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12 Tishrin II
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Volume
IX

Issue 35

3 November
2003

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This Week In
Zinda

cover photo

Zinda
Says

Assyriska Föreningen
The food & Ambiance,
$250. The results? Priceless.

The
Lighthouse

Answering Majdolin

Good
Morning Assyria

Assyrian Judge Killed in Mosul
Chaldean Synod
Called to Rome to Elect New Patriarch
Final Declaration of the
Chaldean Syriac Assyrian General Conference
Zinda Special: Report
on the General Conference in Baghdad
Yonadam Kanna on Ashur
Satellite TV
Chaldean Bishop of Kirkuk: New Iraq Needs Europe's
Help
Christian Religious Leaders Join in the Ramadan Dinner in
Istanbul

News
Digest

AUA & Political Parties Call For A
Convention
Iraq's Christians Run Gauntlet of anti-US
Hostility
Rev. Kenneth Joseph on FoxNews, November 3
London
Police Arrest Antique Dealers
Vatican is not Opposed to Turkey in
the European Union

Surf's
Up!

Holocaust or Self-Immolation
“A Syrian”, Not
“Assyrian”
The Real Author, Please!
The Voice of Reason A
Zinda Reader’s Letter to National Geographic
Magazine

Surfer's
Corner

Assyriology Lecture Series at Leiden
UniversityGorgias Press Holiday Sale

Literatus

Please, Show Me Some Action and Spare me the
Talk!New Iraq on its way to Becoming Islamic StateWe want to be just
like you!

Bravo

Assyrian Soccer Fever Rules Sweden
Assyriska
Soccer Team- A Brief History

Calendar
of Events

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Zinda Says

ASSYRISKA
FÖRENINGEN

If you missed last Saturday’s football game (that’s ‘soccer’ for our
North American readers) between Assyriska Föreningen and IF Elfsborg you
may have just failed to take notice of one of the most exciting sports
teams in Europe and football clubs around the world.

Over ten thousand spectators watched this year’s most exciting football
match at the Råsunda stadium in Stockholm. Two weeks prior to this
glorious day, the Assyrian team of Assyriska had knocked out Sweden’s
Djurgårdens, the UEFA Champions in the semi-finals. Now they had to prove
their superiority one last time against Sweden’s first division team,
Elfsborg.

The first goal in Saturday’s game was planted by Lars Nilsson four
minutes into the first half. Nilsson gave his team another goal with a
header midway through the second half.

With no goals attributed to our Assyrian players, Elfsborg won the
Swedish Cup with a 2-0 win over second division team, Assyriska. This
victory qualified Elfsborg for next year’s UEFA Cup against first division
runners-up, Hammarby.

Because of the players’ Assyrian background and ties to Iraq and Turkey
(birthplaces of some players), the game had quickly become a political
statement in itself. Sweden has often criticized the U.S.-led war on Iraq,
saying it did not have United Nations' approval. The former Foreign
Minister Anna Lindh in a statement on 6 June had said that U.S. President
George W. Bush had acted like a ''lone ranger'' on Iraq and warned that
other countries could be tempted to follow America's example. Anna Lindh,
46, was one of Sweden's most popular politicians and was a likely
successor to Prime Minister Goran Persson. She was stabbed to death on 10
September.

But like many other Assyriska fans, Zinda staff and thousands of
Assyrian-Swedes were – regardless of any political bias – glued to TV sets
or gathered in Stockholm to observe the football match of the year –
perhaps the decade. The most awesome and inspiring moment, one that can
never be erased from the memory of any attending fan, was the appearance
of an enormous Assyrian flag representing the aspirations of millions of
Assyrians worldwide. Resistance was futile. Tears were readily flowing
down our faces - the old and the young. This was not only a football
match, but also a political statement. That the Assyrians exist and wish
to be recognized for their own merits and accomplishments.

Nothing will bring us greater joy than watching the lions of Assyriska
Föreningen clinching the final championships of Cupen Svenska and every
European football club in the coming year.

THE FOOD & AMBIANCE, $250. THE RESULT? PRICELESS.

For a starter I see a little Assyrian cheese spread liberally over a
small piece of lawasha bread. I follow that with tuna and Yellow Tail
Damier gently soaked in Wasabi cream. I place that on a lightly buttered
sesame cracker and move to the next table. Wow! Crab Lady Bug immersed in
Tomato Jus, sitting next to the tartlette of Cucumber, Tomato, Onions, and
Feta Cheese. And this is just the starter!

The first order of the day is my favorite - Saffron Chicken with Yogurt
(did you know “saffron” is an Akkadian word?)
Then I am offered little
shrimps glazed in maple syrup and wrapped in Pancetta. If you love
scallop, you are going to love the one’s on my plate – seared in lemon
butter and fresh mint. The marine delicacies reach an awesome finale with
the roasted sablefish in saffron broth and harissa.

Enough of the fish. Let’s move to the birdies. Do you like pomegranate?
Then you’ll love the grilled coriander quail with roasted sweet potatoes
and yes – pomegranate. Care for some lamb? How about roast rack of lamb
and basmati rice pilaf with barberries.

Oh, I almost forgot the drinks. All that fabulous food has to go down
with equally marvelous wine. In no time I am offered all of the following
choices: 1998 J Vineyards and Winery J Vintage Brut, 2001 Miner Family
Vineyards Napa Valley Chardonay, 1999 Hanna Winery, Bismark Ranch,
Sangiovese, 1999 Showket Sangiovese, 2000 Darioush Winery, Napa Valley
Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon & my favorite the 2000 Narsai, Napa
Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon.

And what’s a good meal without the sweet and rich Assyrian delicacies
like Qalechi, Aradin Baklava, Nazoogi and the not-so Assyrian,
truffles?

Too good to be true? Let me pose this question: “How much are you
willing to pay to have San Francisco’s top chefs offer you all this, while
you get a chance to meet with the San Francisco Bay Area mayors,
congressional representatives, Assyrian dignitaries, and listen to live
entertainment by Walter Aziz, Dan Eshoo & the Ancient Echoes Ensemble?
There is also the ever-popular Presidio Children's Dance Theater. What if
I said that all proceeds from your generosity would end up helping the
Assyrians in Iraq?

Priceless? Zinda Magazine agrees.

Narsai David has done it again. The most notable Chefs and dignitaries
from around the San Francisco Bay Area will be joining hundreds of
munificent Assyrians to create another unforgettable evening this coming
Friday at San Francisco’s 5-Star Ritz Carlton Hotel. Last year’s Narsai’s
Taste of the Mediterranean helped raise $150,000 for the building of a
school in north Iraq and for assisting the victims of the Gulf War.

Join Zinda Magazine, Macy’s, KCBS, Delta Airlines, Cedars Bank and
several other companies and restaurants in celebrating another culinary
achievement on Friday, 7 November in San Francisco. Great food, fabulous
people, and primo entertainment in the company of your Assyrian
friends.

For tickets and information call 510-527-9997. If you are a full-time
Assyrian student, then you can enjoy all this for 60 percent less than the
actual cost. Email us at maito:[email-masked].

See you on Friday at Ritz-Carlton San Francisco!

Wilfred Bet-Alkhas
Editor

The Lighthouse

ANSWERING MAJDOLIN

On the 31st of March Assyrians in Chicago proudly rallied to support
the war in Iraq, backing the invasion of their homeland and supporting the
US troops.[1]

In a display of “instant-karma” and on the very same day of the Chicago
rally Mosul, the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh (Mosul), was attacked
by a B-52 air strike using missiles paid for by Assyrian-American
taxpayers. The attack on the village of Bartilla in Mosul, was originally
reported by Al-Jazeera as killing 20, but actually killed 21 and injured
more than 70 Assyrians.[2] Initially seen as a tragic footnote in this war
the event was soon forgotten by most Assyrians and considered a “price
worth paying” as the rest of Iraq was “liberated.”

Had the victims been killed by the Iraqi regime the Assyrians in the
Diaspora would’ve sent out petitions, contacted their local governments
and protested in front of the Iraqi government’s embassies. Yet the
victims of Mosul, along with numerous other innocents killed during this
latest war have been sadly forgotten. No religious designations, such as
“martyrs” were applied to them. No candles were lit for them during this
year’s Assyrian Remembrance Day. And no flowery poems reminded us of how
they came to be killed.

The victims of that attack were however not to be forgotten and in last
week’s issue the tragic consequences of our ongoing support for this war
in our homeland came back to haunt us.[3]

Majdolin Yonan and her story is a “reality check” on the idea that any
war can ever be justified, be surgical or benefit our people.

Admitting that there have been victims at all undermines our simplistic
“good vs. evil” religiously-based beliefs. This may partly help to explain
why our organisations in Detroit have sadly chosen to ignore the plight of
Majdolin Yonan. We know deep down inside that we are partly responsible
for the pain and suffering of our people and the Iraqi people during this
war.

Weren’t our western governments the ones who originally installed,
trained and supported Saddam Hussein during the 1970s?

Weren’t our governments responsible for profiting through the selling
of weapons to both Iraq and Iran during 8 years of carnage?

Weren’t our military ships used to blockade Iraq and cause the death of
500,000 innocent children under the age of 5 due to US-led sanctions?

Weren’t our governments responsible for this latest illegal invasion of
our homeland and the deaths and injuries of thousands of innocent Iraqi
civilians?

Yes, Majdolin Yonan’s story is not unique.

The innocent Assyrian civilian toll in this war alone has yet to be
tallied but can be roughly assessed.

If we forget about the numerous Assyrian men who died serving in the
Iraqi army, a rough assessment can be made of how many innocent Assyrian
civilians have died during this war.

Assuming that the Assyrian population in Iraq is 1,000,000 and the
total population of Iraq is 23 million then basic mathematics can be used
to make this estimate.

According to the latest figures of innocent Iraqi civilians killed
during this war, taken from www.iraqbodycount.org, the toll ranges from
7757 to 9565.

One million divided by 23 million multiplied by www.iraqbodycount.org’s
minimum figure of 7757 gives us 337.
Again 1 million divided by 23
million multiplied by www.iraqbodycount.org’s maximum figure of 9565 gives
us 415.
So the Assyrian cost of this war ranges from 337 to 415
innocent Assyrian men, women and children!

But we have and continue to remain silent. Choosing the far easier
option of sending tax deductible band aids to the people we have helped
injure and kill.

We have not yet admitted to ourselves that the US objective in Iraq is
far from providing security or stability. We do not dare confront our
corporate hijacked governments and tell them that we don’t think that any
price is worth paying in order for Bush’s Enron, Rice’s Chevron and
Chenney’s Halburton to improve their companies’ stock price.
And we
have yet to unite with other similarly disenchanted groups and called for
a boycott of these very same companies’ products.

Madjolin Yonan's story and the death of her baby daughter, her unborn
child and the rest of the 21 Assyrians killed in Mosul on the 31st of
March, is just one of many tragic stories that have and will continue to
occur in the months ahead.

But we can at last answer Majdolin Yonan’s questions and tell her who’s
truly responsible for what happened to her and the rest of our dead and
injured throughout Iraq.

Majdolin Yonan, we are all collectively responsible for what happened
to you.
Our organisations are responsible for supporting this illegal
war. Our activists are responsible for not bothering to protest. And each
of us is individually responsible for allowing our tax dollars to be spent
on the bombs that were dropped on your home and our homeland.

I hope one day you can forgive us.

