British Parliament
Raises Question of
Autonomous Region for
Assyrians of Iraq
(ZNDA: London) On 21
October, the following
three questions
pertaining to the
Assyrians of Iraq were
tabled for written
answers:
For Lord Hylton—To ask
Her Majesty’s Government
what measures they are
taking, in conjunction
with the interim
government of Iraq and
the United States, to
protect the lives of
Chaldo-Assyrian
Christians from murder,
and their church
buildings from
destruction by bombs.
(HL4609)
For Lord Hylton—To ask
Her Majesty’s Government
whether they will
consult with the offices
of the United Nations
High Commissioner for
Refugees in Damascus and
Amman to ensure that
adequate assistance is
afforded to Chaldo-Assyrian
Christians who have
recently fled from Iraq.
(HL4610)
For
Lord Hylton—To ask Her
Majesty’s Government
whether they consider
that an autonomous
region near Mosul should
be established for the
Chaldo-Assyrian ethnic
and religious minority;
and whether they will
ensure that special
provision is made for
this minority in any
future constitution of
Iraq. (HL4611)
The
Jubilee Campaign, a
Christian human rights
organization established
in the United Kingdom,
issued the following
press release on 22
October:
At
a meeting chaired by
Stephen Pound, MP in the
House of Commons on
October 21st, the UK
branch of Iraq's leading
Christian political
party, the Assyrian
Democratic Movement and
the Christian human
rights organization,
Jubilee Campaign, called
for an Administrative
Region for the
ChaldoAssyrian
Christians of Iraq,
which they can
administer for
themselves. Article 53
(D) of Iraq's
Transitional
Administrative Law
guarantees the
ChaldoAssyrians the
right to administer
their own region. It
states, "This law shall
guarantee the
administrative, cultural
and political rights of
the Turcomans,
ChaldoAssyrians, and all
other citizens."
Stephen Pound MP and
other speakers at the
meeting, jointly
organised by the
Assyrian Democratic
Movement (UK branch) and
Jubilee Campaign,
stressed that the
British Government
should support the
creation of an
Administrative Region in
the ChaldoAssyrian
heartland in the Nineveh
Plains. The escalating
attacks perpetrated
against the
ChaldoAssyrians by
extremist and fanatical
Islamic groups warrants
the creation of such a
region. The meeting also
called on the British
Government to strongly
support the return of
ChaldoAssyrian villages
in the provinces of
Nineveh and Dohuk, which
the ChaldoAssyrian's
Arab and Kurdish
neighbours have
encroached on.
ChaldoAssyrians, who
feel threatened,
especially in Mosul and
parts of Baghdad, could
then move to the regions
of Nineveh and Dohuk,
rather than flee their
ancestral homeland in
Iraq.
Christians have been
subjected to escalating
violence in Iraq,
including a series of
bombs exploded at five
churches across Baghdad
early on Saturday 16th
October. There were no
casualties in that
incident. Islamic
extremists conducted
lethal terrorist
bombings on Sunday
August 1st against 5
churches in Baghdad and
the northern city of
Mosul, which killed 12
people and injured many
more. On July 4th, two
ChaldoAssyrian children
were killed in Baghdad
at their home by Islamic
terrorists. Raneed Raad,
16, and her six-year-old
brother, Raphid, were
shot dead. Since April
2003, the assassinations
of at least 88
Christians have been
recorded by
ChaldoAssyrian
organisations in Iraq.
The most recent victim
was a little girl who
was brutally murdered by
Islamic extremists. In
the wake of the August
church bombings and
other anti-Christian
violence, tens of
thousands of
ChaldoAssyrians have
fled, further decimating
Iraq's Christian
presence.
The
headquarters of the
Assyrian Democratic
Movement in Baghdad came
under mortar attack in
the early hours of
Sunday morning, August
8th 2004. The Assyrian
Democratic Movement is
the leading political
party representing the
ChaldoAssyrian
Christians of Iraq. One
of this party's founders
and its current
Secretary General,
Yonadam Kanna, was the
only Christian member of
Iraq's former Governing
Council and is now one
of four ChaldoAssyrian
Christians serving in
the Iraqi National
Assembly. Over 95
percent of Iraq's
Christians are
ChaldoAssyrian and they
are the indigenous
people of Iraq,
descended from the
ancient Assyrians of
Biblical times. Their
language is
Aramaic-based and
similar to the Aramaic
which Jesus spoke.
