7 Yaar 6754

Volume X

Issue 9

26 April 2004

W h e r e....A s s y r i a n s...G e t...T h e i r...N e w s...&...I n f o r m a t i o n

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Over 350 Assyrian youth gathered last week in Sweden to participate at an educational conference (photo courtesy of Jacklin Chabe).

This Week in Zinda

Zinda Says

Who's in Charge Here?

Wilfred Bet-Alkhas

The Lighthouse

A Report on the Assyrian Youth Federation Seminar in Sweden
Assyro-Chaldeans of France Commemorate the Martyrs of 1915

Dr. Matay Arsan (Holland)
Antoni Yalap (France)

Good Morning Assyria

Bishop Warduni Pleads Americans to Stay

News Digest

Yonadam Kanna in the United States
Yonadam Kanna Joins Future of Iraq Conference in Washington
Iraqi Governing Council Member to Speak in Modesto
Shattered Lives on a Baghdad Street
Living in a State of War: the Story of a Christian Family
Los Angeles to Iraq, Leader Helps Connect Assyrians

Surf's Up!

The Seyfo Genocide of the Assyrians in Turkey
Flowers for Unity
Should Church/East Clergy Get Involved in the Assyrian Name/Identity Issue?
Are We a Nation or a Church?
On the Letter of His Grace Mar Gewargis
Sehr geehrter Herr Schwarzenegger!
Shame on the Church of the East in Los Angeles!
Ishtar Redux
Assyrian FM Radio Broadcast from Australia

Furkono Magazine (Sweden)
Yonan Enwiya (Chicago)
Rev. David Royel, et al. (Rome)
Benyamin Dinkha (California)
Alfred Alkhas (California)
Sargon Badalgogtapeh (Germany)
David Gavary (California)
Tiglath Chibo
Agnes Polese (Australia)

Surfer's Corner

Legal Assistance Clinic for Assyrians in Chicago
Middle East Music Ensemble's Spring Concert

Hammurabi Law Society (Chicago)

Literatus

The Future of Iraq?
When One Takes Leave of His Faculties
From Myth to Math & Magic to Logic

Rev. Ken Joseph Jr. (Washington D.C.)
Ivan Kakovitech (California)
Fil Isaac (Canada)

Bravo

Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church Working for Captives' Release

Zinda Says
An Editorial

Who's in Charge Here?

Wilfred Bet-Alkhas
Editor

Hon. Yonadam Kanna is visiting the United States this and next week. He is currently the most appealing candidate on the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council to lead his country to freedom and democarcy. He is not an Islamist, has 20 or more years of anti-Saddam fighting history, has a command of nearly all modern major middle eastern languages, and has established himself as an able leader before the many heads of the states in that region. A quick comparison to all his other colleagues on the IGC, Mr. Kanna is undeniably an attractive choice for the highest administrative office in Iraq. There is only one problem: he’s Christian.

Mr. Kanna’s visit to the United States is a brilliant opportunity for the Assyrian-Americans to prove to the western media that their leader in Iraq – despite his religious affiliation - is an Iraqi first, and then a representative of the Chaldo-Assyrians. Like himself, the Assyrians in Iraq demand a united country under a democratic administration that respects the rights of every Christian and Moslem citizen. This is not the message expressed by the Shiite and Kurdish representatives who have gone as far as claiming the blue and yellow bands on the unsightly new flag of Iraq as their own.

Assyrian-Americans have less than a week to engage their local and national media in the following important issue: How will the Chaldo-Assyrians and the Iraqi-Christians in general be equally represented after 30 June transfer of power?

At press time a very frustrated staff of Zinda Magazine is kept clear of any useful information on Mr. Kanna’s travel itinerary and press engagements. Earlier this week, the Arizona branch of the Assyrian Democratic Party pro-actively contacted Zinda and provided a list of cities and dates on Mr. Kanna’s agenda. This was no different from the press release seen earlier on the Internet this week.

Whom has Mr. Kanna met in Washington? Which national and international news network has interviewed Mr. Kanna in the past few days? Why were the Assyrian media outlet not informed of Mr. Kanna’s scheduled appearance at the Future of Iraq conference in Washington? More importantly, why is it easier to get a hold of Mr. Kanna in Baghdad than it is to talk to him in Washington?

Whereas in the homeland, the ADM activists engage the entire population with constant flow of information and declarations, the ill-organized branches in the United States appear to be disorderly and disjointed.

One possible reason for the difference in the tactical operations of the two ADM offices may be the simple reason that the ADM members in Iraq operate as branches of a government, and the branches in the U.S. act as “political clubs”. The latter are more concerned with raising funds than raising the awareness of the Assyrians and the American public about the important role Mr. Kanna and the Assyrians can play in the future of Iraq.

The Future of Iraq conference in Washington D.C. surprised most of us in the Assyrian media. It was plainly a media disaster. Where were the anchormen and women of FOX, CNN, and MSNBC. The ADM leadership in Chicago should had quickly recruited a reputable team of spokespersons and send them to D.C. to meet with the anchors and pit reporters, schedule at least two interviews per day for Mr. Kanna and the local branch presidents.

Zinda's fear of complete dismissal of Mr. Kanna in the United States was slightly assuaged when we discovered that Rev. Ken Joseph was also in town and meeting with the members of the press in Washington. Quickly interviews with CNN and FOX were scheduled and then cancelled twice. Mr. Kanna could not be reached for the confirmations of his interviews.

Mr. Kanna welcomes meetings with the press and interviews with news networks. He is, on the other hand, at the mercy of his supporters in the ADM offices for the scheduling of his visits and press conferences. Upon his return to Iraq, Mr. Kanna must act quickly to replace the inept cadre of coordinators in the United States with capable public relations managers and news writers. Such inexcusable inaptitude must not be repeated after his election to a new office on June 30th.

The Zowaa factions in the U.S. and the rest of us have a few more days left to attract the attention of the media and the Congressional representatives to the smiling man behind the now-famous photo of the signing of the interim Iraqi constitution. Yonadam Kanna deserves the highest honors for his dedication to Iraq, freedom, democracy, and the Assyrian people he represents. We recognize this fact, but your local and national newspapers and television networks may not.

Between now and the next Zinda editorial we have ample opportunity to act methodical and decisively to engage the media everywhere. Let’s get to work!

The Lighthouse
Feature Article(s)

A Report on the Assyrian Youth Federation Seminar in Sweden

Dr. Matay Arsan
The Netherlands

On March 27, 2004, the Assyrian Youth Federation in Sweden (Assyriska ungdomsförbundet / AUF) organized a historical seminar as part of the Assyrians´ cultural and educational programs.

The event convened at the School of Economics and Commercial Law at the University of Göteborg, Sweden. The event was welcomed with great enthusiasm as over 350 members of the Youth Federation attended. They came by buses, trains, cars, and every other mean possible from all over Sweden to be part of this evening and to listen to the lectures of the celebrated Assyriologist, Professor Simo Parpola (Department of Assyriology at Helsinki University, Finland), and Assyriology student Zack Cherry (Uppsala University, Sweden).

The seminar that evolved around the Assyrians´ cultural heritage and ethnic richness and history commenced at 1:00 p.m. and ended around 7:00 p.m.

Prof. Parpola´s lecture, "Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today," stressed on the Assyrian ethnic and cultural continuity throughout the centuries. Parpola stressed on certain important turning points in the Assyrian history and the evolution of the Assyrian name in its historical, political and linguistic context. Parpola explained how Assyrians embraced Christianity, which has become an indelible part of the Assyrian identity, but it has also subjected them to endless persecutions and massacres, which decreased their numbers drastically. He added that unfortunately, Assyrians are split into competing denominations and political groups, and that for Assyrians to survive as a nation, they must unite under the Assyrian identity of their ancestors. Click here to read Dr. Parpola's lecture (also in German and Swedish). Prof. Parpola had prepared his presentation specifically for this Assyrian Youth Federation’s educational and cultural event.

In the second presentation, Zack Cherry concentrated on the Assyrian language and its developments and evolution from the early beginning to modern times. Mr. Cherry´s lecture was titled "From Cuneiform to the Alphabet – From Akkadian to Aramaic: The Development of Language and Writing System in Ancient Assyria". Mr. Cherry is considered a role model for the Assyrian students and he is morally supported by the Assyrian people and on his turn he has dedicated his knowledge to the Assyrian organizations and youth. This was not the first time that Mr. Cherry presented a lecture to the youth. During the international summer camp of the Assyrian Youth Federations (AUF, AJM & AJF) in 2003, he inspired the youth and encouraged them to be involved in the Assyrian studies and in their national history and culture.

The two highly qualified experts in Assyriology showed how the Assyrian identity continued through their names, whether "Suroyo and Suraya" or "Suryoyo and Suryaya," which originates back to the Asuroyo (Asuraya) and Ashuroyo (Ashuraya), and these are equivalent to the English name "Assyrian." They showed how their language has continued to throughout the long history of the Assyrian people and civilization - a 7000-years history (pictures to the left: Mr. Zak Cherry (right) and Prof. Parpola).

This was not all. Music has always been a tradition among Assyrians. The audience enjoyed quality music and national songs performed by a living legend - Habib Mousa. Mr. Mousa opened the event with a song that goes like this: Yalta min Dimmi, Ya Aturayta en howyat ahmi, Atur la mayta (Oh Assyrian girl, of my own blood, if you stay with me, Assyria will not perish). Entertainment continued during intermittence periods as the audience enjoyed the music of Josef Cacan, second generation Diaspora Assyrian musician, Shikri Johanen, and Benjamin Yousif, whose popularity is growing stronger every year. This was icing on the cake.

The seminar was the final part in a series of events that completed a project called "ARYO," initiated and organized by the Board of the Assyrian Youth Federation (AUF). The project had a specific goal and that was to provide the tools necessary to strengthen the concept of Assyrian identity in the mind of the Assyrian youth in Sweden and promote Assyrian culture among them. Besides this gathering at Göteborg, ARYO presented as well two weekends full of lectures and cultural activities earlier.

Among the attendees at this seminar were representatives from the "Living History Forum in Göteborg" and the Swedish radio "Qolo" reporters. It is worth mentioning that the seminar was supported by "the National Council of Swedish Youth Organisations" and the "Living History Forum in Göteborg."