David Chibo
Australia

References
========
1. Over 4000 Assyrians Rally In Support
Of U.S. Troops In Chicago,
http://www.zindamagazine.com/html/archives/2003/3.31.03/index.php#NewsDigest
2.
Iraqi Village Reportedly Bombed,
http://www.acsa.nu/artikel.asp?lankid=25&artid=330
http://www.zindamagazine.com/html/archives/2003/3.31.03/index.php#NewsDigest
3.
Woman who lost children, sight in Iraq struggles to
cope,
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20031020-9999_1m20iraqi.html

[Mr. Chibo is a member of the Zinda Crew in Australia
and has written exensively on the condition of the Assyrians in North
Iraq. He spoke with Majdolin about her condition last week and discussed a
fundraising campaign in Australia to raise money for her operations. At
first Majdolin and her sister Wardiya were stunned that someone as far
away as Australia had read the San Diego Tribune article and then taken
the time to get their number and call to enquire and support them.

Far from a sorrowful and weeping conversation both women
kept expressing hope that things would improve. Majdolin is undergoing
another operation this week and is hopeful that some improvement can be
made to her condition.

Majdolin has a Trust Fund account to which donations can
be wired or sent from around the world. Our Australian readers can contact
Mr. Chibo at 0421-353 253. Zinda Magazine readers are also welcome to call
Majdolin's sister, Wardiya, at 619-300-9765 and enquire about Majdolin’s
condition. Zinda Magazine urges its readers to give generously to the
Yonan Family Trust Fund and help Majdolin and other war victims during the
coming holiday season.

MAJDOLIN YONAN TRUST FUND
Community First
National Bank
1234 E. Main St.
El Cajon, Ca 92021
Account
#8312633688

Good Morning
Assyria

ASSYRIAN JUDGE KILLED IN MOSUL

(ZNDA: Dohuk) According to a report from the Information Offices of the
Assyrian Democratic Movemnt in Dohuk, Iraq and London, an Assyrian judge
was killed outside of his home in Mosul. Judge Ismail Yousif Sadeqge
Sadeq, originally from the town of Alqosh, was shot three times outside
his home in Mosul in the early hours of Tuesday, 4 November.

According to the report, Judge Sadeq was expected to be the presiding
Judge for the entire city of Mosul. Judge Sadeq was a deputy to the head
of the appeal courts in Nineveh province. On Monday, the head of an Iraqi
court who was investigating members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, Muhan
Jabr al-Shuweily, was also abducted and murdered in the southern city
Najaf.

A colleague who was spared said he believed the killers were supporters
of Saddam.

CHALDEAN SYNOD CALLED TO ROME TO ELECT NEW PATRIARCH

Courtesy of Zenit News Agency (29 October)

(ZNDA: Vatican City) John Paul II called the Synod of the Bishops of
the Chaldean Church to meet Dec. 2-3 in the Vatican to elect the new
patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans.

The Pope's decision came in virtue of Canon 72 of the Code of Canons of
the Eastern Churches, explained Vatican press office director Joaqu?n
Navarro-Valls. The patriarchal see of the Chaldean Church is in Baghdad,
Iraq.

The 22 bishops of the synod met in August to appoint the successor of
Patriarch Raphael Bidawid, who died July 7. Such a process followed the
custom of the Eastern patriarchal churches.

Canon 72 provides for the election by a two-thirds vote in the first
ballot or by an absolute majority after a certain number of votes. If the
election does not take place in the first 15 days from the opening of the
synod, Paragraph 2 of the canon establishes that the case goes to the
Roman Pontiff.

Christians in Iraq number 800,000, about 3% of the population. Of
these, Chaldean Catholics constitute over 70%. The Baghdad community has
about 350,000 faithful.

The official language of the Chaldean liturgy is Aramaic. As the
faithful normally speak Arabic, the celebration of the liturgy is
bilingual. There are Chaldean communities in America, Europe and
Oceania.

FINAL DECLARATION OF THE CHALDEAN SYRIAC ASSYRIAN GENERAL
CONFERENCE

For Immediate Release
29 October 2003

The Chaldean Syriac Assyrian General Conference was held in Baghdad in
the period of 22-23 October, 2003 under the motto of “Our Unity and Our
National and Patriotic Rights in Iraq”. The Conference was held under the
patronage of Dr. Ayad Alawi, the rotating interim President of the Iraqi
Governing Council, with the presence of Mr. Younadam Kanna the
representative of our people in the Iraqi Governing Council and the
representative for Mr. Paul Bremer, Head of Civil Administration in Iraq
as well as representatives of various national Iraqi parties. The
Conference was also attended by representatives our people’s political
parties and organizations and its religious, civic and cultural
institutions throughout Iraq. Delegates from Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and the
Diaspora (Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) were
also in attendance.

The Conference convened under circumstances when all Iraqi people are
looking forward to a new era and dawn after the demise of the previous
regime as well as an era during which freedom and democracy are prevalent,
human dignity is safeguarded, and the sovereignty and independence of Iraq
are preserved. The Conference represents a historic and important stage
long-awaited by our people, an urgent need necessitated by many overdue
rights and privileges on the path to secure our people's identity and the
continuous national and civlizational existence on their ancestral native
homeland. This existence extends over several millennia beginning with
Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, and Ashur where the first laws were formulated and
rules and regulations were instituted. Our people continued their services
to humanity with their adoption of Christianity until this very day.

For three days, the participants debated the Conference's agenda and
its primary items. Many valuable studies and researches were presented,
which addressed the Iraqi patriotic and national causes and the specific
cause of our people. After thorough deliberations and discussions, the
Conference affirmed certain principles and foundations:

Patriotic Aspect:

-The Conference stressed the Unity of Iraq. It called upon the
international community and the neighboring states to support and help
Iraq consolidate its security and stability and recover its independence
and national sovereignty which are needed to take Iraq back to its normal
place where it can play its role and build relations based on common
interest and mutual respect with all of its neighbors and return to the
international community.

-The Conference stressed the establishment of a federal, pluralistic,
and democratic system of government. This system shall affirm the
principles of governance in peace and the separation of authorities; a
system that honors international treaties and agreements, prescribes to
human rights and institutes the rights of all national, ethnic and
religious groups that constitute the Iraq people.

National Aspect:

-The Conference stressed the Unity of our people regardless of all the
appellations currently in circulation as Chaldean Syriac Assyrian since
they are names for one entity that we revere and are proud of. The
appellations serve as evidence to our historic and civilizational depth
into ancient times and reflect various historic periods that diversified
our peoples' roots and affiliation to this land– an affiliation that is
still extant. And due to the pressing need imposed by the critical
situation that our people and cause are going through, the Conference
highlighted the importance of concurrence on one unified national
appellation that is consistent with our situation in Iraq. The
participants agreed on appellation of ‘Chaldoassyrian’ to designate our
people and the appellation ‘Syriac’ to designate our language and culture,
to be incorporated in the constitution. The Conference stressed that the
Iraqi permanent constitution shall include reference to the existence of
the Chaldoassyrians as an indigenous nationality (people) on a par with
the rest of the Iraqi ethnic nationalities and coexist with them in the
country according to the principles of partnership, which will guarantee
the Chaldoassyrians the ability to practice their ethnic, political,
administrative, and cultural rights and their privilege to be represented
and nominated in the legislative, administrative, and judicial branches of
government.

-The Conference stressed the need to designate an administrative region
for our people in the Nineveh plain with the participation of other ethnic
and religious groups, where a special law will be established for
self-administration and the assurance of administrative, political,
cultural rights in towns and villages throughout Iraq where our people
reside.

-The Conference stressed the issuance of legislations that redress the
injustices that have befallen our people and the removal all remnants of
policies that altered the demographic structure of several regions that
belonged to our people. 1957 Census and earlier should be used as
benchmarks.

-The Conference demanded the reaffirmation of the rights of our people
who migrated or were forced into migration to return to Iraq. In this
regard, the Conference values the decision of the Iraqi Governing Council
for issuance of the new citizenship law.

-The Conference stresses the role of the Chaldoassyrian women through
exercising their full rights and their participation in all aspects of
life. The Conference calls upon our people in Iraq and Diaspora to observe
and practice their national and ethnic responsibilities in the rebuilding
and the advancement of Iraq. Additionally, the Conference calls for the
continuation of the dialogue with the rest of the organizations and
institutions that did not have the opportunity to attend the Conference,
for whatever reason, to stand united in serving our cause. The Conference
concluded its sessions by establishing a general secretariat, which will
follow up and implement the Conference's recommendations and resolutions
through the committees that evolved throughout the Conference.

Baghdad
October 24, 2003 A.D. / 6753 A

ZINDA SPECIAL: REPORT ON THE GENERAL CONFERENCE IN BAGHDAD
OF CHALDEANS, SYRIACS, AND ASSYRIANS

A Zinda Magazine Special Report
Prepared by Dr.
Eden Naby
North Iraq

22-24 October 2003

Despite the clear concern for dangers to themselves and their guests, a
meeting was convened in Baghdad that attracted a wide group of selected
invitees from Iraq and from the Diaspora, both in the Middle East and in
the farther reaches of our immigration.

The Plenary Session, convened in the main hall of the heavily guarded
Sheraton hotel, attracted a very large crowd of mainly Assyrians and
Chaldeans, as well Syriacs from Syria and Lebanon, and members of Mtakasta
(ADO), who have been very active in planning this conference and taking
responsibility of the many tasks of the secretariat headed by Mr. Yonan
Hozaiya, one of the five members of the political bureau of the Central
Committee of the Assyrian Democratic Movement. The level of cooperation
was admirable and as one participant remarked, " the reason that our
community members were not picking on each other as often happens, but
rather engaging in discussion to resolve differences of opinion was that
we feel empowered for the first time to be in charge of our destiny. We
can no longer live in a victim mentality. We hold our fate in our
hands."

The Plenary Session

The proceedings began with a session in which speeches were made not
just by Ambassador Patrick Kennedy, who was representing Mr. Bremer (at
the time attending the donor's conference in Madrid), but also by the
representative of Mr. Iyad Alawi, who for October is the presiding member
of the Iraqi Governing Council. Additional speeches were made by the papal
representative in Baghdad, Shlemon Warduni, Mr. Saad Yildiz of the ADO in
Sweden, Mr. Habib Afram, one of the leading writers on Christians in the
Middle East, as well as Mr. Imad Sham'un who had come with the blessings
of the Maronite Patriarch.

At this formal session, very crowded with media (including Reuters and
LBC, Fox and others), there were security from at least three groups:
first and foremost, the ZOWAA armed men, then Americans guarding Amb.
Kennedy, and finally guards from the Iraqi Governing Council. The media
kept urging the guards to move out of camera vision but at times with
little success. Most of us who had not been close to arms at any range
found the experience surreal as was certainly an Assyrian meeting in
Baghdad.

The pattern of speeches was interrupted by a young people's choir
singing two patriotic Assyrian songs, and a modern dance group which,
despite the small stage, performed a synchronized dance.

At the end of the plenary, the audience was treated to a varied and
colorful presentation of costumes from many villages of the Nineveh plain,
organized by the Assyrian Women's Union, for which they had borrowed old
costumes which were modeled by young women. The MC for this part of the
program was Jean d'Arc Hozaya.

Photographs of these costumes should be available on the internet soon.
In the spirit of the conference, the costumed girls at the end rallied
around a girl from whose arm hung a large Assyrian flag.