The meeting's speakers
were Stephen Pound MP,
John Michael, an
Assyrian who is British
representative of the
Assyrian Democratic
Movement, Professor Eden
Naby, an Assyrian and
specialist on the Middle
East, Shamiran Mako,
from the Council for
Assyrian Research and
Development and Human
Rights Without
Frontiers, and Wilfred
Wong, Parliamentary
Officer for Jubilee
Campaign.
John Michael says, "If
the International
Community, specifically
the governments of the
U.S.A and U.K, want
peace, stability and
democracy to prevail in
Iraq, thus spreading
throughout the Middle
East, then the security
and continued presence
of the ChaldoAssyrians
in their ancestral
homeland must be
guaranteed. Therefore,
it is imperative that
the British government
supports the
ChaldoAssyrians in every
respect, including the
creation of an
administrative region
for the indigenous
ChaldoAssyrian people,
as granted under article
53(D) of the Iraqi
Transitional
Administrative Law."
All the speakers
supported the meeting's
call on the British
government to urgently
encourage and support
the creation of an
administrative region
for Iraq's
ChaldoAssyrians;
financially support the
reconstruction of
ChaldoAssyrian villages
and infrastructure;
provide across the board
political support to the
ChaldoAssyrians; assist
ChaldoAssyrians in their
struggle to reclaim
their towns and
villages; financially
support the return and
resettlement of
ChaldoAssyrian refugees
and to facilitate the
ability of those forced
to flee Iraq by the
Hussein regime, or
exiled in recent months,
to register to vote if
eligible.
In
his presentation to the
meeting, Wilfred Wong
stated, "There is no
danger of the Kurdish or
Arab community
disappearing from Iraq
but there is a real risk
that one day soon the
ChaldoAssyrian community
may largely vanish from
that country. Not only
are the ChaldoAssyrians
facing the usual risks
of violence which all
average Iraqis have to
currently put up with in
their daily lives, they
are also having to deal
with the additional
violence of being
targeted by Islamic
fundamentalists simply
because they are
Christians and
intimidation from their
Kurdish neighbours
because they want to
grab ChaldoAssyrian land
for themselves. The
British government must
support the forces of
moderation in Iraq,
which include the
Christian community.
Moderate Muslims would
be much better able to
oppose the
Islamicisation of Iraq
if they had the support
of a strong Christian
community and the
British government
should do all it can to
empower Iraq's
Christians."
Stephen Pound MP says,
"This meeting is only
the start of a process
to bring the world's
attention to the
terrible suffering of
the Christian
communities in Iraq. By
meeting today we not
only raised the issue in
the British Parliament
but also sent a strong
signal of support and
solidarity to this
persecuted minority. No
one in Parliament can
now say they are unaware
of the sufferings of
this beleaguered
community. I'm very
grateful to the UK
branch of the Assyrian
Democratic Movement and
the Jubilee Campaign for
organizing this
meeting."
Nineveh On Line OPINION
British Parliament Raises Question of Autonomous Region for Assyrians of Iraq
(ZNDA: London) On 21 October, the following three questions pertaining to the Assyrians of Iraq were tabled for written answers:
For Lord Hylton—To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking, in conjunction with the interim government of Iraq and the United States, to protect the lives of Chaldo-Assyrian Christians from murder, and their church buildings from destruction by bombs. (HL4609)
For Lord Hylton—To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consult with the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Damascus and Amman to ensure that adequate assistance is afforded to Chaldo-Assyrian Christians who have recently fled from Iraq. (HL4610)
For Lord Hylton—To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that an autonomous region near Mosul should be established for the Chaldo-Assyrian ethnic and religious minority; and whether they will ensure that special provision is made for this minority in any future constitution of Iraq. (HL4611)
The Jubilee Campaign, a Christian human rights organization established in the United Kingdom, issued the following press release on 22 October:
At a meeting chaired by Stephen Pound, MP in the House of Commons on October 21st, the UK branch of Iraq's leading Christian political party, the Assyrian Democratic Movement and the Christian human rights organization, Jubilee Campaign, called for an Administrative Region for the ChaldoAssyrian Christians of Iraq, which they can administer for themselves. Article 53 (D) of Iraq's Transitional Administrative Law guarantees the ChaldoAssyrians the right to administer their own region. It states, "This law shall guarantee the administrative, cultural and political rights of the Turcomans, ChaldoAssyrians, and all other citizens."
