 May 2006

In this very delicate period of the Syrian history, as the country is facing tremendous challenges and pressures from outside, and while the Syrian people are looking forward to real democratic reforms and political relaxation, a precondition for building a true national unity, the country is shocked once again by a new wave of crackdowns by the regime on political opposition activists and intellectuals -- on top of them Michel Kilo and others.

This new futile campaign is stifling the liberties and free expression of those who do not possess the power of word and intellect as a weapon for introducing freedom, progress and prosperity in the society, in a long process of struggle for the sake of establishing a democratic society based on justice, freedom, respect for human rights as well as the right of citizenship for all its constituents .

The new wave of arrests this time has started with Michel Kilo who was arrested last Sunday in Damascus and it is still ongoing among the members of opposition forces, activists and intellectuals who signed the "Damascus–Beirut Declaration" .

These arbitrary arrests, would not make these freedom fighters back down, on the contrary, it would provide them with new determination, impetus and broader popularity. Nor would it intimidate the signatories of D.D. –among them the Assyrian Democratic Organization – into changing their course of bringing about peaceful democratic changes for the Syrian society, whatever the costs.

While we, in the Assyrian Democratic Organization – Europe Branch– strongly condemns these unnecessary repressive measures as well as the polices of stifling the freedoms which still the regime is practicing against its free thinking critics and opposition forces of various political, national, religious or ideological orientation.  We, at the same time, express our deepest solidarity with the stance of Michel Kilo the leading fighter for his country's freedom as well with the stance of his other colleagues and the peaceful course for democratic changes they are following in Syria, demanding the authorities to speed up the release of Damascus – the "Beirut-Damascus Declaration" signatories and of all the political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in the Syrian prisons, reassuring in the meantime, that the security option would not solve any of the country's countless problems; but on the contrary it would help further deepen and complicate them.

ADO Holds Political Meetings in Paris with
Syrian Opposition Forces

ADO Politial Bureau
Europe Branch
19 May 2006

Within the framework of political activities of ADO in Europe, the Political Bureau and the Europe Branch, represented by comrade Abe al-Ahad Stefan and Sa’aid Lahdo, met on Sunday May 14th, 2006 in Paris with Mr. Hasan Abed al-Azim the official spokesperson of the National Democracy during his visit to France following his participation in the Arab National Congress in Morocco.

The meeting was attended by Mr. Anas al-Abed and Musa’af Helefawi, representatives of the newly founded Justice and Building Party in Britain and other members of the opposition forces amongst them members of Arab Committee for Human Rights. During the meeting they were introduced to the activities of ADO in the diasporas as well as the contribution it could offer to the democratic changes in Syria .

Mr. Hasan Abed al-Azim briefed attendees on the policies of the Syrian regime as well as his opinion and those of Damascus Declaration forces’ regarding the fulfillment of Damascus Declaration’s aims.

Before this meeting on the same day, the Political Bureau - Europe Branch had held a special meeting with Dr. Haytham Mana’a, president of the Arab Committee for Human Rights, and exchanged opinions about activities of the Committee regarding human rights especially in Syria .

Further, an agreement was reached in principle with him to cooperate in conducting special human rights training courses for those interested from Assyrian Syriac communities in the diasporas.

ANA Announces Support for AUA

Press Release

Assyrian National Assembly (ANA)
16 June 2006

We at Assyria National Assembly (ANA) fully support and stand by the Assyrian universal Alliance (AUA) and its effort to unify the Assyrian decision through the second conference of the Assyrian parties in order to form an Assyrian front gather under one umbrella.

Today, ee care in urgent need of the unified Assyrian effort far from narrow individual stand whether the initiative came from any other Assyrian group. The Assyrian universal Alliance (AUA) is known through out its history for its remarkable achievements and is consider as umbrella to those who truly believe in their Assyrian Nation.

To all Assyrian parties:

We as brothers in National act, request your support for Assyrian Universal Alliance’s project in unifying and serving our Assyrian Nation

God bless you all and bless our Assyrian nation.

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