The Debate

The following two days were spent on discussing language issues,
history and politics. Most presentations were done in Arabic, but a lot of
the discussion was in our own language spoken in many dialects. The
delegation from Iran was fortunate in having someone translating much of
the Arabic into our own language. Most of the other attendees, even those
from Abroad, understood Arabic since they were originally from Iraq or
Syria.

Mr. Sam Yono made a special multi-language presentation during his
chairing of tone of the panels in which he pointed to the realization of
the problem of achieving unity and recognition that has emerged over the
past decade. Although clearly many people who agreed to discuss this issue
have some uneasiness with how to proceed, how to accommodate the various
parts of our nation, none can evade the problem for us in Iraq if we do
not come to a meeting of the minds, at least in Iraq. Speaker after
speaker, especially the representative of Furqono and the representative
of the Atranaye Political Party pointed to the various aspect of the
problem of our name. Everyone was aware of the role of our churches and
speakers called for separation of church and state.

The Constitution of a New Iraq

One of the most substantive presentations was made by Prof. Hikmat
Hakim, a professor of Public Law, who sits on the committee to organize
the procedure for the drafting of the constitution. The committee that
actually drafts the constitution will be selected. The committee on which
he sits is composed of 25 members, reflecting the exact ethno-religious
make-up of the IGC. He is from Telkepe and made three things very clear:

- the American recommended timeframe (12/15/03) may be hard to meet,
even for the formation of the constitutional committee
- the
direction for the constitution will come from the deliberations of the
IGC which thus far have provided the following:
- that Iraq will have
a plural, democratic constitution… that the role of Islam in the
constitution will be guided by the following carefully worded stand, the
constitution will honor the Islamic identity of the majority of the
Iraqi people. This represents a compromise between those who want
Shari'a and those who do not want an Islamic state.
- there will
probably a great deal of continued debate on the ethnic question and the
tendency is to drop mention of ANY ethnic groups, including Arabs and
Kurds.

The Resolutions of the General Conference

At the end of the third day of conference, the secretariate drafted
resolutions which were discussed by the general body of attendees and, b
ased on these discussions, they were ammended and formalized. The Arabic
version was later published in the special conference issue of BAHRA for
the week of 26 October. The following is an informal English language
summary of the main points:

- Unity of Iraq
- Federal, plural, democratic system of
governance
- Respect for the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
- The denominations of our community (Chaldean, Syriac,
Assyrian) belong to one entity and represent historical context of our
people throughout our long history in our homeland to which we are
attached.
- In view of the situation in Iraq, the term ChaldoAssyrian
will be used and the language designation will be Syriac
- The
constitution must recognize the national existence of the
Chaldo-Assyrians, as the indigenous people of Iraq
- An
administrative region for ChaldoAssyrians on the plains of Nineveh as
well as special provisions for other members of our community living in
other areas.
- Laws which treat the injustices done to our people, in
particular those leading to demographic changes since 1957 census and
before.
- The right of return for those who emigrated or were forced
to do so
- Rights of ChaldoAssyrian women
- Call of members of our
community in Diaspora to exercise national responsibility in the
reconstruction of Iraq.
- Appeal to parties and organizations to
continue the beneficial dialogue in which we are engaged with a view to
preserving our unity
- Establish a general secretariat to set up
committees for carrying out decisions of the general
conference.

Conclusions

The conference closed with much good will and hope that the spirit of
cooperation would continue. At a future date, when the security situation
is even better, other such meetings can take place when more of the people
in Diaspora can participate and come to appreciate the place that the
twenty years of hard work and personal sacrifice have earned for us
all.

The final events were a play which traced the historical position of
our people from our origins in Mesopotamia through to the years of foreign
conquest, the "clowns" at the Paris Peace Conference who denied us our
rights, the years of egotistic leaders ("ANA, Ana, ana" sayers) who
destroyed our unity, and the terrifying years of Saddam Hussein. One
unfortunate event did take place, the actor playing Saddam Hussein
accidentally; cut a member of the audience with the sword he was
brandishing so realistically! Would that Saddam Hussein could be so
apologetic for all the blood he shed.

The art exhibition some of which represented the spirit of our history
and culture, and others village scenes by a group of artistic men and
women, topped the days of thoughts and actions devoted to improving the
future of our people. Much thanks goes to the organizers, especially the
Zowaa Demokrataya Athuraya which
conducted the on the ground logistics
of pick-up, delivery and security. . Less happy were many of us from
abroad with the belly trouble we developed at that appropriately named
hotel Babylon, which, though run down as much of Baghdad is now, might
have prevented our Baghdad Bellies with a more careful use of bottled

water.

This was a historic, courageous and heroic event. It needs to be
discussed in light of history, in light of the possibilities for the
future while avoiding the pitfalls of ego, rumor, and extremism. Let us
hope that next time, we can all accept the invitation of Dr. Donny George
Youkhana, one of the enthusiastic attendees, to see the
Assyrian
treasures at the Baghdad Museum. Next year in Baghdad?

YONADAM KANNA ON ASHUR SATELLITE TV

(ZNDA: San Jose) Mr. Yonadam Kanna, the Assyrian Chaldean Christian
representative in the Iraqi Governing Council, was a guest on the Ashur
Satellite TV on 26 October. He responded to many questions addressed by
the program hosts and viewers via telephone in Iraq.

Mr. Kanna spoke about the latest General Conference that was held in
Baghdad between October 22 and 24. He stated that the Preparatory
Committee of the Conference included nine members representing the
ChaldoAssyrian National Congress (Iraq), Assyrian Democratic Organization
(ADO), Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), and several groups and
federations in Europe and the United States.

Mr. Kanna stated that close to 1000 people attended the opening
ceremony and some 160 representatives, from many secular and religious
organizations representing the Chaldean, Suryani, and Assyrian
communities, met for three days. He emphasized that “We must unite;
otherwise, we will pass up the opportunity granted to us today.” He
continued: “If we do not do so, we could be recognized as religious
denominations” Presently eleven denominations exist in Iraq. He added that
“We cannot change the mistakes of the past in a few months and that this
conference was a beginning to open dialogue between our communities. It is
important to arrive at a common name, for now, so that all these names are
ours. They were used throughout our long history.” He stressed that this
conference was not the end of any communications, rather the organizers
will reach out for those who were unable to attend.

Mr. Kanna also stated that the conference stressed the necessity to
institute an administrative region for the Assyrian people in the Nineveh
plain, which could be shared with the Yezidis. This special region could
cover a space of approximately 100 X 60 Square Kilometers with particular
regulations for its administration. It could therefore be linked to the
Governorate of Nineveh. This region would include almost every town and
village in the Mosul plain inhabited by the Assyrians and would include
the ancient Assyrian cities of Nimrud (Calhu or Calah) and Khorsabad (Dur
Sharukin).

Mr. Kanna stated that the special committees that were formed during
the Conference will address many important issues facing the Assyrian
people. These include the repatriation of the one million Iraqis,
including Assyrians, who were forced to leave Iraq, and the abolishment of
the law 1973 Decree instituted by the former regime. According to this
decree, the children of the Christian parents who converted to Islam are
automatically considered Moslem. Assyrians have lost 1,800 families to
such policies.

The Land Law that allows the seizure of the Assyrian lands and then
allotted to Arabs during the Arabization policies will be reviewed as all
such seized properties must be returned to their lawful owners, explained
Mr. Kanna. Furthermore, all Assyrian schools of Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk,
which were closed by the ousted regime will be reopened. Additionally, the
future Ministry of Religious Affairs will consist of three members
representing Shi'aa, Sunni, and Christians. Lastly, a special committee
was established to assist in writing the new Iraqi constitution. Zinda
Magazine has learned that this special committee which includes many
Assyrian attorneys will be assisting Dr. Hikmat Hakim, the Assyrian
representative in the Special Constitutional Committee drafting the
constitution. Mr. Kanna continued to say that there are other projects and
issues that need to be tackled

In response to the latest attacks on the ADM from certain Assyrian TV
stations and by certain individuals on other media outlets, Mr. Kanna
noted that “It is easy to sit behind a PC or in a TV studio and sing "Bet
Nahrain Atriwat Le manshinakh" (a popular Assyrian song that goes, “Bet
Nahrain I will not forget you”. Mr. Kanna then invited those few behind
such attacks to travel to Iraq and “live the reality and true activism.”
Raabi Kanna ended his interview by emphasising the importance of keeping
the link between home and Diaspora alive as “the chain is vital for our
survival in our ancestral land.”

Mr. Kanna stated that many individuals attended the conference,
representing organizations, churches, and at times themselves. He stated
that many others, who were not able to attend, have sent telegrams
supporting the conference. The list of the names below was collected from
three different sources: Assyrian Patriotic Party and the Nahrain.com
(Mawsoo'aat al-Nahrain) web sites, in addition to the Assyrian Democratic
Movement reports.

List of Participants at the Chaldean Syrian Assyrian General
Conference
October 22-24, 2003
Baghdad

Patrick Kennedy (representative of Paul Bremer, Civil Administrator in
Iraq)
Ibrahim al-Ja'fari (Iraqi Governing Council) representative of
Ayad Alawi (interim president I.G.C)
Yonaham Kanna (Iraqi Governing
Council – representing Assyrians and other Christians of Iraq)

1. Abd al-Ahad Qallo
2. Adeeb Koka Yonan (President, ChaldoAssyrian
National Congress)
3. Adel Danno
4. Afram Mansour
5. Alaydin
Khamis (Assyrian American National Federation, USA)
6. Bashir Ishaq
Saadi (Secretary General, Assyrian Democratic Organization, Syria)
7.
Basil Shmaya
8. Benyamin Haddad
9. Bishop Asadorian (Bishop of the
Armenian Church)
10. Dr. Bashir al-Tori
11. Dr. Eden Nabi (Harvard
University)
12. Dr. Edward Odisho (Northeastern Illinois University,
Chicago)
13. Dr. Emad Shim'oon (Representative of Patriarch Mar
Nisrallah Potrus Sfir of the Maronite Church)
14. Dr. Hikmat Hakim
(Assyrian representative in the Iraqi Constitution Committee)
15. Dr.
Robert Kalaita (Assyrian American League, Chicago)
16. Dr. Ronald
Thomas-zadeh (Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran-Iran)
17. Dr. Yousif
Fawzi
18. Emmanuel Shikwana
19. Habib Afram (President, the Syriac
League, Lebanon)
20. Iskandar Qasha (Sweden)
21. Jamal Qalabat
(Chaldean National Federation, Michigan)
22. Jameel Meezi (Iraqi
Democratic Federation)
23. Joseph Kassab (Detroit) (Not
Confirmed)
24. Khdeeda Agha Potrus (France)
25. Lewan Samson (APP,
Iraq)
26. Mar Emmanuel-Karim Delly (Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of
Babylon, Chaldean Catholic Church)
27. Mar Giwargis Slewa (Archbishop
of Iraq, Church of the East)
28. Mar Mattai Shaba Masoka (Bishop,
Syrian Catholic Church)
29. Mar Severius Jamil Hawa (Bishop, Syrian
Orthodox Church)
30. Mar Shlemon Warduni (Auxiliary Bishop of Babylon,
Chaldean Catholic Church)
31. Mar Toma Eramya (Bishop, Ancient Church
of the East, Baghdad)
32. Michael Benyamin
33. Nimrod Baito
(Secretary General, Assyrian Patriotic Party, Iraq)
34. Ninous
Bethyo
35. Nisan Mirza
36. Odisho Dinkha (Ashur Liberation
Movement)
37. Odisho Khoshaba
38. Pauline Jasim (Assyrian American
National Federation, Chicago)
39. Potrus Hurmiz
40. Robert Shimshon
(Assyrian Patriotic Party, Iraq)
41. Robin Bet Shmouel (Iraq)
42.
Romel Shimshon (APP, Iraq)
43. Sa'eed Yulduz (The Assyrian Associations
of Europe)
44. Salam Yaldiko (Chaldean National Federation,
Detroit)
45. Sam Yono (ex-President, Chaldean National
Federation)
46. Shaik Sattar Jabbar Hillu (Head of the Spiritual
Council for the Mandeans)
47. Sham al-Din Jirgees Sim'an (Syria)
48.
Shamoon Shlimon
49. Shiba Mando (Assyrian National Council of
Illinois)
50. Shmouel Noel (APP, Iraq)
51. Sooriya Esho (Secretary,
Assyrian Women Union)
52. Sulaiman Yousif
53. Willy Vonre (Human
Rights without Frontiers, Belgium)
54. Younan Hozaya