[Zinda: To view video excerpts of the seminar click here.]

Assyro-Chaldeans of France Commemorate the Martyrs of 1915

Antoni Yalap
Reporter for the Assyro-Chaldean Voice
Translated from French by Linda Karatay

"The Association of Assyro-Chaldeans of France, based in Sarcelles, on the occasion of the commemoration of the Armenian genocide, explains that they too were also victims of these massacres which happened in 1915. They estimate some250 000 victims of the massacres by the Ottoman Empire among theirs. This evening, a conference entitled 'Turkey must recognize the genocide of 1915' is organized in its premises, presented by Sabri Atman, a specialist on the issue of the genocides. A debate and a signing of the literary works of the author will follow the conference”.

And so this is how the Val d'Oise daily paper, Le Parisien, presented the commemorative activities of the 89th anniversary of the Genocide of 1915, committed by the Young Turk government and executed by the tri, Djémal Pasha, Enver Pasha and Talat Pasha. It was a conference animated by the great Assyro-Chaldean genocide specialist, Sabri Atman, who specially came from Netherlands to this occasion. For a long time, our people in France have adopted the date of April 24th, the date in which in 1915 hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and personalities were arrested to be massacred during their forced exile, to commemorate with their Armenian and Greek brothers, the tragedy of 1915. The members of our people commemorate the martyrs by various activities organized in this period of the year.

On the occasion of the 89th commemorative year of the first genocide of the 20th century, the Assyro-Chaldean Youth and the Association of Assyro-Chaldeans of France organized various activities. The Assyro-Chaldean Youth reserved the number 15 of April, 2004 of its successful bulletin, Les Lions de Babylone (Lions of Babylone), for the genocide of 1915. Indeed, the special number dedicated to this first genocide of the last century made in the shadow of the First World War, contained 32 pages and brought in great specialists like Sébastien de Courtois, Joseph Yacoub and Sabri Atman. The special number of the Lions of Babylon, edited for the release of 1000 copies, includes testimonies of the victims of the genocide and testimonies of their descendants. Sébastien de Courtois tells the beginnings of the genocide, which started with the massacres in 1895. Sabri Atman remembers the genocide itself and requires from Turkey to recognize this crime against the humanity, the purpose of which was to eliminate all the obstacles blocking the way from the turkofication. Joseph Yacoub speaks about the peace treaties signed after the war and deals with the abandonment of the Assyro-Chaldeans, the smallest allies of the powers like France or the United Kingdom. The Lions of Babylon are trying by this mean to inform the readers on this black page of the Turkish and human history and to make them aware of these issues.

The Association of the Assyro-Chaldeans of France started the commemorative celebrations of the 1915’s martyrs, by placing a wreath in front of the monument of the Unknown Soldier under the Triumphal Arch in Paris on Friday, April 23rd, 2004. The representatives of the Armenian, Assyro-Chaldean and Greek people followed suite and revived the flame of the Unknown Soldier in the presence of the media and political, civil and religious personalities, and an large crowd. Sabri Atman, the special guest of the AACF, as well as his friends came from the Netherlands, took part in this ceremony with Naman Adlun, the president of the Association of the Assyro-Chaldeans of France and many other members of the board of directors of our association, who never miss these occasions, before coming back in Sarcelles.

Sarcelles is the city where the large majority of our community in France is concentrated, with nearly 4,000 people. The other sites are the Paris region, Lyon, Marseilles and Toulouse, where resides Khodeda Ellof, son of the Assyro-Chaldean hero of the First World War, General Agha Petros, in a castle offered by France to his father in the commune of St Jory to thank him for the help given to France during the war. Our association organizes most of its cultural, social and commemorative activities in Sarcelles.

To commemorate the sad anniversary of 1915, the Association of Assyro-Chaldeans of France had asked the Assyro-Chaldean researcher and writer Sabri Atman from the Netherlands, to mediate a conference titled “Turkey must recognize the genocide of 1915”, on Friday April 23rd, 2004. So far, the AACF and its various branches have organized many commemorative activities, in particular conferences to which they invite specialists of international fame like Yves Ternon, Joseph Yacoub, Sébastien de Courtois or Sabri Atman. Our association also takes part in the demonstrations and activities organized by the other communities, in particular the Armenians. Thus, our people are sensitized on the genocide and our young people waked up with the protection and the safeguard of their history and identity.

We welcome this time the great specialist of this dark period of our history, Sabri Atman, who is polyglot (he knows 9 languages), author of several literary works on the Assyro-Chaldean exodus and genocide, and who works relentlessly since years for the recognition of this imperceptible crime. The participants in this conference were very numerous. The Turkish press was also present, not missing such an event during which it was question of a genocide completely forgotten by the international public opinion and completely ignored by the Turkish authorities: the Assyro-Chaldean genocide, during which our people lost two-third of his population. The young people, who are the inheritors of this heritage, were extremely numerous. Sabri Atman, speaking following Naman Adlun, president of the AACF who welcomed him, started by greeting the audience and saying that this genocide was deliberately planned, organized and carried out by the Ottoman central power of that time. Underlining the similarities and the reasons of the genocides of last century, Atman specified that among the political, economic, religious and racial factors, the religious factor weighed heavy in the genocide of the Armenian, Assyro-Chaldean and Greek people.

(L to R: Antoni Yalap, Sabri Atman and Naman Adlun)
Photo by Naures Atto

Sabri Atman, who addressed to his own people in Turkish, by the means of a translation in French, calling upon his own memories, pointed out the tragedies and the sad events lived. The Assyro-Chaldean researcher did not hesitate to affirm that modern Turkey was founded on the sacrificed blood of the Armenians, the Assyro-Chaldeans and the Greeks, and noted that current Turkey had significant profits due to the genocide. Still today, many Turkish and Kurdish families and companies owe their considerable wealth to the massacres of the Christians by their grandparents. The 10,000 Assyro-Chaldean survivors of the genocide who are living today in Turkey cannot represent any more a danger to the government and the Turkish population: that is why the government must be sorry for the crime committed in 1915.

Dealing with the role of the Powers in war, in particular of Germany, and Kurdish populations, Sabri Atman indicated that the Kurdish tribes and leaders were used like a "scapegoat". In addition, the Kurds did not have a central power, which could have decided to organize the elimination of the Armenians and the Assyro-Chaldeans who lived among them. If that were the case, no Christian would have survived. The Ottoman power used them against the Armenians and the Assyro-Chaldeans, playing with the religious unity and by provoking them by false rumors. Finally, as recalled it a participant, some religious leaders and heads of tribes had a significant role in the protection of some Assyro-Chaldean villages. In spite of the threats of the central Ottoman power to punish those, which helped the Armenian and Assyro-Chaldean traitors, with the price of their lives, they saved lives. Lastly, many Kurdish organizations and the Kurds in general asked for forgiveness to our people for the significant participation of their ancestors in the genocide decided by Young Turkish government. It is the only thing Turkey should do without any fear. The Assyro-Chaldeans do not have any hatred neither towards the Kurds nor towards the Turks, they just want the justice to be made and that their martyrs be recognized.

The sword, this tool that is called Saypa or Sayfo in the two Aramaic dialects, was not used against us only in 1915. The massacres had started quite before. The declaration of Jihad in 1914 was only the top of hatred. At the beginning of the 20th century, a third of the Turkish population was Christian. Today, this rate is 0.01%. The Christians represent nothing but only a tiny community of 150,000 people, in decline, in a Turkey which considers itself as respectful of its minorities and which wants to integrate the European Union, pleading that it is the cradle of Christianity. The Armenians lost 1 500 000 of their brothers and sisters, men, women, children, old men, religious or civil leaders, passed to the sword, killed at the time of the deportations, died of diseases resulting from the bad treatments inflicted by the executioners. Our people lost more than 250,000 people. The Turkish young government wanted at that time to turkofy our whole population, one way or another, and any obstacle against of this new objective was to be eliminated. Stressing that the common point of the genocides is their not-recognition by their instigators, Sabri Atman noted that the words "so-called genocide" are never missing in the mouth of the Turkish leading class and certain pseudo-intellectuals like Dogu Perinçek or Emin Çölasan.

Referring to the deficiencies of our people on this subject, the Assyro-Chaldean writer Sabri Atman affirmed that the intellectuals of our people were liquidated during the genocide and that we must content ourselves with the testimonies arrived until our days, in an oral way. The European children grow by listening to tales, he said, whereas the children of my people grow by listening to true tragic stories. The young people of the Assyro-Chaldean Diaspora, who start to make higher studies and to form a certain elite, must turn towards the study of this genocide perpetrated by the Turkish young government. The Armenians have tens of specialists of the genocide and take advantage of tens of thousands of literary works written on their genocide; the Assyro-Chaldeans can only rely on five or six specialists and some literary works. However, essential actions were carried out, if we take into account the fact that the Armenian Diaspora is much more ancient than the Assyro-Chaldean Diaspora. The exodus of the Assyro-Chaldean people started in Europe, thirty years ago. It is thus difficult for us, currently, to reach the same results as the Armenian Diaspora.

Sabri Atman answered at the end of its intervention to the questions, which were asked to him. These concerned rather the question of the number of Assyro-Chaldean victims and tried to know why the Armenians appropriate so much the genocide. The reasons of this situation are of psychological and political nature. As for the number of the victims, we do not know exactly how many people were victims of the genocide. The writer estimates this number at more than 250,000 martyrs; the figures vary from one source to another. In addition, given that the religious and political Assyro-Chaldean leaders of that time, with an aim of subtracting our population from the special taxes, they declared a population much less than that real. The conference finished late in the evening.

(L to R: Naman Adlun, Sabri Atman & Zayya Yakan; Paris, 24 April)
Photo by Naures Atto

This year, the commemorations of the 89th year of the genocide took place during three days. The representatives of our community, Naman Adlun, president of the AACF and Sabri Atman, took part in the demonstration organized on Saturday April 24th, 2004, in the direction of the embassy of Turkey. Mr. Adlun spoke in the name of the community and reminded the losses of the Assyro-Chaldeans during the genocide, beside their Armenian and Greek brothers. Naman Adlun had also taken part in the morning in the commemorative ceremony organized by the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë (Socialist Party) in the presence of the General Consul of Armenia.