Stephen Pound MP and other speakers at the meeting, jointly organised by the Assyrian Democratic Movement (UK branch) and Jubilee Campaign, stressed that the British Government should support the creation of an Administrative Region in the ChaldoAssyrian heartland in the Nineveh Plains. The escalating attacks perpetrated against the ChaldoAssyrians by extremist and fanatical Islamic groups warrants the creation of such a region. The meeting also called on the British Government to strongly support the return of ChaldoAssyrian villages in the provinces of Nineveh and Dohuk, which the ChaldoAssyrian's Arab and Kurdish neighbours have encroached on. ChaldoAssyrians, who feel threatened, especially in Mosul and parts of Baghdad, could then move to the regions of Nineveh and Dohuk, rather than flee their ancestral homeland in Iraq.
Christians have been subjected to escalating violence in Iraq, including a series of bombs exploded at five churches across Baghdad early on Saturday 16th October. There were no casualties in that incident. Islamic extremists conducted lethal terrorist bombings on Sunday August 1st against 5 churches in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul, which killed 12 people and injured many more. On July 4th, two ChaldoAssyrian children were killed in Baghdad at their home by Islamic terrorists. Raneed Raad, 16, and her six-year-old brother, Raphid, were shot dead. Since April 2003, the assassinations of at least 88 Christians have been recorded by ChaldoAssyrian organisations in Iraq. The most recent victim was a little girl who was brutally murdered by Islamic extremists. In the wake of the August church bombings and other anti-Christian violence, tens of thousands of ChaldoAssyrians have fled, further decimating Iraq's Christian presence.
The headquarters of the Assyrian Democratic Movement in Baghdad came under mortar attack in the early hours of Sunday morning, August 8th 2004. The Assyrian Democratic Movement is the leading political party representing the ChaldoAssyrian Christians of Iraq. One of this party's founders and its current Secretary General, Yonadam Kanna, was the only Christian member of Iraq's former Governing Council and is now one of four ChaldoAssyrian Christians serving in the Iraqi National Assembly. Over 95 percent of Iraq's Christians are ChaldoAssyrian and they are the indigenous people of Iraq, descended from the ancient Assyrians of Biblical times. Their language is Aramaic-based and similar to the Aramaic which Jesus spoke.
The meeting's speakers were Stephen Pound MP, John Michael, an Assyrian who is British representative of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, Professor Eden Naby, an Assyrian and specialist on the Middle East, Shamiran Mako, from the Council for Assyrian Research and Development and Human Rights Without Frontiers, and Wilfred Wong, Parliamentary Officer for Jubilee Campaign.
John Michael says, "If the International Community, specifically the governments of the U.S.A and U.K, want peace, stability and democracy to prevail in Iraq, thus spreading throughout the Middle East, then the security and continued presence of the ChaldoAssyrians in their ancestral homeland must be guaranteed. Therefore, it is imperative that the British government supports the ChaldoAssyrians in every respect, including the creation of an administrative region for the indigenous ChaldoAssyrian people, as granted under article 53(D) of the Iraqi Transitional Administrative Law."
All the speakers supported the meeting's call on the British government to urgently encourage and support the creation of an administrative region for Iraq's ChaldoAssyrians; financially support the reconstruction of ChaldoAssyrian villages and infrastructure; provide across the board political support to the ChaldoAssyrians; assist ChaldoAssyrians in their struggle to reclaim their towns and villages; financially support the return and resettlement of ChaldoAssyrian refugees and to facilitate the ability of those forced to flee Iraq by the Hussein regime, or exiled in recent months, to register to vote if eligible.
In his presentation to the meeting, Wilfred Wong stated, "There is no danger of the Kurdish or Arab community disappearing from Iraq but there is a real risk that one day soon the ChaldoAssyrian community may largely vanish from that country. Not only are the ChaldoAssyrians facing the usual risks of violence which all average Iraqis have to currently put up with in their daily lives, they are also having to deal with the additional violence of being targeted by Islamic fundamentalists simply because they are Christians and intimidation from their Kurdish neighbours because they want to grab ChaldoAssyrian land for themselves. The British government must support the forces of moderation in Iraq, which include the Christian community. Moderate Muslims would be much better able to oppose the Islamicisation of Iraq if they had the support of a strong Christian community and the British government should do all it can to empower Iraq's Christians."
Stephen Pound MP says, "This meeting is only the start of a process to bring the world's attention to the terrible suffering of the Christian communities in Iraq. By meeting today we not only raised the issue in the British Parliament but also sent a strong signal of support and solidarity to this persecuted minority. No one in Parliament can now say they are unaware of the sufferings of this beleaguered community. I'm very grateful to the UK branch of the Assyrian Democratic Movement and the Jubilee Campaign for organizing this meeting."