List of Telegrams Received

1. Aabid Malakha (research paper)
2. Afram Qomi, New York
3. Amer
Karmo (President Chaldean American Club, San Diego)
4. Andreas Arsalan
(International Institute for Higher Education, Sweden)
5. Arsen
Michaloff (Armenia)
6. Ashurbanipal Civic, Art, and Cultural
Association, Baghdad
7. Ashurbanipal Club, Sweden
8. Assyrian
Chaldean Society (Aukland, New Zealand)
9. Assyrian Cultural Center,
Germany
10. Assyrian Information Center, Sweden.
11. Assyrian Youth
and Student Union.
12. Asyrian Academic Society, Australia.
13.
Athra Society (Stockholm)
14. Aziz Michael (Assyrian Artists
Association, USA)
15. Babil Chaldean Club.
16. Baghdida Theatrical
Group, (Baghdida, Iraq)
17. Basil Goriel (Manager, Aramaic Information
Network, USA)
18. Bet Nahrain National Party.
19. Billy Haido,
SuryoyoAssyrian Club, Chicago
20. Chaldean Communication Network (Voice
of Chaldeans radio station, Detroit)
21. ChaldoAshur Society of
Windsor, Canada.
22. ChaldoAssyrian Writers and Literati Union
23.
Daniel David Bet Benyamin (Assyrian Academic Journal, Chicago)
24.
Deacon Yousif Qeenaya (research paper).
25. Dinkha Warda (Assyrian
Club, Australia)
26. Farouq Giwargis (ChaldoAssyrian Society of San
Diego)
27. Fouad Elia Ballo (Mar Mikha Aid Society, California)
28.
Group of 33 intellectuals, poets, writers, journalists, and
artists.
29. Group of intellectuals from Tellesqof
30. Hamid Essa
Yaldiko (Mar Mikha Aid Society USA/Canada)
31. Hawil Hawil (Assyrian
American Association, Modesto)
32. Iskandar Demiral, Sweden.
33.
Ismat Karmo, Jamal Qalabat (Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce).
34.
Khalid al-Ma'ali (Akkad Newspaper, Toronto, Canada. Editors, Majid Aziza,
Salam al-Saffar, Wadi' Wadi', Basil al-Saffar)
35. Mahir Oraham
(President, Ishtar Cultural Center, Ishtar Radio Station, Detroit, and
Ala' Manour)
36. Mar Giwargis Aid Society of San Diego
37. Mar Oda
Agricultural Society (Ain-Kawa, Iraq)
38. Moshi Moshi, Assyrian
American Association, San Diego
39. Peter Samano (President, Ashur
Association, Sweden)
40. Preparatory Committee for the Chaldean
Democratic Council in USA (Shawqi Qanja, Dr. Nori Mansour, --Amir Jameel,
Deacon Yousif Qeenaya, Jamal Qalabat, Fawzi Dally, Fouad Manna)
41.
Preparatory Committee for the ChaldoAssyran National Council in USA
(Robert Kalaita, Jamal Qalabat, Salam Yaldiko, Ismat Karmo).
42. Qais
Yonan (President al-Usra (The Family) Chaldean Club, USA)
43. Ramzi
George (ex-President, Chaldean American Federation)
44. Residents from
the Arab Emirate Republic (Emmanuel Kalaita, William DelEil, Aprim
Shapira)
45. Sam Zir (President, Chaldean National Federation)
46.
Samuel Sappar (Assyrian American Association of Las Vegas)
47. Sarsank
Village Council, Iraq
48. Sheerav Theatrical Group, Baghdad
49.
Shimsha Acting Group (Ain-Kawa, Iraq)
50. Syriac Society,
Baghdad.
51. Urhai Society for Literature and Arts
52. Wilson Toma
(Assyrian Society of Willington, New Zealand)
53. Yilmaz Karimo,
Swedish Parliament Member.
54. Youkhanna Khamis (Assyrian National
Association, Chicago)
55. Yousif Nadhir (writer, Detroit)
56. Yousif
Zaia d' Jilu, Chicago.
57. Yousif Zarra (Alqosh Civic, Art, and
Cultural Association)

CHALDEAN BISHOP OF
KIRKUK: NEW IRAQ NEEDS EUROPE'S HELP

Courtesy of Zenit News Agency (3 November)

(ZNDA: Rome) Postwar Iraq is hoping that Europe doesn't abandon the
nation. So says new Chaldean Bishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk, in an interview
in this month's issue of the Italian magazine Mondo e Missione.

Bishop Sako, named at the end of September and interviewed while in
Italy as a guest of Pax Christi, is a top figure of the local Chaldean
Church. A former rector of the seminary of Baghdad, he served as parish
priest in the northern city of Mosul.

In recent months, he was elected by the population as the vice
president of the interim Council of Mosul. But, being a priest, he refused
the post in favor of another Chaldean representative. Here are some
passages of the interview.

Q: How is life today in Iraq?

Bishop Sako: Saddam had transformed Iraq into an enormous military
barracks. Two wars and 12 years of embargo resulted in a mass exodus of
Iraqis abroad and a million deaths.

Today the people are happy about the change, the renewed possibility of
freedom. In a few months, 80 new parties were formed, five of which are
Christian. Freedom of press made possible the opening of dozens of new
newspapers. Of these, six are Christian. There are also some Christian TV
broadcasts originating in Mosul.

All this was not possible under Saddam!

Q: But the price of all this was a war.

Bishop Sako: Yes, but the target was not the civilians.

Q: You defend what the Americans did.

Bishop Sako: I am not trying to say that they are angels! They have
their interests; they came to Iraq for that reason, not to free the
Iraqis. But the fruit is, in fact, liberation.

Q: It is feared that Saddam's men are still in circulation.

Bishop Sako: There are no longer any people tied to the dictator. There
are instead Arab combatants that entered Iraq, paid by the fundamentalist
movements of neighboring nations or even by their respective governments.

There are those who do not want an open and free Iraq. The authors of
the continuing clashes are random splinters, without any popular support.

Q: Iraq is moving slowly toward democracy. Are you satisfied with the
"experiments" under way, for example, in Mosul and Kirkuk?

Bishop Sako: Yes. The people appreciate freedom. At times they
criticize the choices of the Americans, but the process under way is
efficient. The population personally elected me as vice president of the
interim Council of Mosul. I refused the post, but am still part of the
council.

We are working with the Americans since last May and I am optimistic.
Undoubtedly the U.S. made some mistakes.

Q: Such as?

Bishop Sako: Their reactions are slow and they above all have not
understood the Iraqi mentality and habits, the story of the nation. But
they have also done some good things. The problem is of not knowing who
they can trust. They live in a constant state of mistrust; the soldiers
tend to shoot on a slight hint of threat.

Q: Why do you say that the Americans do not understand the Iraqis?

Bishop Sako: We are moderates by nature; the extremisms taking place
are fomented from outside. It is very evident that democracy in Iraq would
preoccupy the surrounding nations.

Q: Should we hope for a domino effect, i.e. that a democratic solution
in Iraq will bring positive consequences to the entire region?

Bishop Sako: I don't know. The Iraqi population is among the most
educated of the area. The embargo also largely affected education, but the
Iraqi cultural and academic tradition is at a good level, even the
Americans recognized this.

There is not the same level of education everywhere. What is certain is
that your help is needed: Europe must pressure Iraq's bordering nations.
While we need to learn, American democracy is not the only model -- Europe
has a precious patrimony. The point today is to create an Iraqi-style
democracy.

Q: You are in the process of writing your Constitution.

Bishop Sako: The national committee is at work and among its 200
members there are also five Christians [one of which is Bishop Sako]. But
it takes time. The future will unfold with many small steps, the people
must be formed to a new mentality.

Q: What role do you see for the Christians in this phase?

Bishop Sako: They have an important duty, despite their being
relatively few. But ours is not a strength of numbers, but of culture,
values, fraternity, and openness to friendly criticism.

Q: How much weight did the intervention of the Pope have in avoiding
the conflict being seen as a religious war?

Bishop Sako: Extensive. The Muslims attempted to depict the war as a
crusade against Islam. But they soon realized that the bombings touched
everyone, Christians included, and understood that the U.S. was
intervening in Iraq for economic and political reasons, not religious.

Q: What do you expect of the international community and churches
abroad?

Bishop Sako: To not forget us! There are 700,000 Christians in Iraq.
When in a year Iraq is out of the limelight, who will remember us? It
already occurred with the Gulf War and embargo.

I launch an appeal to all the religious congregations: Come to Iraq to
lend a hand, especially for formation and not only of Christians. We need
to rebuild the actual Iraqi man, and we are not able to do it alone. Iraq
has enormous economic potential, but spiritual resources are also needed.

Q: What future do you see for Iraq? What role do you see for the U.N.?

Bishop Sako: Europe must have a crucial role. There was extensive
support before the war, while today we do not have any political support.
A mistake: Europe must not leave the U.S. alone in the reconstruction of
the nation.

CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS JOIN IN THE RAMADAN DINNER IN
ISTANBUL

Courtesy of Zaman Newspaper (28 October); by Zafer
Ozcan

(ZNDA: Istanbul) The Journalists and Writers Foundation’s traditional
Ramadan dinner last evening at the Hilton Hotel in Istanbul constituted a
veritable mosaic of Turkey.

Spiritual leaders, journalists, writers, academics, artists,
businessmen, and civil society representatives gathered for the 300-person
dinner to convey messages of peace and dialogue.

Speaking at the dinner, Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafian said:
“People who shared the same religion could not get together in this
country until recent times, now people from different religions come
together at the same dinner.”

He noted that this was an important development for Turkey, and added:
“The person to thank for this is Fethullah Gulen and the foundation of
which he is the honorary president. We followed the path opened by him.”

Syrian Bishop Yesuf Cetin also emphasized Gulen’s contributions to the
three celestial religions. He said: “In Turkey, no one dared to invite
Christian and Jews to a Ramadan dinner, but now, they cannot have enough
of us.”

In his speech, Greek Patriarch Bartholomeos said that for peace and
tranquillity in Turkey, everyone should thank Allah and he wished that
Turkey would continue its determination to pursue democratisation and a
place in the European Union.