Sabri Atman and Naman Adlun, placing a wreath for the Assyro-Chaldean Martyrs
Photo by Naures Atto

The most significant commemorative ceremony for our people took place in Sarcelles on April 25th 2004, in the presence of the mayor of the city, François Pupponi (Socialist Party), the representatives of the community and many other people. Naman Adlun and Sabri Atman placed, in the name of the Assyro-Chaldean community, a wreath of flowers in front of the monument commemorating the Armenian genocide. The event took place on the recently baptized street “rue du 24 avril 1915: 1er génocide du 20e siècle” (“street of April 24, 1915: 1st genocide of the 20th century”). A commemorative monument of the Assyro-Chaldean genocide will be placed very soon beside the Armenian stele. One minute of silence preceded the speech of the mayor of Sarcelles, François Pupponi, who reminded that the municipality has always worked for the recognition of the genocide. Underlining the fact that the Assyro-Chaldean martyrs, who experienced the same fate, should not be forgotten, Pupponi said that the town of Sarcelles will commemorate every year this sad anniversary which ended the lives of two thirds of our people.

Good Morning Assyria
News from Homeland

Bishop Warduni Pleads Americans to Stay

Courtesy of Zenit News Agency
26 April 2004

(ZNDA: Baghdad) Mar Shlemon Warduni, the Chaldean bishop in Baghdad, appealed to the countries of the coalition not to follow Spain's decision to leave Iraq, saying the country's security would be jeopardized.

"We were against the war from the beginning, but now it is important that the foreign contingents stay in Iraq," Bishop Shlemon Warduni said in statements Sunday to the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.

"If they abandon us, it will be worse," he said. "It would be a catastrophe if Rome followed the bad example of Madrid."

A former rector of the Baghdad Seminary, Bishop Warduni is collaborating in the effort to have civilian hostages freed, in particular three Italians who are in the country.

"The case of the kidnapped Italians is only the tip of the iceberg," he said. "Over the year, thousands of Iraqis have been kidnapped: for money, for political vengeance, or for a thousand other reasons. Proportionally, the Catholic minority has been one of the worst hit."

"For this reason too the coalition troops must stay," the bishop said. "It is necessary to establish order, to provide security again. It would be a tragedy to respond to the conditions of the kidnappers."

News Digest
General News & Information

Younadam Kanna in the United States

Assyrian Democratic Movement
North America
28 April 2004

What: Five members of the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) arrived in Washington D.C. on Friday, April 23, 2004. The IGC had decided to send this high delegation to Washington in order to discuss the future of Iraq with the U.S. Administration and with various Iraqi constituencies in the United States. These talks will continue through Tuesday April 27.

After talks in Washington are concluded, His Excellency Mr. Younadam Kanna, one of the five IGC visiting members and the Secretary General of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), will travel to Chicago (Illinois), the San Francisco/San Jose Greater Bay Area, Modesto, and Los Angeles (California), Phoenix (Arizona), and Southfield (Michigan) to meet with Assyrian (Chaldo-Assyrian) groups, and deliver speeches about the general situation in Iraq and the conditions of the Chaldo-Assyrians.

In Chicago
April 28 - Friday 30, 2004
General Public Rally @ 7:30 p.m.
Hanging Garden
8301 W. Belmont, Chicago
For more information contact: Aprim Michael at 847-975-3017

Modesto
Saturday, May 1st, 2004
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Yosemite Banquet Hall
2549 Yosemite Blvd., Modesto
For more information contact: Fred Aprim at 408-314-9106

San Francisco/San Jose Bay Area
Sunday, May 2nd, 2004
Time: 7:30 p.m.
ARC, at the Willow Glen (hall of the Assyrian Church of the East)
680 Minnesota Ave, San Jose 95125
For more information contact: Fred Aprim at 408-314-9106

Los Angeles
Monday, May 3, 2004
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: St. Mary's Assyrian Church
5955 Lindley Dr., Tarzana 91352
For more information contact: Ashur Giwargis at 818-652-0077

Arizona
Date: Tuesday, May 4, 2004
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Where: Sheraton Hotel
Hwy 17 and Donlup
For more information contact: Sam Darmo at 602-481-2929

Michigan
Date: Wednesday, May 5, 2004
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Southfield Manor
For more information contact: Antranik Aqrawi at 586-322-4840

Please come join us and meet with the Iraqi governing council member Mr. Younadam Kanna.

Background Information:

The Assyrians (known also as Chaldo-Assyrians) are the indigenous people of Iraq and make 5% of the Iraqi population. As Christians, the Assyrians are working with all other parties involved in Iraq and outside to establish a democratic, secular, free, and pluralistic Iraq.

Yonadam Kanna Joins Future of Iraq Conference in Washington

(ZNDA: Washington) Assyrians from Chicago, Detroit, and San Francisco are joining top Iraqi officials in Washington D.C. to discuss plans for the transfer of power on 30 June.

About 60 Chaldean-Assyrians - including former president of the Chaldean Federation of America, Dr. Jacoub Mansour- from Michigan traveled to Arlington, Virginia for "the Future of Iraq" conference yesterday, which included representatives of the Bush administration and the Iraqi Governing Council. 29 groups have sponsored this event.

The t wo members of the Iraqi Governing Council at this conference were Ibrahim al-Jaafari of the Daawa Islamic Party and Yonadam Kanna of the Assyrian Democratic Movement. Rend Rahim, the Iraqi ambassador appointed to represent the council in the United States, was also attend in attendance.

The following is the text of the speech delivered by the Honorable Yonadam Kanna at the conference yesterday:

Yonadam Kanna's Speech Delivered at the Future of Iraq's Conference in Washington D.C. on 25 April 2004

Brother, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Ja'afari, Presidential Committee, Member of the Governing Council and Distinguished attendees,

Good Afternoon,

It is a pleasure and honor to be with you and to share with you the first anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. We express gratitude to those who participated in arranging this meeting and invited us here. We came here to convey to you and to the American public the hard facts concerning the Iraqi situation after one year from the fall of the previous regime, unlike what has been published or presented in the media, which has been exaggerated or twisted for whatever purpose. Perhaps these exaggerations will earn votes in certain campaigns. However, ultimately, this is not the truth.

On this blessed occasion, let me express our gratitude and appreciation to President Bush and the American people, as well as Britain and other Coalition countries, for their assistance in the liberation of Iraq. Truly, the Iraqi people have been saved from a slow death under the oppression of dictatorship, and our peaceful world has been spared from danger.

Today, we stand in honor of those who have fallen on the path of our liberation and of those who marched for freedom and democracy. We hereby assure you that the vast majority of the Iraqi people are happy about the downfall of the previous regime. The people of Iraq will never forget the humanitarian efforts of those who helped us in times of need. Although the enemies of freedom and democracy are desperately trying in vain, to become an obstacle to progress and victory, we are confident that good will prevail, and soon, stability and security will be achieved in the new Iraq.

There will be a transfer of power and sovereignty by June 30; the march to rebuild Iraq will continue; Iraq will see free elections; the constitution will be written; and a democratic parliament that embraces all sectors of a united Iraq and guarantees equality and justice for all will be created.

I will focus on the reconstruction of Iraq and what effect this is going to have on the future of Iraq and democracy. Our colleagues have focused on other aspects of the future of Iraq.

What has been achieved in the past year has not been modest. Teaching resumed with a totally new curriculum, hospitals and healthcare facilities resumed their services to a higher level, and public services have reached the level seen prior to the liberation.

It is lamentable that the infrastructure of Iraq was nearly destroyed by the previous regime, especially in the areas to the South and the North. Further, in addition to an infrastructure below par, ministries and public institutions were looted, destroyed, or set on fire by those who supported the previous regime. Sanitation was at its lowest level. Portable water was a highly-sought commodity.

Mismanagement by the previous regime and the effects of war have had a detrimental impact on the environment and healthcare in Iraq, thus presenting us with new, nonpolitical challenges. The United Nations, in its survey, has indicated that Iraq needs 1.5 million new homes for its people.

Let me present to you a summary by the Ministry of Planning showing the needs present to cover the costs of projects for 2004. We are hoping to obtain the necessary support from our friends to implement these projects. In this way, we hope to fulfill the services needed and to contain the problem of unemployment in Iraq. this will help to bring about the sort of decent standard of living that promotes stability and security, pillars upon which democracy and freedom will rest.

It is to be noted that with the exception of the United States and Japan, donor countries have not fulfilled the promises that they have made at the Madrid Donor Conference, till this moment. '

Clusters Cost Percentages

Education, Health. Labor & Social Affairs

$ 737,900,000.00

17.61 %

Infrastructure [water sanitation, transportation,Telecommunication, electricity, housing,Planned management]

$1,957,728,695.00

46.73 %

Agriculture, Water Resources and Food

$ 602,410,300.00

14.38 %

Finance & Private Sector Development

$ 486,351,000.00

11.60 %

De-mining

$ 54,500,000.00

1.31 %

Governmental institutions. [Rule of Law,Civil Society, and Media, Cross-cutting themes, Human Rights]

$ 73,392,925 00

1.75 %

Gentler, Environment

$ 277,355,000.00

6.62 %

Grand Total

$4,189,637,920.00

100.00%

Finally, let me thank you again. I wish to draw the attention our friends and allies concerning the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq. Statements made to this effect have a negative impact on the morale of American troops in Iraq. Such statements will have serious consequences not only in Iraq, but also on peace and stability, and thus on American national security. If a withdrawal takes place from Iraq, then democracy will be defeated and international terrorism will prevail, bringing unwanted consequences in the world.

Thank you.

Yonadam Kanna
Member
Iraqi Governing Council

Iraqi Governing Council Member to Speak in Modesto

Courtesy of the Modesto Bee
29 April 2004
By Blair Craddock

(ZNDA: Modesto) The only Christian representative on the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council is scheduled to speak Saturday night in Modesto.
Younadam Kanna is expected to speak in Assyrian and English, discussing the future of Iraq and the condition of the country's Assyrian minority.

The event is open to the public, and admission is free -- including dinner, organizers said. But they added that seating is limited.

"We'd love for the public to come and ask questions, especially the families that have soldiers in Iraq," said Zalma Toma of Ceres.

She is a supporter of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, the party headed by Kanna.

The Iraqi Governing Council, appointed in July by the United States, has worked in consultation with American government representatives in Iraq.

