The
Tragic Situation of the Assyrians of Barwari
Bala
Translated from Arabic
in essence by Fred Aprim.
With permission of al-Barwari al-Ashouri and
Iraq for all News Agency
Barwari Bala is an
Assyrian region situated on the
Iraqi-Turkish borders. It includes many
villages with its center at Kani Maseh,
known by Assyrians as 'Ayna d' Nooneh. This
region has been the center for many armed
conflicts between Iraq, Turkey, Iraqi Kurds,
and Turkish Kurds. It was for this reason
that many of its Assyrian population were
forced to abandon their villages. During the
past Ba'ath regime, fights between the Iraqi
government and Kurdish irregular armed
forces turned these Assyrian villages and
their churches into rubble.
After the 1991
uprising and the establishment of the
No-Fly-Zone in north of Iraq, many families
began to return to their villages while
taking advantage of the assistance of
certain international aid groups. However,
during this period, many Kurds have taken
advantage of the situation and have left
their own villages and settled in these
Assyrian villages. One example of this is
the presence of more than 15 Kurdish
families in Kani Maseh since 1993 despite
the repeated Assyrian complaints to the
local authorities that these families are
illegally occupying Assyrian lands. In fact,
the Kurdish authorities did not stop there,
they have tried repeatedly to build
residential compounds inside the village.
The Assyrians of Kani Maseh protested and
refused to allow such illegal construction
on Assyrian lands. The local municipal
office found other ways to infiltrate the
village. The local authorities of the
municipal office built 15 homes under the
pretext that these homes were for local
municipal office employees. However, after
the completion of construction, the homes
were distributed to common Kurds who have
nothing to do with the municipal office of
the village.
In recent years, the
meticulously planned oppressive policies of
the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of
Mas'ood Barazani against the Assyrians of
Kani Maseh have intensified. Persecuting
Assyrians who are not members of the KDP,
especially those who are members of the
Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), is one
of such policies. These Assyrians are under
direct threat from the local Kurdish
authorities. One of the dirtiest games that
the KDP plays is economical. The KDP control
the employment department assigned to fill
governmental positions in the region. Since
people are in dire need for employment,
especially as the economy in the region has
improved in recent years, the KDP
authorities pressure the Assyrians to enroll
in the KDP in return for a job. Assyrians
have experienced harsh times and Assyrian
men must find employment to support their
families. The KDP realizes this fact and
takes advantage of the situation.
Additionally, the KDP
refuses to grant the ADM permission to open
an office in Kani Maseh despite the fact
that an Assyrian landlord in Kani Maseh has
donated the required lot for the building to
the ADM. Furthermore, the KDP has
threatened that same Assyrian landlord,
confiscated a piece of his land adjacent to
the lot donated to the ADM, and built its
KDP office on that land without the willful
permission of the owner. Today, the KDP is
adding another story on top of what they
built already in order to expand the office
and increase the Kurdish presence in Kani
Maseh.
We ask:
- Where are the
rights of the Assyrians who make a
majority in these regions?
- For how long would
the KDP continue its chauvinistic
policies of Kurdification of Assyrian
lands and its policies of ethnic
cleansing?
- Is there really
equality between Kurds and Assyrians in
north of Iraq?
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