On behalf of the Jewish community, Rav Ytzak Haleva underlined that the
picture at the dinner was the hope of Allah.

News
Digest

AUA & POLITICAL PARTIES CALL FOR A
CONVENTION

For immediate release
October 20, 2003

The Assyrian Universal Alliance and several political parties; Forkono
(GFA), Shuraya Party, Bet-Nahrain National Alliance, Assyrian Democratic
Party, Patriotic Union of Bethnahrain, Assyrian National Organization and
Bet-Nahrain Freedom Party in a letter of October 7 notified the
Ashurbanipal Council, which was the Preparatory Committee for the
postponed conference of September, 2003 in Baghdad, that the AUA and the
political parties are calling for a political conference or convention as
soon as possible to agree on a unified presentation in order to have any
input for our people in the new constitution for Iraq which is presently
being drafted by the 25 member Constitutional Preparatory Committee.

The AUA and all the above listed political parties were participants in
the Amsterdam Conference. It is their understanding that the Preparatory
Committee, whose members were unknown to the political parties were
selected by the sponsoring Political Parties of the Assyrian Democratic
Movement (Zowaa of Iraq) and the Assyrian Democratic Organization (Tagusta
of Syria).

The Council or the Preparatory Committee was notified in the letter of
October 7 that the conditions outlined in the September invitation made it
difficult if not impossible to be united and of one voice. Since ADM and
ADO were the organizers of the postponed conference of September the AUA
has asked that they along with the Amsterdam Conference Parties hold a
political conference or convention and include all the other political
parties from Diaspora and within Iraq and include as many non-voting
advisors as the parties wish to include so both political, professional
and academic input will be represented at the gathering.

The goal would be to have an agreed proposal that would be directed to
all those listed in the letter of October 7, namely; the Iraq Governing
Council, US Civil Administrator, Ambassador Paul Bremer, the Coalition
Provisional Authority, the US National Security Council, the US Congress,
President George W. Bush and his Administration, the major governments of
the world, the United Nations and the world media. The proposal would also
be distributed throughout the Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac communities.
This procedure in effect would eliminate the excuse that our nation is
divided and fractured.

It was reported that several individuals and organizations had been
invited to a meeting in Baghdad for October 22, 2003 by Zowaa (ADM)
officials and representatives. Apparently the above mentioned political
parties were not to be invited. This assumption was based on several
incidents that happened. First, there has been no communication nor an
answer to our letter of October 7 which was sent to the council and to
representative Yonadam Kanna. It seemed that there was a deliberate effort
to discourage participation of AUA and the political parties. No
invitation or notices were sent to the political parties or any
announcements concerning the postponed meeting and no information was
received announcing any meeting in October. Reports confirmed that some
individuals and organizations were notified and invited since they were
attending such meeting.

Some of the reported incidents referred to were; in Australia why would
a long time senior member of ours receive an invitation to attend? In Iran
some members of the Motvas were invited but they chose not to attend.
Invitations then followed to several Assyrian Iranian individuals to
attend and represent Iran even though they do not represent any Assyrian
organizations. This same pattern was followed in other countries. In
Canada and Russia local representatives were contacted and encouraged to
represent their countries but they declined.

A few weeks ago the ADM American representatives at an unexpected
meeting with AUA failed to confirm that there was an October meeting nor
did they extend an invitation to participate. However, the same
representatives were quick to call and invite our radio program director
to come and take over the Zowaa radio program.

It is strange that no reply to date has been received from the
organizing committee or Zowaa the sponsoring political parties to the
letter of October 7. This letter was sent not only to the Preparatory
Committee but also to governing council representative. Sen. John J.
Nimrod, ret. Secretary General of AUA stated that these kinds of actions
are non productive, unnecessary and detrimental to our cause at a time
when our nation needs to unify and be of one voice before those able to
help us.

We look forward to review the action that will be taken at the October
Baghdad meeting and to see what decisions are made and by whom so that the
results may be taken into consideration by the convention of all the
political parties this year.

Assyrian Universal Alliance
Contact: Carlo
Ganjeh
Cell: 408-892-5914

IRAQ'S CHRISTIANS RUN GAUNTLET OF ANTI-US HOSTILITY

Courtesy of the Daily Telegraph (2 November); by Damien
McElroy

(ZNDA: Baghdad) Hostile sounds of a city in revolt drift over the iron
gate as one of the last Christian families in Ramadi, a hotbed of Islamic
resistance in post-Saddam Iraq, prepares for lunch.

Before the war, the Oro family ran a popular entertainment empire,
serving alcohol in their restaurants and shops. Now, an Islamic fatwa
declares that no one should trade in alcohol on pain of death.

The big casino and dance hall that was once the flagship of the
family's 15-strong property portfolio has been taken over by bearded men
who plan to turn it into Ramadi's premier mosque.

"Fifty years I was working with drink and now I have nothing," said
David Younan Oro, the 70-year-old patriarch, his voice trailing off. "They
drink like donkeys here. Business was good. I had a lot of restaurants and
shops. Now my family tell me they want to kill me for keeping them here in
this place."

Nineteen people share the Oros' small house and its immaculate garden
with rose bushes. The youngest girls, Younan's grandchildren aged between
two and five, cannot speak Arabic but chatter in Assyrian, a language that
dates back to the ninth century BC.

They still manage to travel to Sunday services, piling into a bus
shared with other families, but as the women of the house fried rice in
the kitchen last week, the men - many of whom have Christian names -
argued over when to leave Ramadi.

"We had a very good situation until the fundamentalists began to appear
and we were affected," said Roger William, his son-in-law. "They changed
the idea of Christians among the people and from then on we have suffered.
Because America and Britain are Christian countries, they blame us for the
war. We are terrified. We really don't know what the future will
hold."

Even as war loomed, Younan was confident of expanding his business,
borrowing two million dinars (£1,000) from a tribal chief to open new
premises. In the month that followed the collapse of Saddam's regime, his
shops were broken into and the stock smashed to pieces. He cannot repay
his loan.

"I have nothing," he said. "I do not dare to reopen my shops. Since the
war the people here have to rely on tribes for protection of their
businesses. We have no tribe."

Ramadi, 100 miles west of Baghdad, has long been a stronghold of a
fundamentalist branch of Sunni Islam. Nonetheless, thousands of Christians
were attracted to the area by the prospect of working as clerks, nurses,
cleaners and launderers at the biggest RAF base in the Middle East, 15
miles out of town at Harbiniye.

Younan was born in the mountains on the Turkish border but left to seek
work at Hibbaniyah. "At the time we called this area the 'Second London'
but now it's a joke," he said. "Slowly our people are going."

Only 10 Christian families are left in Ramadi. Charlemagne Shmool, the
parish priest, remembers the English airmen from the base, now taken over
by the Americans. Now there is no hope of work for poverty-stricken local
people: the perimeter has been sealed with earth-filled barricades and
heavily-armed sentries.

He said recent clashes between Christians and Muslims had left one of
his parishioners dead. "The fundamentalists have put pressure on us as
never before," he said. "Within 10 years there will be no Christians in
this area. We will be finished."

There are an estimated 700,000 Chaldean Christians and more than a
million Assyrian Christians in Iraq. Shlimon Wardouni, the Chaldean Bishop
of Baghdad, last week warned the Vatican that the Iraqi Christians faced a
grave future.

"We ask for our interests to be included in the new Iraqi constitution,
for our villages to be protected, for our rights to maintain our
religious, cultural and linguistic traditions to be recognised," he
said.

REV. KENNETH JOSEPH ON FOXNEWS, NOVEMBER 3

(ZNDA: New York) Why does a former human shield now support the war in
Iraq? That was the Big Question for Rev. Kenneth Joseph.

FoxNews Newscaster John Gibson gets to the core of the most salient
issues facing America today as host of hard-hitting primetime show "The
Big Story" with John Gibson. A segment of Noember 3rd program was about
the Christians of Iraq. Gibson's guest in the studio was Rev. Kenneth
Joseph, who appeared at 5:50 p.m. (2:50 p.m. California Time).

Gibson began the last segment of that day’s show by saying that
Americans “have been hearing a lot about many religious groups in Iraq
like the Shi'aa, but not much about the Assyrian Christians.” He stated
that the Assyrian Christians in Iraq were about 2.5 million.

He introduced Rev. Ken Joseph as a former Human Shield who traveled to
Iraq. He asked Rev. Joseph to explain why he had changed his mind? Gibson
reminded the viewers of Joseph's now famous article "I was Wrong."

Before saying anything, Rev. Joseph made sure that the viewers knew who
he was: “I am an Assyrian”, he said.

Then Rev. Joseph replied that his change of heart started soon after
his arrival in Baghdad. He said that it was at a church service when one
parishioner turned to him and told him: “But we do not want to stop the
war.”

Rev. Joseph described the language of the new Iraqi constitution. He
stated that there are strong indications that the new constitution will
indicate an article that Islam is the religion of the state. He stated
that this would not benefit any group and it will be the end for Iraq. He
added that through his communications with various Iraqis, he knows that
they adamantly oppose this and prefer a secular Iraq.

Gibson explained that the Assyrian Christians are 10% of the Iraqi
population. He turned to Rev. Joseph and asked him what is the attitude of
these Christians? Rev. Joseph answered that Iraq actually and originally
was Assyria and that Assyrians have no conflict of interest with the
general population if a secular Iraq was instituted to protect all
Iraqis.

LONDON POLICE ARREST ANTIQUE DEALERS

Courtesy of the Independent (26 October); by Robert
Verkaik

(ZNDA: London) Three antiques dealers have been arrested in a secret
police operation to combat the growing trade in artefacts stolen from
Iraq.

Officers from Scotland Yard's Arts and Antiques Unit have recovered a
number of valuable pieces stolen from Iraqi museums and archaeological
sites since 1990. It follows newly introduced United Nations laws that
came into force in Britain in June which make it an offence to be
knowingly involved in the importation or exportation of illegally removed
Iraqi cultural property.

One of the suspects, a 75-year-old dealer who holds a British passport
and is of Iranian descent, was arrested and released on police bail last
month during an undercover investigation into a central London antiques
gallery.

In connection with that arrest, officers recovered an Assyrian "stone
relief" depicting a "sacred winged guardian holding fruit from a sacred
tree" worth many thousands of pounds.

The item was looted from the palace of Ashur Nasir-pal II in central
Iraq after the first Gulf War of 1991.

Dr Neil Brodie, the co-ordinator of the Illicit Antiques Research
Centre, which was established to help archaeologists combat the massive
looting in the aftermath of the first Gulf War, said the new legislation
gave police forces wide powers to target the trade in Iraqi antiquities.
He said it was impossible to put a value on the illicit Iraqi trade in
London but that it probably ran into millions of pounds.

VATICAN IS NOT OPPOSED TO TURKEY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Courtesy of Zenit News Agency (28 October)

(ZNDA: Ankara) The Vatican is not opposed to Turkey's entry in the
European Union, says the papal nuncio in Ankara, Turkey.

Archbishop Edmond Farhat, in statements added that the Holy See would
like Turkey to complete its reforms in the area of personal and religious
liberties before becoming an EU member.

The archbishop said that the Vatican's main criticism of Ankara is that
the Church is not legally recognized in Turkey, a fact which Turkish
authorities have made no effort to address.

Surfs Up!
Letters From Zinda
Magazine Readers

HOLOCAUST OR SELF-IMMOLATION

The true purpose of the holocaust is the 'annihilation of a
people'.