Kanna and other members of the council are in the United States to meet with Iraqi-Americans and discuss the future of Iraq, event organizers said.

"The main issue for us right now is: How many rights will we have under the new constitution of Iraq?" asked Fred Isaac, a businessman who heads the Modesto Chapter of the Assyrian Democratic Movement.

Iraq's temporary constitution states that "administrative, cultural and political rights" of "Turcomans, Chaldo-Assyrians and all other citizens" shall be protected.

It does not create an Assyrian region, or state, within Iraq, however. The new constitution states that regions will be formed later, except for a

Kurdish region already established in northern Iraq.

Assyrian political opponents of Kanna's party have criticized the temporary constitution.

For example, Sargon Dadesho of Modesto, who heads a party called the Assyrian National Congress, has criticized the new constitution for failing to distinguish between Iraq's Assyrians and other Christian minorities.

Saturday's event is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at the Yosemite Banquet Hall, Suite L, 2549 Yosemite Blvd. For more information, or to make reservations, call Toma, 996-9636 or 538-8813.

Shattered Lives on a Baghdad Street

Courtesy of the Washington Post
28 April 2004
By Pamela Constable

(ZNDA: Baghdad) Vivian Odishu's face bears no resemblance to the portrait of a glowing young bride on the wall, taken just 18 months ago. Her left eye is a crooked slit, her cheek is stitched and swollen. Her shattered jaw has been rebuilt with artificial plates, requiring her to speak through clenched teeth like a ventriloquist.

"My life is finished. My heart is broken. Everything in me is broken. I feel like a dead person with open eyes," she said, sitting limply on her parents' couch. "I don't know who to blame; I just pray to God that no one else should ever have to see what I have seen."

On the night of March 17, Odishu was pulled barely alive from the rubble of her cement house in a quiet Baghdad neighborhood after a powerful car bomb exploded outside. Her husband and three of his relatives perished inside the collapsed building, leaving Odishu a widow at 23.

In the past year, suicide bombings have occurred with increasing frequency in Baghdad and other cities. Most have been aimed at foreign facilities or symbols, such as the U.N. compound that was rammed by a truck bomb last Aug. 19, killing at least 22 people, and the U.S. occupation headquarters, where a car detonated at the front gate Jan. 18, leaving 20 people dead.

The target of the March 17 bombing was apparently the Mount Lebanon Hotel, a lightly guarded, five-story building on a narrow side street where a number of international contractors and U.N. employees had been staying. But like Odishu, most of the victims were Iraqis, and the explosion resonated far beyond a single building associated with foreigners.

The bomb left 10 people dead and dozens injured, including hotel employees and neighbors. It destroyed the homes of five families living in an adjacent apartment building, tore the facade off a community hospital, cracked open the walls and roofs of three houses and incinerated an antique shop. It vaporized wardrobes and mattresses, smashed fish aquariums and windows, melted cooking pots and silverware, and burned carpets and family portraits to ashes.

Beyond the immediate physical damage, there were other, more lasting repercussions, some of which became evident only in the weeks of recovery and recrimination that have followed. The explosion cost men their jobs and savings, led to quarrels over rent and fruitless searches for financial compensation.

It destroyed the secure, familiar spirit of a street where people from a variety of ethnic and religious groups -- Sunnis and Shiites, Kurds and Turkmens and Assyrian Christians -- had lived as neighbors for a generation. And it turned feelings of gratitude and tolerance toward the U.S. presence into disillusionment and resentment.

"We went to the Iraqi authorities for help, and they say there is no government. We went to the Americans for help, and they say they can do nothing because the damage was not caused by them," said Khadim Neama Uraybi, 50, an antiques dealer who estimates he lost $265,000 worth of property in the explosion, including 48 Persian carpets and his '97 Opel sedan.

"They said this is a war of liberation, but now no citizen feels safe, even at home. The Americans occupied our country and they are responsible," Uraybi said, poking disgustedly last week at a jumble of melted glass chandeliers in his scorched shop next to the hotel lobby. "I survived with my life, but I lost everything I have. Where am I supposed to turn?"

When the explosion occurred, Uraybi was cooking stew for two friends in the apartment above his shop. The blast knocked him unconscious, but a neighbor smashed the locked kitchen door with a pipe and dragged him to safety. He was uninjured, but one of his guests was badly burned on both legs and the other lost an eye.

Everyone in the modest, five-story apartment building managed to escape alive, though many were singed or cut by shattered glass. Last week, the families described how they had raced up a narrow stairwell in the dark, parents carrying small children to the building's flat roof and leaping onto the next one. A bloody handprint was left on a brick ledge someone had grabbed for balance.

When the fire cooled and it was safe to return, half the families found their apartments roasted black, with lumps of former furniture congealed on the floors. The 10 tenants were poor; the husbands mostly worked as laborers, and two were employed as guards at the Mount Lebanon, which is now bricked shut. They had no savings and no insurance.

"The children's clothes are gone, so I can't send them to school. The mattresses are wrecked, so we have no place to sleep. I have been cleaning for 18 days, and it still smells awful," said Huda Abdul Qadr, 28, a pregnant mother of four. "On the first day lots of people came, officials asked questions and journalists took pictures. Now, no one comes to see how we are doing. No one comes at all."

The devastation was just as dramatic on the other side of the street, where the blast shook a cluster of old cement houses to their foundations. All but Odishu's home remained standing, but the explosion left gaping holes in roofs and jagged cracks in walls. Several inhabitants told of chance escapes that came close to the miraculous.

Jamal Baban, 51, a Kurdish man who works in a coffee shop, said that just minutes before the explosion, he happened to rouse his 13-year-old son from a nap in a first-floor bedroom. Suddenly the roof collapsed, raining jagged chunks of tin and cement down on the spot where the boy had been sleeping.

"I still don't know what made me wake him up," said Baban, who has spent the past month shoring up his weakened house and replacing the roof. The family of seven lost many belongings, from an heirloom mirror to a brand new TV set, but Baban shrugged off the material loss.

"We saved a long time for that television, but let it go. Let it all go," he said, glancing across his garden wall to the empty lot, strewn with broken bricks, where Odishu's husband and his family, members of the minority Assyrian Christian community, had always lived. "They were our neighbors for 30 years," Baban said. "They were good moral people, and they died."

Despite the natural sympathy the explosion created among its victims, it also generated controversy and disputes that still color many neighborhood conversations. The main issue has been whether the blast was caused by an insurgent bomb or an American rocket, because U.S. officials compensate victims for damage caused by American military forces but not for harm done by insurgents.

After the explosion, numerous U.S. military teams visited the area, first to give medical assistance and later to assess damage and collect witness accounts. Some residents insisted that a rocket had landed in the street, and they still claim they were cheated out of benefits when U.S. officials ruled the explosion had been caused by a car bomb.

To make matters worse, residents said, the financial aid they were offered turned out to be virtually inaccessible. At an American facility, each family was informed it could apply to a nonprofit agency for help and was given a brochure in English. The brochure gave an international phone number and e-mail address for a reconstruction organization in Maryland, which turned out to provide not cash, but low-interest loans. No one in the neighborhood has applied.

"What are we supposed to do with these pieces of paper? How can we afford to call these people?" demanded Ahlam Zainab, a stout mother of five who stood in her cracked living room with a trowel last week while her teenage son mixed mortar with his hands in a plastic bucket. "Do we have to throw stones at the White House until someone listens?"

For Vivian Odishu, the idea of receiving financial compensation seems like a monstrous joke. For weeks she lay semi-conscious in a Baghdad hospital for nerve and brain surgery, unaware that her husband, Farid, an optometrist's assistant, was dead. Last Saturday would have been his 40th birthday, and she marked the occasion by visiting his grave with her family and leaving a bouquet.

"We were a hopeful couple with a simple life. My husband went to work and came home. But then it all vanished in a minute, and he died for no reason," Odishu said. Her voice was a flat, angry buzz through motionless jaws. "I don't want to accuse anyone, and I don't want money from anyone. My gold is gone, and no one can bring him back."

Living in a State of War: the Story of a Christian Family

Courtesy of AsiaNews
By Pierre Balanian

(ZNDA: Baghdad) Abductions of foreigners in Iraq are the work of “non-Iraqi criminal rings”. Kidnappings (by Iraqis) are often done for reasons of extortion. How many wealthy Iraqis have been abducted, but then released once the ransom was paid!,” says Muayed Hayat Shlimon,.

He is sure that this is the case. Muayed, a 41 year-old Chaldean Catholic born and raised in Baghdad, spends most of his day speaking with people while working as transporter. He says he views the killing of hostages as confirmation that foreigners are involved.

“Personally I, like so many other Muslim Iraqis with whom I’ve had conversations about the killing of hostages, am disappointed and scandalized. It’s impossible that such killings were done by Iraqis.”

Muayed is married with 3 children ages 10, 7 and six months. He shares a home with his brother Samir, who is also married and has 4 children. The Shlimons believe they are more fortunate than others. Unlike many other drivers, Muayed owns his own van. After years of work “everyone knows him” and, thus, Muayed says he always has enough work. Meanwhile many others “who worked for the state or were employed in businesses still have trouble finding work.”

Muayed is a simple person: he heads out for work at 6.30 in the morning and returns home at 6.30 in the evening, since it’s “dangerous to stay out there in the dark,” he says.

“Once we used to go out to dinner or simply visit our friends and relatives in the evening. But now such a lifestyle is no longer possible,” he said.

“We talk to each other on the phone “as if we didn’t live in the same country,” Muayed said that life in the post-Hussein Iraq is full of “uncertainty and fear”.

“I served in Saddam Hussein’s army –I was forced to –during a 11-year term in the national guard. Back then we used to say: ‘Go to the frontlines and you never know if you’ll make it back alive’, he said. “Now every time I leave home I wave goodbye to my family as it were the last time I see them.”

The fear Iraqis have is that of being caught amid bombs, and explosions, crisscrossing sniper fire which can erupt at a moment’s notice. Like all Iraqis, the Shlimons are afraid to send their children to school by themselves. “Luckily it’s nearby. In the end children get kidnapped anyway. We can’t even let them play in front of our own home like in old days,” Muayed says.

And yet life goes on. Compared to a few months ago, Muayed says “we now have electricity, potable water and can fill our natural gas tanks. Sure, we don’t eat chicken or meat every day, but the shops and markets are filled with everything (you need).”

Muayed’s wife never leaves home –not out of tradition, but out of fear. Hence her husband must do the shopping since, as he says, “why should both of us have to risk our lives? I have to be outside for work, anyway.”

A new phenomenon is that of “medicines sold at market stands, which are often expired because they were stolen a year ago from warehouses during all the chaos. Or they’re no good anymore, since they were left outside to sit in the sun (for too long),” Muayed explains.

Muayed is certain that, in terms of the country’s many religions living together and getting along, “We all feel like Iraqis in the end. Us Chaldean Catholics have an excellent relationship with Sunni and Shiite (Muslims).

“We have a high opinion of and respect for one another. We were all raised together,” he said. Once upon a time, Muayed says, “they called us ‘crusaders’. Now, for them, the crusaders are the foreigners. We can pray out in the open and we have no fears at all in this sense.”

Muayed, whose name in Arabic means “supporter”, made an appeal to the world at the end of the interview: “Have mercy on our people. After years of suffering and war, we want our own government. Yet foreign troops must leave only after having guaranteed the nation’s security. Until now little has been done to ensure the safety of civilians. There are still many weapons in circulation, stolen and left behind by the former regime. No one has taken the trouble to collect and confiscate them.”

Muayed denied rumors about Iraqi Christians leaving the country. “On the contrary, many Christians are returning from abroad. This is our homeland. We are Iraqis and we get on well with Muslims. We are here to stay.”

Los Angeles to Iraq, Leader Helps Connect Assyrians

Courtesy of the Los Angeles Garment & Citizen
24 April 2004
By Jerry Sullivan

(ZNDA: Los Angeles) Pierre Toulakany is active as a property owner and community volunteer when it comes to efforts to improve downtown Los Angeles. His local focus is clearly demonstrated by his work as a founding member of the Historic Downtown Business Improvement District and as an elected representative on the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council.

But the land of Mesopotamia is never far from Toulakany’s mind.

The nattily clad executive devotes much serious thought to the ancient past. He can reel off famous names and dates from 5,000 years ago.

But he’s constantly working to secure a future for an estimated two million members of a little-known ethnic group in Iraq, as well as several million of their compatriots who are scattered around the globe.

Toulakany is seldom seen without a lapel pin showing the U.S. flag. He doesn’t hesitate to credit his adopted country with providing him valuable opportunities.

But the symbol of the U.S. he wears is depicted alongside the banner of a nation that hasn’t had official status in the international community for nearly 2,000 years.

Those are some of the contradictions that come with being an Assyrian, an ethnic identity that Toulakany claims with pride and determination. Just ask him and he will tell you about the long history of the Assyrian people, who once towered over their known world but have more recently seen nearly two millennia of hard times.

“The Assyrians were the first civilization known to the world,” Toulakany said during a recent interview in the office he keeps as a co-owner of the West Coast Jewelry Center in the heart of Los Angeles’ bustling Downtown. “So much of everyday life--the words you are writing, the window we look out of--can be traced back in history to the Assyrian people.”

Toulakany stopped to clear up any confusion, explaining that the Assyrians are a separate and distinct people from Syrians.

Assyria established an empire more than 5000 years before the birth of Christ (B.C.). Indeed, Christ is widely believed to have spoken the Aramaic tongue of the Assyrian people--a language they still speak and which has gained notice recently because of its use in the controversial movie “The Passion of the Christ.”

Ancient Assyria counted Babylonia as an extension of its empire, which was centered on the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. That territory is known by historians as the “cradle of civilization” and also forms the heart of present-day Iraq.

The use of glass and the development of the lens are attributed to the Assyrians. So are many important advances in agriculture and irrigation, the development of written language and the arts, and various innovations in military strategy and logistics.

But Assyria’s political power ebbed over many centuries and the empire collapsed around 600 B.C. The Roman Empire eventually took control of Assyria’s territory.

Assyrians remained a people without a country of their own throughout the ascendance of the Romans and later Islamic conquests. Tense relations with various empires and governments--some Arab, but including a long period of Turkish domination--have been a factor for Assyrians ever since.

Toulakany grew up in Iran, where his family owned a huge stretch of farm and ranchland.

“It would take two days on horseback to cover our land,” he said.

He went to Paris, France, for college, and returned to Iran with a new perspective. The government was confiscating chunks of his family’s land, he said, and leaving anti-Christian prejudice unchecked, making life miserable. In 1959, Toulakany left for New York, eventually visiting some friends in Los Angeles.

He eventually joined several clients in forming the current partnership that owns the West Coast Jewelry Center.

Toulakany’s arrival in the U.S. came in the middle portion of what has been nearly a century of Assyrian immigration here.

A wave of anti-Christian violence in Iraq after World War I pushed more Assyrians to the U.S. Some historians estimate that as many as 200,000 of 2.5 million Assyrians who remained in Iraq were killed in anti-Christian violence by the 1930s.

The waves of Assyrians immigrants to the U.S. first established significant population centers in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

There are currently about 600,000 Assyrian Americans in the U.S., with roughly 15,000 in the Los Angeles area.

The local population counts North Hollywood as a cultural center, with many homeowners spread through the rest of the San Fernando Valley.

The earliest immigrants formed the Assyrian-American National Federation in 1932, a group dedicated to lobbying the U.S. government and providing food, medicine and other relief to comrades in Iraq.

Toulakany took on a major role during the resettlements of the 1970s, providing the driving force for the formation of the Assyrian Universal Alliance Foundation. It’s one of many organizations Toulakany has helped found or support, and he guided it through its early years while also serving as national president of the Assyrian-American National Federation from 1974 to 1976.

The community spirit extends to Assyrians still living in Iraq, too.

“The one I’m most proud of, the one I spend 90 percent of my time on, is the Assyrian American Aid Society,” said Toulakany, who currently serves as president of the organization’s Los Angeles chapter.

The aid society was founded in 1991, after the first Persian Gulf War, when Assyrian lands in northern Iraq--along with the territory of Kurds, another distinct ethnic group--received some U.S. protection against the now-deposed Saddam Hussein.

“Saddam Hussein had destroyed more than 200 Assyrian villages--churches, homes, schools, everything,” Toulakany said. “We started raising money, about $500,000 a year. We have rebuilt a lot of what was destroyed, including about half of the schools. We’ve built dormitories for about 9,000 students who have to live at the school because the roads have been destroyed and travel is difficult.”

The Assyrian American Aid Society also negotiated with major U.S. pharmaceutical companies for discounts on much-needed medicines to send to northern Iraq. And a program to plant apple trees has helped more than 400 families reestablish agriculture in the region.

Toulakany credited his wife, Angie Toulakany, also an Assyrian, with handling more than half of the local chapter’s work. It’s a partnership that has proved dynamic in fulfilling the chapter’s mission, he said.

Such efforts by the Toulakanys and fellow Assyrians around the world appear to be paying off in Iraq these days. An interim constitution recently approved by representatives of various ethnic and religious groups in the war-torn country recognized the Assyrians as an indigenous people and granted the Aramaic language official status, clearing the way for its use in schools.

Preliminary plans called for 15 of 250 seats in an Iraqi national congress to be designated for Assyrians. There are currently about two million Assyrians among Iraq’s estimated population of 27 million people, meaning the 15 seats promised in a new legislative body roughly match the community’s numbers on a percentage basis.

Toulakany bounced around his office one day this spring, just hours after receiving news of the agreement in Iraq. His daughter, Patricia, a Hollywood set designer who has the same intense eyes as her father, was visiting.

“It’s a great day,” Toulakany said. “A great day for the Assyrian people.”

“Yes it is,” Patricia agreed, providing the next generational link in the long history of the Assyrian people.

Surfs Up!
Letters to the Editor

The Seyfo Genocide of the Assyrians in Turkey

Furkono Magazine
Sweden

24th of April this year is the 90th commemoration for the decisive resolution drawn to annihilate the Assyrian people in Turkey. The perpetration commenced in 1915 and prolonged until 1919, thus becoming the continuation of centuries of massacres repeated by the massacres of Semele (1933) and Suriya in Zakhu's vicinity and still being manipulated, rather in progressive methods and contemporary tactics.

Flowers for Unity

Yonan Enwiya
Chicago

It is sadly disappointing to read the letter/article by the Assyrian priests currently studying in Rome concerning the national name issue. Their view of our national situation as expressed by them "the Assyrians and Chaldeans will continue to exist as two, separate peoples even when categorized as ‘ChaldoAssyrians.’" is rather disheartening. This statement is sadly a complete over exaggeration. Their whole argument is based on a comment made by Mar Dally to a radio program in Detroit. They conveniently ignore the official position of the Chaldean patriarch in his letter to the Iraqi Governing Council citing only one name "ChaldoAssyrian" to label our entire nation. Statements made orally for a radio interview can be easily misinterpreted. We saw that on a number of occasions with the late patriarch BeDawid and how his radio statements were liberally interpreted and misinterpreted by those who did not particularly like his stands on unity issues.

The statement by the Assyrian and Syriac Orthodox bishops made lately is clearly a step in the wrong direction. What we all need now is support for unity efforts not undermining our fragile unity. A church that has failed to unite its branches for centuries has very little credibility in making divisive declarations concerning our national unity. Priests understand proverbs: If you cannot be a flower for unity, don't be a divisive thorn.

Should Church of the East Clergy Get Involved in the Assyrian Name and Identity Issue?

Rev. Patros Patros
Rev. William Toma
Rev. David Royel
Rev. Paul Benjamin
Rome

A question that is often posed in the course of present-day Assyrian politics, and aptly expressed in last week’s Zinda Magazine poll, is whether or not clergy of the Assyrian Church of the East should be involved or ‘meddle’ in the issue of the Assyrian national name and identity – in one form or another. In this regard it is opportune to express our personal opinion and some reflections, coming from the stand point of individual clergy of the same Church named in this article. This article does not reflect the official position of the Assyrian Church of the East or its leadership; it is a personal reflection.

Though we are in agreement that clergy should not be actively involved in political parties and or ideologies – since this bears with it obligations towards the political party in question, and all of the faithful of the Church should be equal and held without biases before the eyes of the clergy – we are not in agreement that clergyman as ‘Assyrians’ and as a part of our nation do not have the right to voice their opinions regarding fundamental issues that touch upon our national identity and existence.