In the Assyrian case, it doesn't have to be
perpetrated by the enemy, that is, if there ever was one. We are our
own enemies. We are the perpetrators.

Last night, November 2, I
attended a gathering of some 150 people assembled at the St. Mary's
Parish of the Assyrian Church of the East in Los Angeles.

The
main speaker who has just returned from Iraq, was none other than my
old friend, relative and comrade-in-arms, Robert deKelaita.

Throughout his 55 minutes speech, he mentioned not even once the
word Assyria or Assyrians. Instead the harangue went on about Zowaa,
and his partisans' and their decision to change and to submit a new
name for us. Chaldeo-Aramaic-Syriac-Christian-Assyrian. I believe he
forgot to insert the word Kurd into this conglomeration.

We all
know very well the docility of our nationals. Here they are, sitting
in the hall of their Church, and being members of the
Assyrian-American Association of Southern California, and giving him
an applause--although politely.

I wanted to walk out of the
hall, but, I had my family with me, and didn't wish to impose my
feelings upon them to follow suit. So I just sat. However, when Mr. De
Kelaita declared that they had reached the decision to make such a
change, I simply stood up and repeating myself two times, said: "It's
Wrong. It's Wrong.”

I am sure you can assess the rest. But, in
short, I walked out right after he had finished his
speech.

Atour, I have a question. Is this the trend in Chicago
nowadays for our people to go around muddling our name, the only thing
left sacred to us? Is Mark (Thomas) with the same opinion as
Robert?

Should our churches, associations, federation all scrap
their name in favor of a new one?

The theory behind all this
is that it makes us stronger. Stronger for what, submission?

If it is so, then why not be simply Americans, English,
French, Deutch, Iranians, Kurds, Turks or Bedouins.

For 438
years no other voice, except that of the Assyrians was raised in
protecting our identity. All the rest, Chaldeans, Syriacs, and the
unheard of, (and frankly, nonexitent) people that some think they do
exist, like Aramaic or Christian Kurds, had accepted the way of life
they had chosen. Assyrians that wished to retain their identity never
stood in their way.

We still don't and won't stand on anyone's
way to categorize themselves any which way they feel.

In
conclusion, just glance at the international institutions' curricula.
There is Assyriology, Assyrian Bas-Reliefs, Assyrian Art, Assyrian
Tablets, Assyrian Philosophy, Assyrian Cuisine. There are no courses
being offered anywhere on Chaldeology, Kurdeo-Christianity, nor
Aramaity. Although there are churches of Chaldean ideology, Chaldean
Patriarchs, and a language known to us as Aramaic.

If you can
respond to me on this matter, please do so.

Ivan Kakovitch
California

“A SYRIAN”, NOT “ASSYRIAN”

Z-info: Last week, the Australian Broadcast Company
reported an “Assyrian” as a possible bombing suspect in an attack
against the U.S. troops around Baghdad. With the help of our readers
and Zinda team in Australia, this error was quickly corrected. Mr.
David Chebo, our correspondent wrote to ABC as follows:

Dear ABC, I was greatly disappointed by the error in an article
titled, Bombing bloodshed puts Baghdad residents on edge published by
Sally Sara on Tuesday the 28th of October. In the article I was amazed
to read the following sentence; "Another attack was averted when
police opened fire at a bomber before he could blow himself up.
Coalition officials say the man was Assyrian."

After cross checking with several other media releases to confirm
if this was in fact true I have come to the conclusion that your
reporter may have inadvertently either misspelled or misheard the
report regarding the captured bomber.

In all other articles the bomber has been clearly identified as a
Syrian and not Assyrian. A big difference. Needless to say this type
of erroneous media coverage paints a negative image of our people in
Iraq who have and continue to unfortunately support the US-led
forces.

We’d like to please request a retraction and if possible a
correction of this article.

Thanking you in advance for your time and consideration.

David Chibo

Z-info: The following is a response from ABC:

Hello David, I apologise for this error. It wasn't even the
journalist, as when I listened to the audio it was "a Syrian" but run
together quickly it sounded like "Assyrian" so I suspect our
transcriber has misheard.

I have now corrected this mistake in our online transcript: http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2003/s976529.htm

Rhiannon Treasure-Brand
Radio Current
Affairs

THE REAL AUTHOR, PLEASE!

As I was reading your current issue, The Lighthouse's article was
referring to all of the questions which were brought to our attention
by Mr. David Oraha in your April 28th, 2003 issue and it can also be
found on Nohra's website (http://nohra.ca/magazine/news/assyarewe.htm).

It would have been important to refer to Mr. Oraha as the author of
those questions.

Nevertheless, I congratulate all of Zinda's team for the effort
invested on the magazine. Yours in Assyrianism,

Mary Younan

[Z-info: Zinda Magazine stands corrected for the
unintentional oversight.]

THE VOICE OF REASON

It is so unfortunate and saddening that we are still unable to
learn from our own mistakes and insist on discrediting each other’s
views and efforts. The Chaldean Syriac Assyrian General Conference
held in Baghdad last month has published its final declaration, which
clearly demands from the Iraqis to recognize our most important
national rights in the new constitution. Alas, and yet to hear the
Iraqis’ response, we hear some of our own voices that refused to
attend the conference (even as observers!) and now are discrediting
everything came out from this conference. Ironically, we heard from
the Iraqis more support than we have expected from our own people when
the IGC representative tells us “This is not the country where you
live, this is your country”. I think this is a huge turn in the Iraqi
public view, which we never have faced before, to have high ranking
Iraqi official attend our own conference demanding our own national
rights and yet talks to us with these powerful words.

We know that there is more than one group who opposed and boycott
this conference. First group is the new separatists of politicians and
clergies in the Chaldean congregation who are even planning for their
own conference in February 2004. They are advocating for creating new
ethnic group or nation! There are questions yet to be answered by this
group on why these voices suddenly became loud and what ethnicity they
held all these decades if not centuries. Second group is those who
disagree only with the “dictatorship” of the leaders of Zowaa, as they
claim, for adopting the new name “ChaldoAssyrians”. However, they do
not say a word on their position about the demands in this declaration
and whether it suffices our national rights or not. The third group is
those who could not take their stand in this challenge and opted, as
usual, to wait for some outcome that might help them in their future
decision! This group reminds me the priest’s words during any wedding
ceremony proceedings when he asks the crowd if anyone opposes this
marriage should speak out now or keeps his silence forever.

To these three groups, I would say with all respect, do you have
the courage to show your real intentions and can you face your nation
and tell your exact reasons for your stands against these efforts? Can
you present your solid analogy, far from empty emotional words, on why
these demands fail to fulfill our national rights and if so, what are
your alternatives? Don’t you all agree that it would have been much
more successful should our media have covered the conference in a
productive and supportive ways? Don’t you all agree that being present
in the event to express your views and address your points of
disagreement would be more productive than doing it now after the fact
and in a passive way?

Some shameless voices are even advocating for depriving our
clergies from expressing their views or taking their stand in the
current efforts to reinstate our national rights. To these voices I
would say, our clergies have full rights to engage and to express
their views for more than one reason. Firstly, they are part of this
nation and have equal rights and freedom as others have to speak out
their views. Secondly, they have the obligations towards their
faithful to express their blessing and support to what they believe is
the best interests of our nation.

Let us hear the voice of reason in our nation to speak out
objectively, clearly and beyond doubt. Let the voice of reason and not
anger address these demands stated in the final declaration and prove
if they fail to serve our national rights and what are the alternative
demands. We need to hear from our true nationalists their voice of
rationale to improve and enrich our efforts rather than those loud
empty voices of unconstructive criticism. We need productive
individuals with positive attitudes to engage in the struggle for our
national rights. We must prove that we are civilized, as we claim. We
are rich in our own intellectuals, politicians and activists who are
able to present our case to the world and build adequate international
support. Our current efforts must lead us to the full recognition of
our national rights otherwise; we will face another failure and we
have no one to blame except ourselves.

Alfred Alkhas
California

A ZINDA READER’S LETTER TO NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

I read with interest your article about the ancient treasures of
Iraq, specifically the Gold of Nimrud (October 2003). Considering the
age of these magnificent Assyrian pieces, we can truly say that their
workmanship puts Tiffany's to shame. I was somewhat disappointed,
though, at your failure to mention the background of Mr. Donny George
Youkhana, the man in charge of the Baghdad Museum. Here's an Assyrian
Christian in 2003 guarding the treasures of his pre-Christianity
ancestors. I consider the linkage quite fascinating and certainly
worth citing.

Bailis Y. Shamun
North
Carolina

Surfer's
Corner

ASSYRIOLOGY LECTURE SERIES AT LEIDEN UNIVERSITY

A series of seminars on the "Trade and Politics in Ancient
Assyria"
Professor Klaas Veenhof, Leiden University

November 6, 20, and 27, 2003 at 18.00 (6 pm).

All seminars will take place in the Committee Room (next to the Council
Room in the Registry Corridor)
Main Building, UCL

All welcome.

Fore more details: Institute of Jewish Studies, 020 7679 3520,
[email-masked]; fax. 0044 (0)20 7209 1026

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Literatus

PLEASE, SHOW ME SOME ACTION AND SPARE ME THE TALK!

The Assyrian Christians could face serious problems in Iraq if certain
issues are not addressed and solved immediately. First, have we wondered
how the predominantly Christian north become so dominating by Kurds? What
will the Assyrians face in an official Kurdish north knowing that the
Kurds have persistently persecuted them, marginalized their presence and
labeled them Christian Kurds and have tried hard to divide them across
their religious denominations? Few articles have addressed the first
question and mainly from its historical perspective, i.e. the creation of
the so-called Iraqi Kurdistan. However, there is an obvious neglect in
studies about the sociological and geopolitical implications of the Kurd's
plans on the indigenous Assyrians and on north of Iraq respectively.
Second, what would the future of Assyrian Christians be in a country that
is insisting on its Islamic essence and perhaps be administered and run by
the Islamic Law of Shari'aa? What will happen to the Assyrian Christians
if the Iranian experience was imported to Iraq, since the Iran backed
Shi'aa segment are very influential? The Assyrians must concentrate on
these two core issues.

Before we Attempt to simply addressing these two questions, Assyrians
must take a step back, examine, and evaluate their political and national
achievements on the national and international levels, where they stand
today and finally be objective and realistic. To examine and evaluate the
stand of any group of people, we must first examine and evaluate the
political, civic, and religious structure and groups that represents those
people. This I say because this structure and those groups are the front
face of the community. It would be appropriate and vital therefore to look
at two groups of organizations: Those at home and those at the Diaspora.
Now, keeping the two core issues mentioned above in mind, the question I
would like to ask is: what are the Assyrian organizations doing towards
such dangers? Do they have a strategy or a solution for this disaster that
is looming from a distance? I want to look at the issue from the
perspective of an Assyrian from the Diaspora in this short post.

For months, we have seen and heard continuous attacks on the person of
the Secretary General of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), Mr.
Yonadam Kanna. Mind you, that he was selected by the Americans as one of
the 25 members of the Iraqi Governing Council to represent the Assyrian
Christians and with the approval of many Iraqi leaders. Leading these
attacks is the AssyriaSat TV station based in Ceres California. Bet
Nahrain Inc. runs this satellite station under the leadership of Dr.
Sargon Dadesho, President of the Assyrian National Congress (ANC). These
attacks come from other members of the Bet Nahrain.Inc., including its
Vice President and other TV programs hosts (check for example Sunday
October 19, 2003 program). Week after week, the members of AssyriaSat have
attacked, marginalized, undermined, and made some wild claims that are
beyond any logic against the ADM and other individuals who are supporting
the ADM and its efforts of uniting our people in Iraq.