The history of the Assyrian nation, and Church for that matter, clearly demonstrates that for centuries the leadership of the Church of the East did not only play a strictly religious role, but also provided social and national guidance for the Assyrian people taken as a whole. This is most especially true under the ‘millet’ system of former times. The facts demonstrate that this was the case since the time of the patriarch and martyr Mar Shimun bar Sabbae in the course of the persecution of Christians around 341 under the Sassanid emperor Shapor II. Later, during the period of the Arab conquest of the East and during the caliphate, the catholicos-patriarch of the Church of the East was also head of the nation. This system existed down to recent times, basically ending during the time of the late Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII (d. 1975).

With the emergence of the Assyrian political parties in the twentieth century, there took place a shift in the life of the Assyrian nation in which its political aspirations began to be directed and guided by the political groups, many of which are still active till this day. However, since the Church continues to play an important and active role in the life of the individual members of the Assyrian nation, it has not nor will it lose its right to speak out on issues that are intimately related to the identity and existence of our nation. This is not so in order to direct the nation politically as to which stand to take, but to guard the nation and protect some of its most sacred possessions such as its national name, identity and history – certainly also its Christian faith and institution.

A fundamental characteristic of all of the Eastern Churches is the fact that they are ‘national Churches,’ such as the Armenian Apostolic Church, Russian, Greek, Georgian, Romanian, Ukranian Orthodox Churches, etc. For these Churches, the ecclesiastical institution and nation have been intimately and inseparably united. All of these Churches have historically also been the guardians of the identity of their nations as such, in addition to their Christian faith. Likewise, the Assyrian Church of the East has also been the guardian of our Assyrian identity as a particular and distinct nation. What’s more, we have not seen any of these or other national Churches change the name or identity of their nation. If that is the case, why should we effect such a change regarding the national name, a fact which has recently taken place in Iraq and which can only serve to confuse and obscure our national identity.

In the present lack of an Assyrian political leadership which is universally accepted by all Assyrians, the Church should and must continue to exercise its role as the historical guardian of our national identity and name especially at this most critical juncture, and to continue exerting its influence on the nation as a whole in discerning what is beneficial and what is harmful for our present life as a nation, and for our future aspirations.

Are We a Nation or a Church?

Benyamin Dinkha
California

During most of the Christian centuries until a hundred years or so ago the international community knew us only by our religious denominations. We were called Nestorians meaning members of “the Church of the East”, Jacobites for the members of the “Syrian Orthodox Church” and Chaldeans for those who were in union with the Roman Catholic Church. Currently clergies and most of the members of the Syrian Orthodox Church deny their Assyrian heritage by claiming to be Arameans. The Clergies of the Chaldean church and most of their members state that they are the descendant of the ancient Chaldeans. Such sentiment are fueled by religious factionalism and rejectionalism which have had tragic consequence for our people during the last fourteen centuries or so. In many cities where all three denominations live side by sided there is little or no interaction between them.

A few months ago when it was necessary for our people to unite under the Assyrian name the Bishops of the Chaldean Church wrote letters to the President Bush and Mr. Paul Bremer Civil Administrator of Iraq claiming that their people are not Assyrians and should be recognized ethnically as Chaldeans. This is the result of our people’s willingness to sacrifice their true national identity for the sake of their religious denominations. The Chaldean clergies falsely claims that the term Assyrian pertains primarily to the member of the Church of the East. This is a self serving explanation intended to discourage their community from identifying itself as Assyrian. During the last hundred years because of hard work and sacrifices of our people the name Assyrian has been finally recognized as a nation rather than a faith based moniker. In recent years however there are signs that even those who call themselves Assyrians are gradually retreating and dividing themselves acc ording to who goes to what church.

Not having learned the lessons of history even those who consider themselves “omtanaye” have abandoned their national obligations and have drifted toward their religious denominations wrongly assuming that by helping their respective churches they are fulfilling both their religious and national obligations. They think that now since churches are performing some of the programs previously done by the Associations these national institution are not needed any more. Although Assyrian churches are important part of our nation considering any one of them as the expression of Assyrian nationalism indicates a confusion between church and nation which will result in dividing us further into antagonistic religious factions.

The situation in Iraq where Islamic religious factions compete to wrest power from each other in ruling the country is a vivid example of what happens when religion considers itself as substitute for nationalism. Their competition for national leadership has brought disaster to the land and its people. Even in Iran where there is one religious faction its involvement in national affairs has made life unbearable to most citizens. While Christian factions are not violent it is a historic fact that even their peaceful conflicts serve to divide our nation. We have also to remember that Assyrian churches preach about the exploits of the Jewish kings and prophets rather than promoting Assyrian nationalism.

While each church is primarily concerned with the interest of its own denomination the Local National Associations serve to promote unity among all regardless of who goes to what church. For these and other reasons religion can never become a substitute for nationality. As a nation which has sacrificed dearly for the sake of this or that denomination we should know better.

The proliferation of the Assyrian Churches in all cities has led to difficulties for the local Associations. Most active people in these churches were former members of these organizations who have left and now are aggressively work against them. They seem to think that by helping their denomination they are fulfilling both their religious and national duties even if they cause the demise of the local Associations.

The great appetite of churches for more funding and willingness of the Assyrians to donate generously to them but nothing to the local Associations undermine the long term existence of national institutions. One Association reports that most of its fund raising activities such as picnics, and parties for lack of attendance have began to lose money. Its celebration of the Christian New Year which had been customarily an important source of funding now has become a losing proposition because some local churches have began to have competing parties for their members, friends and relatives. Even the celebration of the Assyrians New Year of Kha B’ Neesan which is the only legacy of our ancient heritage has suffered from lack of attendance. Perhaps clergies have discouraged their followers from participating. The cultural activities and seminars of this association suffer for lack of attendance even when more than a thousand Assyrian households are informed about thes e programs by flyers. It may be that Assyrians have already lost interest in their heritage and are now entering a period of national decline or the frequent church events and demand for more money leaves little for the local Associations. Other contributors to the situation are the Assyrian singers and their bands who perform for free or reduced rates at Church functions but charge between three to five thousand dollars for entertaining at Association’s parties.

In either case this is a bad omen for the future unity and survival of our people in the United States. Unless there is a willingness by the Churches and their members to stop decimating the local Associations it will become difficult for the latter to continue to exist and their demise would be a great bow to our national aspirations. With the disappearance of local Associations we will become nothing more than a nation of churches and will deserve to be known only by our religious denominations.

On the Letter of His Grace Mar Gewargis

Alfred Alkhas
California

1. His Grace Archbishop Mar Gewargis has incorrectly signed his own church name.
2. It is inappropriate to assume the core issues of the disputed subject matter.
3. Claiming that “We are Christian and members of the Apostolic Church of the East in which we all pride ourselves, and we are Iraqis and we have the honor of being the legitimate heirs of the great, deep-rooted civilization, and we are Assyrians, the descendants of those noble ancestors …” might end any further discussions in this regards and would make other invited parties to consider this call as a pre-conditioned terms of negotiations.
4. This call could be taken more seriously should it have been accompanied with an official invitation submitted through proper channels as well.

I think that the situation we are facing now in Iraq is urging us to call for a national reconciliation conference to resolve any internal disagreements (not bind to the name issue only!).

This national reconciliation conference must also include our political parties and organization from all factions (inside Iraq or in diaspora) to discuss and resolve the current and hot disputed issues including those related to our national rights stated in the Iraqi Transitional Administrative Law.

Sehr geehrter Herr Schwarzenegger!

Sargon Badalgogtapeh
Deutchland

Als Assyrer habe ich mich sehr darüber gefreut, dass Sie meinem Volk in Kalifornien zum assyrischen Neujahrsfest am 01.04.04 gratuliert haben. Diese Nachricht habe ich im Internet im assyrischen "Zinda magazine.com" gelesen.

Ich bin ein Assyrer aus dem Iran und kam 1967 als Student nach Europa. Von '67-'73 habe ich in Österreich / Steiermark an der Montan- Hochschule in Leoben Werkstoffwissenschaften studiert. Abgeschlossen habe ich mein Studium an der Technischen Universität Berlin, wo ich noch heute mit meiner Familie lebe.

Wie Sie sicherlich wissen, gehörte das Volk der Assyrer zu den ersten Christen der Welt. Heutzutage leben die Mehrheit der Assyrer außerhalb ihr Ursprungsländer: Iran, Irak, Türkei, Syrien, Libanon etc. Der Grund, weshalb Assyrer ihre Heimat verlassen mussten, war Genozid an den Christen durch die damalige Regierung ( z.B. durch die Türken 1915 ) sowie durch islamische Fanatiker und Kurden im Norden des Irans (Urumie).

Die 16-köpfige Familie meines Großvaters mütterlicherseits wurde damals im Iran ausgelöscht. Mein Großvater, der damals in den USA gearbeitet hatte, erfuhr diese Nachricht aus den Zeitungen und fuhr daraufhin sofort zurück nach Urumie. Wie Ihnen sicherlich ebenfalls bekannt ist, werden die Assyrer die
Indianer des Zweistromlandes ( Euphrat-Tigris )-heutiges Irak - genannt.

Die Assyrer im Irak wurden seit eh und je systematisch verfolgt, bedroht und ermordet, allein wegen ihrer Glaubenzugehörigkeit. Viele Assyrer wurde gezwungen zum Islam überzutreten oder haben aus Angst ihre Heimat verlassen. Heutzutage leben allein in den USA 400.000 Assyrer. C.a. weitere 900.000 leben vertreut in: Kanada, Australien, lateinamerika und Europa. Zur Zeit leben deshalb nur noch ca. 200.000 Assysrer zerstreut im Irak.

Wie ich aus den Medien erfahre, werden täglich assyrische Familien in Bagdad umgebracht und viele Assyrer verlassen ihr Ursprungsland. Wieder findet ein Exodus der Assyrer statt. Der TV-Sender ARTE hat aus Kurdistan ( Norden des Irans ) berichtet, dass kurdische Organisationen gezielt und systematisch assyrische Familien aus Ihren Häusern in eine ungewisse Zukunft vertreiben, die Häuser werden von den Kurden okkupiert. Politisch gesehen heißt das,
dass Assyrer in ihrer Heimat keine Rechte mehr haben.

Sehr geehrter Herr Gouverneur von Kalifornien, ich bitte Sie inständig sich für das Schicksal meines Volkes einzusetzen und Ihren Einfluss bei der amerikanischen Regierung geltend zu machen, in dem Sie auf die verzweifelte Lage und ungewisse Zukunft dieser christlichen Minderheit - des assyrischen Volkes - in Kurdistan aufmerksam machen um sie vor der Vertreibung, Verelendung und Ermordung zu schützen.

Schlimm ist, dass gerade die Kurden, welche lange Zeit selbst verfolgt wurden und sich nun demokratisch nennen, die gleichen Verbrechen die Ihnen von z.B. Saddam angetan wurden nun an meinem Volk verüben.

Dieser Brief wurde auch an das Zinda magazine gesendet.

Shame on the Church of the East in Los Angeles!

David Gavary
California

Why we should be known as Assyrians while the Church's lobby is strongly putting every effort to dismantle the Assyrian societies which are there to represent us as Assyrians.

April 24th is the Genocide Day and has been recognized worldwide and nationwide as well and not like the August 7 which we mourn behind the close doors. In our Assyrian Association in Los Angeles we go out and demonstrate alongside our Armenian allies which they have been kind enough to allow us to carry our own signs, allow us to say what we have to say about our fellow Assyrians who were cowardly and brutally murdered by the Ottomans.

Let's put ourselves in their shoes which most of them didn't have any to wear and were walking and sometimes running on the rough roads and rocky mountain roads in winter while the snow storm was whipping their faces and blinding their eyes. They had to leave everything they worked for behind, they had no time to bury their deads or carry their elderly and infants a situation which only Shakespearians are able to write about it .

Sad..... And in such day how dare is the Church of the East in Los Angeles celebrating a food festival. Yes, they did it and every possible effort to stop them failed. To my best knowledge the heads of the Church of the East were informed, but unfortunately it looks like they don't take orders from their bishops and this church is independent. Why? Then who controls these churches? Shall we find the answers in the pages of a book called "The Church of The East And the Church of England" (A history of The Archbishop of Canterbury's Assyrian Mission)?

Among the large crowd of the Armenian demonstrators we could see and hear different emblems and slogans which they sound as a battle cry and the most touching one was "The Shame on Turks". We had our own slogans event hough we were few but proud was " The Shame on the Los Angeles Church of The East.

Ishtar Redux

Tiglath Chibo
Australia

This e-mail is in response to Paul Younan's letter regarding Pascha.

The biblical sources you gave, besides proving that the Passover was a feast day, in no way shape or form indicate that the Days of Unleavened bread and the feast day of passover were known by the same name.

Instead they are shown to be separate and distinct just as Acts 12:1-4 and your listed sources prove.

I say again the word, "Easter" has been incorrectly translated "Passover" in all Bible versions EXCEPT for the authorized King James version (AKJV). In the passage Acts 12:1-4, King Herod killed James and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he took Peter DURING the DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD and was going to bring him forth to the people AFTER Easter.

Therefore, Easter(Ishtar) could not be Passover because Passover occurs BEFORE the days of unleavened bread which is when they arrested Peter. Passover had come and gone. Herod decided to bring Peter forth AFTER Easter. This is the sequence:

1. PASSOVER
2. DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD
3. EASTER (ISHTAR)

When the AKJV says EASTER in Acts 12:4 it is correct. When the other versions say PASSOVER in Acts 12:4 they are incorrect. And Easter in this passage is referring to our very own ancient Babylonian festival commemorating the resurrection of our God Tammuz and Goddess Ishtar.

As clear and obvious as this evidence is, it still will not convince people who believe in not only the infallibility of the Bible, but in the infallibility of the older original Aramaic versions of the Bible.

These same people still deny that Moses's Ten commandments are an abridged version of our Babylonian King Hammurabi's code of Laws.

They will still deny that it was Napishtim from the Epic of Gilgamesh who collected two animals of every kind and built an ark.

They still believe that the Book of Job preceded the Akkadian poem, I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom(Ludlul bel nemeqi) which deals with the problem of the righteous sufferer.

They still deny that the so-called Song of Solomon bares an uncanny resemblance to the love poems written to commemorate the sacred marriage of Ishtar and Tammuz during the Autumn Equinox celebrations.

And they still deny that it was King Sargon who was found floating down a river as a babe and not Moses.

Now considering that of the 100 million cuneiform tablets left by our ancient ancestors in and around Iraq only 1 million have thus far been uncovered and of those 1 million only 25% have been translated. That means that ONLY 0.25% of our ancient knowledge has come down to us from our ancestors. If this small percentage of our knowledge has invalidated so much of the Bible already I believe that once uncovered and translated our cuneiform tablets will show the Bible to be nothing but a plagiarised version of our ancient myths, epics and poems.

So in that respect I agree with you Paul, let's go back to the original sources of the Bible but not the Aramaic version that you are referring to but to the original cuneiform tablets written by our ancestors thousands of years before the Bible was “written."

Assyrian FM Radio Broadcast from Australia

Agnes Polese
Australia

I just want to inform all Assyrians that I established an Assyrian radio two years ago on 2000 FM (98.5FM), It airs every Monday, from 9.30-11.30 AM. We are going to have a party to raise money because I have been paying for the time slot since the commencement of the radio on 13 May 2002. No assistance from any Assyrian organisations on regular basis only very little.

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Community Events

Legal Assistance Clinic for Assyrians in Chicago

Hammurabi Law Society &
the Assyrian Academic Society
Chicago

The Hammurabi Law Society & t he Assyrian Academic Society present a free, legal assistance clinic for Assyrians.

Come and ask your Assyrian attorneys any legal questions you may have.

Attorneys will be available to answer questions in the following areas:

IMMIGRATION PERSONAL INJURY
BANKRUPTCY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
ESTATE PLANNING LITIGATION
FINANCIAL PLANNING EMPLOYMENT
REAL ESTATE BUSINESS & CORPORATE

This is your chance to ask experts in their areas about your legal issues!

DON’T MISS IT!

Saturday May 15, 2004 from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
ANCI Building, 2450 West Peterson, Chicago

Middle East Music Ensemble's Spring Concert

The University of Chicago Middle East Music Ensemble presents its final concert of the season on Friday, April 30, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. at the Oriental Institute’s Breasted Hall!

Established in 1997 by the Department of Music at the University of Chicago to enhance the Performance Program and to compliment the ethnomusicology graduate program, the Middle East Music Ensemble is comprised of members of the university community, students, and musicians from the Chicago area, performing a wide variety of Middle Eastern repertoire ranging from traditional folk melodies to contemporary instrumental and vocal works of the 20th and 21st centuries. Recent guest artists include Latif Bolat, one of the most well-known Sufi and Turkish folk musicians in the United States, and the Chicago branch of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order of Dervishes.

The Ensemble, which includes the Assyrian composer and vocalist, Shlimon Bet-Shmuel, has become a unique multicultural forum performing music from Iran, Iraq, Assyria, Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Bosnia, Turkey, Tunisia, and Greece. According to director Issa Boulos, a distinguished Palestinian composer and established ‘ud player in Chicago, the concert is an “intensive _expression of our determination to present authentic music and spread the word about these diverse musical traditions.” Featured pieces on the program include: Goleh Gandom and Aziz Joon, two examples of traditional Persian folklore songs from the Mazindaran area; an improvisational solo performed by master Iranian Santour player Kiu Haghighi; Naghma’e Afghani, a song of tribute to legendary Afghan rubab player Ustad Mohammed Omar, performed by child prodigy Habibullah Wardak; Lylo Bagh, a Pashto love song expressing the pain of lovers separated by distance; plus Zaytun and Raqs al-Janub, two original compositions by Boulos.

Friday, April 30, 2004 at 6:00 p.m.
Breasted Hall at the Oriental Institute
1155 E. 58th Street; Enter from the main entrance on 58th Street
Free and open to the public; no tickets required.

For the latest concert information, call the Concert Hotline: (773) 702-8069.

Literatus
Editor's Choice

The Future of Iraq?

Rev. Ken Joseph Jr.
Washington D.C.

`The Future Of Iraq` could not have been a more appropriate title for the conference taking place in a hotel coincidently right next to the Pentagon in Washington D.C.

On a backdrop of the words `The Future of Iraq` framed by Iraqi and American flags speakers including two members of the Iraqi Governing Council - Hon. Yonadam Kanna, Hon. Ibrahim Al Jaffary and Hon Rend Al Rahim, the Iraqi Ambassador addressed the audience on issues of interest to the expatriate Iraqi community.

In what should have been a professional, administrative meeting, though, the gathering took off to a worrying start with the very visible presence of three Muslim Clerics sitting on the front row along with the other dignitaries and an opening reading of the Koran and prayer.

Ms. Rend, opened the meeting with a very upbeat and positive speech in perfect English exhorting the attendees to consider the future of their country and to help in its rebirth.

Professional, direct and confident and with hear head uncovered, she projected a positive and encouraging view of the fuure of Iraq.

Mr. Al Jeffrey spoke on various problems confronting the country and the Governing Council of which he is a member.
Commenting on the need to develop a Democracy, respecting the rights of women and dealing with remnants of the previous regime he provoked an angry response from the audience with a comment on the possibility of having to include some former Baath Party members in government in the future.

`We will never forgive the Baath Party - they destroyed our lives` was shouted out from the audience to the nods and agreement of those assembled.

`Much of our problems are a result of a lack of Democracy. We need to replace weapons with ballots. We need to allow all people to express their opinions and restore the supremacy of the rule o law.` he explained.

Al Jaffray went on to explain how the firing of the Army was a source of many of the problems in Iraq today and characterized the Transitional Constitution as `created in dialogue and the result of compromises which constrained the whole process>`

Mr. Yonadan Kanna, the sole Assyrian Christian on the Governing Council surprisingly concentrated his talk on practical aspects of rebuilding the Iraqi nation including references to 1 1/2 million Iraqis without housing and major infrastructure problems.

`It is the duty of all Iraqis to return to their country` he said in a theme echoed throughout the conference. `His comment that `now all Iraqis can have two citzenships` was received with thunderous applause.