The Vice President of Bet Nahrain Inc. claims that when Mr. Kanna fled
Iraq to Urmia due to fear of persecution, it was Bet Nahrain Democratic
Party (BNDP) that supported him financially. Additionally, she claims that
in 1996, when Iraqi troops invaded Arbil, Mr. Kanna and ADM fighters
abandoned their main centers and fled to Syria. She further claims that it
was the BNDP fighters, who protected ADM centers, their properties, and
some of the remaining ADM members. [1]

The questions here to ask
are: first, what "BNDP fighters" is the Vice President speaking of and
what is their numbers in Iraq? Second, if the BNDP was that powerful for
being able to present all that support and protection in 1996 (as she
claims) with the absence and departure of the ADM's leadership and
fighters, what prevented the BNDP to fill the vacuum created? Furthermore,
as persecuted Assyrians, why was the ADM leadership compelled to flee
while the Bet Nahrain personnel were able to remain? On top of this all,
why is it that BNDP has failed to gain the support of the people after
over 30 years of existence in Iraq or Diaspora for that matter?

The Vice President did not stop there. She and her brother have begun a
tireless campaign in order to dominate the Internet forums as well, just
as they do with the TV media. They came strong and flooded the Assyrian
forum with accusations against this and that who sympathize with and
support the ADM or the efforts of unity. However, they did not understand
that Internet forums are not like TV station programs. While a host on the
AssyriaSat TV programs can say whatever he/she pleases without any
challenges (as they sensor who calls majority of the time, with few
exceptions) the Internet based forums are visited by many educated and
intellectuals who seldom tolerate nonsense and lies and will speak their
mind. While AssyriaSat is driven by and for BNDP, most of the popular
Assyrian Internet forums are not driven by a specific Assyrian
organization, thus, in that capacity they are unbiased.

In one of her posts directed at me personally, the Vice President of
Bet Nahrain Inc. accused me of receiving paychecks from the ADM to
influence my opinion and stand towards the combined ChaldoAssyrian name.
[2] Her accusations are of course absurd and a total lie. I have
challenged her on the Assyrian forum to prove her allegations, and I am
continuing to do that here on Zinda Magazine.

Allow me to clear up
an issue here. Depending on the article I write, I try if necessary, to
address an issue from various perspectives. That does not mean that I
personally am a believer in every thought that I present in such article
for the sake of making the argument. For example, here is what I stated in
my first complete article about the name issue:
"I personally would
have preferred the more historic "Assyrian" name or yet the inclusive
"Assyrians (including Chaldeans and Suryan)" compromise in exchange for a
better national future for all the Syriac-speaking people in Iraq. But the
question remains, am I in position to speak on behalf of the Assyrians in
Iraq? Well, maybe not. Still, this is my name and changing or altering it
makes it my business." [3] Does the above mean that I no longer defend the
Assyrian name, as few at Bet Nahrain Inc. claim?

Furthermore, AssyriaSat through many of its programs has labeled Mr.
Kanna and the ADM as traitors to the Assyrian cause and name (check for
example October 26, 2003 program) because and as it claims, Mr. Kanna has
decided on his own to change the name of our nation to ChaldoAssyrians.
Program after another, the hosts forbade Mr. Kanna from altering the
Assyrian national name and questioned his authority to make such changes.
Allow me to say that talk is cheap, and there is nothing more repulsive to
Assyrians to hear Assyrian public figures investing so much of their time
(seems that they have a lot of free time) on attacking other Assyrians
when they should be working on the benefits of our people. The question
that comes to mind immediately is: what have these attackers done for the
Assyrian cause. Mr. Kanna and the ADM did not alter the Assyrian name,
they made a suggestion based on conditions on the ground and called a
conference, and over 160 (close to 1000 attendees at the opening ceremony)
representatives of different organizations, institutions and various
church denominations, speakers, intellectuals, scholars, and notables
attended that conference in Baghdad. They agreed on this ChaldoAssyrian
title as our national and Syriac as our language and cultural unifying
names. They argued that we could not change hundreds of years of disputes
over night and that we needed time to rectify the mistakes and heal the
wounds.

What the AssyriaSat and Bet Nahrain Inc. are purposely refusing to
mention is that these compound names were not invented by ADM. In November
29, 1996, both patriarchs, the Late Mar Raphael I Bidawid (Chaldean
Catholic Church) and Dinkha IV (Assyrian Church of the East) signed a
joint declaration at the Chaldean Diocese in South Field, Michigan.

In article (2) of that declaration, the two patriarchs, joined by,
among others, Bishops Bawai Soro, Ibrahim Ibrahim, Sarhad Jammo (Fr. Jammo
at the time), agreed that the two churches are but two branches of the
same historic Church of the East. They went on to state that the two
patriarchs wished God's help to achieve the union of the two branches.
With this declaration, they sought to encourage their Chaldean and
Assyrian congregations to protect their Christian faith and save their
"Assyrian-Chaldean" heritage. Article (3) (point gamal or "C") of the
declaration stressed the strengthening of the mother Aramaic language by
both churches. In article (5), the two patriarchs asked all clergymen and
believers to support this unity for the sake of love, hope, glory to the
name of God and the benefit of all "Assyrian-Chaldean" people.

If Bet Nahrain Inc. and its official mouthpiece AssyriaSat (Assyria
Vision) would continue to label ADM (ZOWAA) as a traitor through many of
their programs, shouldn't they show us their stand from the use of
"Assyrian-Chaldean" (Atouraya-Kaldaya) use by the two patriarchs? If ZOWAA
had used the "Assyrian-Chaldean" style, just like the two patriarchs had
used in their declaration, would that be acceptable by Bet Nahrain Inc.?

Furthermore, allow me to read to you excerpts from the constitution of
BNDP printed in Sargon Dadesho's book, "The Assyrian National Question."
The constitution reads, quote: "The measuring rod of any race or people,
as reflected by its mark of cultural progress, is the degree of social
unity which it possesses: where a union of hearts and hands has prevailed,
a nation or race prospers; where the contrary is true, that nation or race
perishes." [4] Unquote. The above are big impressive words! What have the
Bet Nahrain Party (since 1970) and BNDP (since April 1974) done to
accomplish this noble goal? The Assyrian public is tired of paper-style
organizations that are empty of substance, organizations that are about
issuing declarations and signing worthless petitions only. Assyrians want
to see a national agenda and an ideology that is backed by a solid plan
and finally a follow up process to ensure the implementation of such
plans. Assyrians want to see:

1. Plans to help the Assyrians in Jordan, who have been there
helplessly for 12 years.
2. Resolutions about Assyrians that pass in
the United States Congress.
3. Plans to help the thousands of Assyrians
in Greece who are still considered illegal in the country regardless to
how long they have been there.
4. Plans to pass a resolution in the
U.S. to recognize the Assyrian Genocide.
5. Plans to unite this
nation.
6. Plans to protect our youth in the Diaspora.
7. Build
cultural centers that attracts Assyrian youth and provide serious cultural
programs.
8. Plans to recognize and protect the Assyrians in their
ancestral homelands.
9. Plans to regain and establish Assyria in the
end.
10. Invest in the production and publication of programs and books
to familiarize the West about Assyrians and their political, national, and
cultural struggle.

How much of AssyriaSat time is invested in exposing the oppressive
policies of the Kurdish groups in north of Iraq? How much time is invested
in exposing the unfair acts of Barzani and Talabani? How much of
AssyriaSat programs is devoted for educating the Arabic and English
speaking audience about the Kurdish atrocities, past and present, against
the Assyrians? Instead of devoting AssyriaSat main time on exposing the
Kurdish atrocities, AssyriaSat's time is greatly invested in attacking
Assyrians of Iraq! That amazes me. Whom is AssyriaSat serving? Why is
AssyriaSat attacking Mr. Kanna and the ADM day in and day out, when it
does not attack the Kurds in the same manner? The Kurds, who are the main
reason for much of our weakness, oppressions, loss of lands and
properties, loss of villages, assassinations, forced migrations, etc. with
the same intensity? My family used to wait on pins and needles to visit
weekends in Modesto, visit family members, and watch AssyriaSat. My father
used to be so happy sitting there and watching an Assyrian international
TV station, he used to be so proud. Today, he does not want to watch it
any more; it depresses him hearing all these personal attacks on fellow
Assyrians by Assyrians while the world is watching.

With the announcement of the General Conference in Baghdad that took
place on October 22-24, 2003, to address many issues that concern our
people, certain organizations declared that they were boycotting that
conference. One must ask: why? Instead of boycotting the conference and
attacking the ADM and the conference, the small Assyrian organizations
that predominantly have hand-counted members, should have participated and
presented their own views and alternatives.

In the West, Assyrian organizations scream, "We want Atour, we want
Atour." Well, unlike poets, writers, and speakers, political organizations
must have a strategy and plan to accomplish this dream; words alone will
not cut it. The Diaspora organizations have failed to gain a wide base
support, and that is only natural since the people know the reality of
these organizations; they have been exposed for what they really
represent. They are in many cases a one-man show, sometimes driven for
economical reasons while cleverly taking advantage of the simple minded
emotional Assyrians. They scream Atour, Atour when they have not yet put
the fundamental foundations for how to bring this Atour to existence. To
cover their failure, they boycott such conferences because they cannot
attend and reject the reality on the ground or the solutions presented and
most importantly provide their alternative solutions. There is nothing
easier than to sit there and scream and attack; is this Assyrianism; the
ultimate national activity?

I want to end with a question by Raabi Willian Daniel, who writes: "Our
poor nation has become like a garden without a fence or a ripe wheatfield
without a scarecrow. There is no obstruction of any kind to check any
glutton whose fancy drives him to jump in and satiate his greed. What are
you and I doing about it? How long shall this state of things jeopardize
the destiny of a people or shall we remain speechless until it is too late
to divert disaster?" [5] I wish Raabi Daniel was alive; he would have been
pleased with the final statement of the ChaldoAssyrian Conference in
Baghdad, because only in unity we will survive.

We are Assyrians,
no one can change that; the Greeks, Romans, Parthians, Sassanids, Arabs,
Mongols, Tartars, and Ottoman Turks could not take that away from us.
Assyrians (including Chaldeans, Nestorians, and Jacobites) need time to
gather the lost pieces. With a correct history curriculum in a free
democratic Iraq, our children will read Assyrians' true history and they
will realize who they are. With education, we will defeat this disease of
ignorance that is dividing us; our future generations will get over these
mishaps, misunderstandings, and mistakes. Let us give the Assyrians of
Iraq that chance.

Fred Aprim
California

References and Notes:

[1] http://www.aina.org/bbs/index.cgi?read=13499
[2]
http://www.aina.org/bbs/index.cgi?read=11761
[3]
http://www.atour.com/government/docs/20030611a.html
[4] Sargon Dadesho,
"The Assyrian National Question." Modesto, 1987, p. 260.
[5] William
Daniel, "Assyrians of Today: Their Problem and a Solution." Chicago, 1969,
p. 42.

NEW IRAQ ON ITS WAY TO BECOMING ISLAMIC STATE

Courtesy of the Daily Telegraph (29 October); by David
Rennie

The United States is failing in its mission to create a secular,
overtly pro-Western Iraq, a leading adviser to the American administrator
Paul Bremer said.

Instead, the new, democratic Iraq appears bound to be an Islamic state
- with an official role for Islam, and Islamic law enshrined in its
constitution.

That prospect is triggering alarm and opposition from the White House
and the Pentagon, according to Noah Feldman, a leading American expert in
Islamic law.

Dr Feldman served as senior constitutional adviser to the Coalition
Provisional Authority, working closely with Mr Bremer. Returning from
Baghdad this summer, the New York University law professor now works as an
unpaid adviser to the CPA, to the White House, and to different factions
in the Iraqi Governing Council.

"The end constitutional product is very likely to make many people in
the US government unhappy. It's not going to look the way people imagined
it looking," said Dr Feldman.

"Any democratically elected Iraqi government is unlikely to be secular,
and unlikely to be pro-Israel. And frankly, moderately unlikely to be
pro-American."

While these predictions are spreading alarm inside the administration,
Dr Feldman advocates dealing with Islamic democrats.

He argues that Islamic parties will rise anyway, and are most dangerous
when forced underground by secular autocrats. Such views led Pentagon
officials to accuse Dr Feldman of being "soft on Islam".

"When I tell them these things [Islam and Islamic law] are going to be
in the constitution, people are very concerned about it. They want to know
what can be done to avoid these things. There's still a hope that the
country will be as secular as possible.

"But frankly nothing in Iraq is going to look the way people imagined.
Maybe if people had taken that on board, they might have felt differently
about the plan for an invasion."

The hawkish idealists who pushed hardest for regime change in Iraq saw
the fall of Baghdad as the first step towards remaking the Middle
East.

In their vision, Iraq would rise up as a democratic, secular, free
market capitalist beacon to its neighbours - guided, at least initially,
by such exiled leaders as Ahmad Chalabi, a secularist and Pentagon
favourite.

In their plan, the country was to be turned into a federation of 18 or
so provinces, preventing such powerful ethnic factions as the Kurds from
setting up autonomous fiefdoms that might split the country apart and
threaten the stability of an already volatile neighbourhood.

Yet the Kurds have made it plain that they expect to emerge with an
autonomous Kurdish region, and will not support any constitution that
would split their territory into mini-provinces, Dr Feldman reported.
Though US allies, the Kurds retain 40,000 men under arms, and have
declined US invitations to disband such militias.

Pentagon officials sent Dr Feldman to
Baghdad for his knowledge of Islamic law. In many ways he was an unlikely
candidate: he is a Democrat, Jewish and still only 32.

One senior administration official declared before the war that the
first foreign policy of a democratic Iraq would be to recognise
Israel.

"I don't know what he was smoking when he said that," said Dr Feldman.
He argued that Iraqi-Israeli relations were off the radar, as Washington
struggled simply to keep Iraq from slipping into disaster.

[Z-info: Dr. Feldman is an Assistant Professor of
Law at New York University School of Law. He received his A.B. from
Harvard University, D.Phil. from Oxford University in 1994 and his Law
Degree from Yale Law School in 1997 at the age of 26. Dr. Feldman can be
reached for comments at [email-masked].]

WE WANT TO BE JUST LIKE YOU!

Courtesy of the United Press International (28 October);
by Rev. Ken Joseph Jr.

(ZNDA: Baghdad) On a quiet afternoon in Baghdad I waited with some
trepidation for a meeting with a member of the Preparatory Committee for
the Constitution of the Iraqi Governing Council. This is the group charged
with putting together the recommendations for the new Iraqi
constitution.

I say with trepidation because after conversations
with Ambassador Paul Bremer and sitting in on his testimony before
Congressional Committees it seemed clear that the Iraqi constitution would
be an Islamic one.

Critic after critic I spoke to was clear that the battle for a secular
constitution for Iraq was over. Words such as "they are just going to have
to live with it," referred to the minority Assyrian Christians, of whom I
am one. As can be imagined, many Christians in Iraq are alarmed at the
prospect of a post-Saddam Iraq being even worse than when he was in power,
and that a secular dictator will be replaced by an Islamic fundamentalist
regime.

The most important issue facing Iraq is in fact the
constitution. If a secular constitution is put in place establishing the
rule of law with a clear separation of church and state, then there is
truly a future for Iraq. Having been born and raised in Japan I have lived
the miracle of what an American-imposed constitution did for a nation in a
similar state as Iraq now finds itself in. The constitution is critical.

Ambassador Bremer when asked the question "will the future Iraqi
constitution contain the words 'Islam is the religion of the State'
replied 'that is for the Iraqis to decide -- after all the British
constitution is 'Christian.'"

His clear testimony, much to the
consternation of the committee members was that they were doing the best
to get a good, secular constitution for the Iraqi people but that as a
Muslim country they really had no choice and could not insist. Imagine my
surprise when I began to speak with the representative from the very
committee charged with making the recommendations for the constitution of
Iraq.

"The committee will be recommending that there be no
inclusion of any ideology or religion in the constitution."

I was
expecting to get into an argument as to how Iraq must not have an Islamic
constitution if there was any hope for the country to succeed. I was
completely taken aback as the representative continued.

"If there
is any mention of religion or ideology or a phrase such as 'Islam is the
religion of the state,' it will be the death of democracy in
Iraq."

Any such mention would disenfranchise half of the Iraqi
population -- namely the women.

I could not believe my ears. I
thought the Iraqi committee as had been clearly presented in Washington
were going to put together a constitution that was Islamic. The Coalition
was doing all it could to persuade them otherwise but it was a losing
battle.

The representative continued: "The Iraqi people are secular and will
never accept any mention of this in the constitution. We do not want to
become like Iran.

"We just want to become like a normal country. We
want a constitution that is secular and gives local autonomy. It is
against the teaching of the Koran to allow religion's involvement in
government.

"We have suffered for many, many long years under
dictatorship and we will never, never lose this chance for democracy and
freedom that has finally come to us."

I was stunned! Why was the
message so different?

I then proceeded to explain the testimony of
Ambassador Bremer before various congressional committees which I had
attended as well as my personal conversation with him.

The
response was immediate anger! "That is none of Mr. Bremer's business!"

Then the anger turned to surprise. "We thought the Americans
wanted democracy to grow in Iraq? Why would they even think of an Islamic
constitution?"

What could I say? I had no words! Why in the world
would the Americans fight a war to liberate Iraq only to let the country
fall into an Islamic government worse than the one it had
before?

Well, there is hope. The Iraqis are more intelligent than
we give them credit for and their message is simple. Do not speak for us.
We will speak for ourselves. We will never allow victory to be snatched
from us. We will be free.

Rev. Kenneth Joseph
Japan

[Z-info: Rev. Ken Joseph Jr., an Assyrian has been in
Iraq since before the war and is currently writing a book based on his
experiences in Iraq entitled "I Was Wrong."]

Bravo

ASSYRIAN SOCCER FEVER RULES SWEDEN

Six thousands years ago the Assyrian Empire was the governing power in
Mesopotamia. It has been called “The Cradle of Civilisation” because of
its many contributions to the afterworld. One of them, maybe not have been
planned for in the early years before Christ, is the Assyrian soccer who
has flourished and filled the hearts of many soccer-lovers with warmth in
the cold home grounds of Sweden.

In Södertälje, a Swedish city inhabited by 80,000 people, people are
preparing for the greatest soccer event ever happened in the history of
the city. The pride of Södertälje, soccerteam Assyriska has against all
odds managed to make it to the finals of the Swedish Cup, where the winner
is granted participation in next years UEFA Cup.

Assyriska, which is also a cultural association started by Assyrian
immigrants in 1971, has made the impossible possible. Playing in
Superettan, counterpart to Englands Division 1, Assyriska has beaten three
Allsvenskan, counterpart to Englands Premiere League, teams on their way
to the final; Örebro SK (away) 3-2, IFK Göteborg (home) 4-1 and in the
semi-final the Assyrians claimed their greatest victory ever by
humiliating the reigning Swedish Champions, Djurgården, on their home
arena by four goals to nothing.

The success has created a media storm where every newspaper, radio
channel and TV network has shown their interest in the Association’s fairy
tale. This is understandable because this story has gained tremendous
attention world-wide because it engages not only on the sports field but
also on the politics.

For the Assyrian people who do not have their own country, Assyriska
has become more of a national team for all Assyrians all over the world,
explains Robil Haidari Head of Marketing. “This means that fans from
Europe, USA and even Australia are present for the final”, he
continues.

The final game was played 1st of November against Elfsborg from
Allsvenskan. No matter the outcome of the final the Assyrian people had
stated the following: The Assyrian people were not exterminated by the
fall of Nineveh in 612 BC. On the contrary their descendants are living
prosperous successful lives which their forefathers should be proud of. In
the footprints of their forefathers they are still contributing to the
world of today.”

Moussa Esa
Hujådå Magazine
Assyriska Riksförbundet i
Sverige
The Assyrian Federation in Sweden

ASSYRISKA SOCCER TEAM- A BRIEF HISTORY

Assyriska are now firmly established as Södertälje's leading football
club. They are in their sixth successive season in the Swedish First
Division - known as the Superettan. The club attracts average gates of
nearly 2,000 to their picturesque Bårsta ground on the outskirts of the
town.

All this is a far cry from Assyriska's humble origins back in 1971,
when they began as a club playing local league football. In 1975,
Assyriska made the step up from local football - the "Korpen" as it is
known (literal translation "raven league") - to Division 7 East. It was a
baptism of fire as Assyriska finished bottom, with no points and 101 goals
conceded.

But Assyriska soon found their feet in Swedish football's national
pyramid. In 1979 they gained promotion to Division 6, winning all 14
games. Benjamin "Müller" Bakircioglu grabbed 49 of the team's 62
goals.

The 1980s witnessed a meteoric rise through the regional divisions,
culminating in promotion to Division 2 in 1990. In 1992, Assyriska made it
into the First Division for the first time.

The mid 1990s saw some yo-yoing between Division 1 and 2 but towards
the end of the decade Assyriska cemented their position in Division 1,
with young stars Kennedy Bakircioglu and Fredrik Samuelsson earning Sweden
Under-18 caps.

The 1999 season saw Assyriska's best season to date, as they finished
second in Division 1 and met Örebro in a play-off to qualify for the
Swedish Premier Division (Allsvenskan). Assyriska gave their illustrious
rivals a real fright, with a 1-1 draw at Bårsta followed by a narrow 2-1
defeat in the second leg at Örebro.

The last two years have been ones of consolidation in the recently
formed Superettan, with three different managers at the helm. Rolf
Zetterlund was sacked after a poor start in 2000 and replaced by the
popular Peter Antoine. However, Antoine quit on health grounds at the end
of 2001 and Kent Karlsson stepped into his place.

Now Assyriska is once more on the up and pushing for that elusive step
into Sweden's elite division.

Paul Eade
Sweden

[Z-info: To learn more about Assyriska Soccer (football)
team visit http://www.assyria.se/.]

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You!

Zindamagazine would like to thank:

Dr. Matay Arsan (Holland)

David Chibo
(Australia)

Tomas Isik (Sweden)

Petr Kubalek (Czech
Republic)

Hanna Chamoun (Holland)

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