Only Bad news is being reported from Iraq but things are going very well. We are against the media that only portrays the bad news from Iraq` he continued.`

He concluded his talk by reminding listeners that `the world is a safer place as a result of the fall of Saddam Hussein` and reminding the audience that `truth, freedom and Democracy will come to Iraq` and mentioned in passing the need to respect the cultural and religious identity of all Iraqis. `

The event concluded with a question and answer session taking questions from those assembled. Questions ranged from inquiries into practical information on investing in Iraq to questions on the future of Saddam Hussein to questions on the need for the Islamic opening of the conference.

In a later one on one discussion with Mr. Al Jaffrey I was extremely shocked by what I consider to be the core problem with the above conference and its greater reflection as a microcosm of the reality of the future of Iraq.

It centers around a complete lack of understanding of the rod of Islam in present day Iraq. In discussing with Mr. Al Jaffrey the danger of having such meetings opened with the Islamic presence, article 7 of the current temporary constitution which says `Islam is the official religions of the country` Mr. AL Jaffrey defended them both by saying `this respects our culture If we did not include it the people would never accept it.`

When confronted with the fact that the Constitutional Committee appointed by the Governing Council has recommended very clearly that the constitution make no references to `religion or ideology` he dismissed it as `irrelevant`.`

When challenged by the fact that having lived for many years outside of Iraq, mincingly in England maybe he had failed to understand the current `pulse` of the Iraqi people who have clearly to this author in repeated interviews indicated a desire to become a `normal` country he became quiet.

An aide, Mr. Afthal Alshami, clearly more in touch with the feelings of the very modern and cosmopolitan Iraqis commented `maybe this is something we should do - to survey the feelings of the people on this issue` Mr. AL Jaffrey responded by saying `Come to Iraq. I will help you and you can travel throughout Iraq and gather the opinion of the people to this important point.`

Clearly not used to being challenged, particularly in such a key point - that the Iraqi people desire an Islamic identity their government his responses were unconvincing.

Most surprising, though was the comment of Mr. Al Jaffrey in regards to the role of Islam. `When we have our meetings in the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad we always have them like today - with an opening and a prayer by an Islamic Cleric. Even Mr. Yonadan Kanna, the Assyrian Christian representative on the Governing Council did not object to the inclusion of article 7 (Islam is the official religion of the state) in the conclusion. If the Americans support it and the Assyrian Christians then I do not understand your objections`.

Commenting on the Islamic question Mr. Jamil Jamil Abu Tabitha, a respected Iraqi Historian, acknowledged at the beginning of the meeting commented `The problem is the large number of Islamists on the Governing council. The are not representative of the Iraqi people. Mr. Al Jaffrey is an Islamist himself and they try to make it out for their own purposes that the people are more `Islamic` than they actually are!.`

`The reality is the only ones that would oppose a secular constitution are the Islamic Clerics. To characterize them as the `Iraqi people` is not accurate.` he continued.

`The positive thing about Iraq is that the Iraqi people are secular. They do not want religion in any form associated with the Government. They do not want become like Iran or one of the other Arab countries which mix religion and politics for their own ends.`

Putting things into perspective, though were two Assyrian Christians Kathryn Michael, a longtime underground activist working for many years against the Saddam Regime. `The Constitution, the role of Islam - what can we do! They are the majority. We are weak.` she said.

Another, Assyrian Christian, David Enwyia lamented `Why don’t we have any of our priests here too? Why don’t we have our leaders here? I tried and tried to get them to come but could not. It is not just their fault - it is our fault too. Our priests did not care enough to come nor do our leaders. Theirs do.`

The `Future of Iraq` conference was significant not for what it accomplished - an introduction of Iraqi officials to the expatriate community and an exhortation to come back and support their homeland.

It was significant for what it exposed. First, the unchecked influence of Islam completely disregarding the reality of the Iraqi identity - very secular and views of the Iraqi people.

Meetings in the American Coalition Provisional Authority offices opening with an Islamic Mullah and his reading of the Koran and prayers when its own members could not do the same in any official function with their own religious beliefs?

Opening a public meeting, again with Islamic Mullahs reading the Koran and praying?

Second, though it revealed a very simple fact in any kind of diplomacy- at the end of the day it is strength that matters.

The `Islamists` clearly mischaracterized the Iraqi people as being more `Islamic` than they actually are. Worse, though, if it is true, is the fact that American officials while strictly requiring a separation of religion and state in their own affairs seem to see little wrong with allowing American Tax dollars to be expended to promote Islam in American Government sponsored events and as in the conference in such a blatant way.

In contrast to Mr. Al Jaffrays characterization, Tabikh touched on the reality that is the key to the success of `The Future of Iraq`.

`The Iraqi people are very secular. They are through with Saddam but at the same time do not want Islamic influence in their government and lives - they just want to become a `normal` country and rejoin the world. As often characterized a completely secular constitution would not be opposed by the Iraqi people but simply by the Islamic Clerics who do not reflect the views of the majority of the Iraqis.`

It would appear from the atmosphere in the `Fuure of Iraq` conference, held with American Government sponsorship that it has come time to face he critical question for the future of Iraq. Will the `The Future of Iraq` be that of a forward looking, secular democracy that can set a standard for `The Future of the Middle East`?

Will there be a secular constitution with no references to religion or ideality as clearly proposed by the Constitutional Committee charged with its preparation with special rights and protections for minorities, including the indigenous Assyrian Christians?

Will it further provide for free and fair elections and a sitting legislature?

The United States risks greatly by pushing a clearly premature July 1 handover to the likes of Islamists who seem to care little for the views of the Iraqi people and instead insist on characterizing them according to their own views..

Without a courageous plan as in Japan 57 years ago in which a similarly situation succeeded I turning a religious police state into a modern democracy the `Future of Iraq` conference is a `back to the future` reversal of the future of Iraq.

The unnecessary and clearly against the wishes of the majority of the Iraqis prominence given to Islam and the Islamic Clerics, further worrying by the proposal for the new Iraqi flag with an Islamic Crescent on it needs to be stopped.

The views of the average Iraqi who today after 35 years of a secular Saddam Baathist Regime needs to be heard. Further, the Assyrian Christian community and other minorities in Iraq must demand of its leaders more forthright defending of their positions in the `Future of Iraq` and other such forums, and in particular to the US Government.

In the Middle East what drives power is strength. The position of the United Stats should be clear. A war was fought for two reasons - first to remove Saddam and second to give to the Iraqi people a nation that would respect freedom, democracy, the rule of law and equal rights and protection of all citizens -whether muslim or non-muslim.

The first goal was accomplished with lighting speed. The second goal, as reflected by the `Future of Iraq Conference` has a long way to go and clearly needs to be accomplished with the same tool that caused the military battle to be so successful - strength.

The Islamists are not bent not on turning Iraq into a model, Arab democratic society reflecting a populace that wants to rejoin the world, but instead into a backward, Islamic state that they can continue to control as they do throughout the Middle East.

Their agenda need to be stood up to in the same way as was Saddam and soundly defeated. They need to be confronted and not `coddled` and allowed to abuse the goodness of the United States in liberating them from Saddam

Over 700 Americans did not give their lives to deliver Iraq into the hands of Islamists, however gentle and unassuming their words. The July 1 date must be put off until the basics of a Democratic and representative government are in place. If not the United States risks creating another `Iran` - a previously open, secular nation turning back the clock hundreds of years against the clear views of their people - and leaving in its wake another terror sponsoring state in direct conflict with the fundamental principles which formed the core of the battle against Saddam Hussein.

No public, American Taxpayer sponsored meeting should be opened by Islamic Clerics and the reading of the Koran and prayer! It is completely unacceptable! Coming at a time when the Supreme Court ruled prohibiting even prayer at the Virginia Military Academy it seems particularly ironic that apparently daily prayers and readings from the Koran take place in US Government facilities in Iraq and elsewhere.

The `Fuure of Iraq` must be one of democracy, and the the rule of law - one in which the minority Assyrian Christians, the indigenous people of Iraq, and all other Iraqis are protected and given back what for 35 years has been taken from them . . . Freedom.

After all wasn’t that what it was all about in the first place?

[Rev. Ken Joseph brought the first relief shipment into Iraq immediacy following the end of the war, directs Assyrianchristans.com and is completing a book on his experience in Iraq entitled `I Was Wrong`. Rev. Joseph is in Washington D.C. this week, appearing in several FoxNews, CNN, and CBN shows to increase awareness of the American public to the plight of the Assyrians in Iraq.]

When One Takes Leave of His Faculties

Ivan Kakovitch
California

The response to the new flag of Iraq and the speech by Mr. Kanna (click here), on April 25, 2004 in Washington, D.C., deserve magnanimous comments.
There are three (3) categories of Assyrians that might respond:

1. Those who envisage fiefdom and enslavement, the latter, for their brethren in Iraq.
2. Those who procrastinate destruction and annihilation of their nation, Assyria.
3. Those who have taken leave of their faculties.

What need is there for leadership which succumbs to all the whims and deeds of its enemies?

What need is there to respect such leadership which advocates an imposed democracy by Islam, under the titular military might of the U.S.?

What need is there to adorn the Assyrian halls, hearts and minds with infantile slogans and proclamations on behest of Assyria in Iraq?

Perhaps, one might assume, that Mr. Kanna and his followers in Iraq, namely Zowaa, are acting within the wrought upon irreversible conditions. This is coalescing, to a degree, as if to compare it with the pretentious disasters that might permeate our meager population in Iraq.

However, for the Assyrians outside of Iraq, to stand -- no, to applaud and to commend such actions by one of their political parties in Iraq -- is the ugliest aspect of all of the human thought, and all of the human reason.

Never mind the audacious new flag for Iraq, where a Kurd as a minority is given both religious, geographic and national recognition, whereas, Assyria is desecrated, annihilated, discarded and forgotten.

This is especially so evident, since most of the adherents to a one-party system happen to be thinking, or let us just say educated men and women.

For this latter group of Assyrians, I have unremorseful unguarded disdain.

Shame on you!

From Myth to Math & Magic to Logic

Fil Isaac
Toronto, Canada

Often we read how certain myths dominated and guided mankind’s world and for centuries they lived and died believing in them. A good example would be the belief that the world was flat and all the other known constellations revolved around it. It took courage and conviction to rise up and knock this one myth and prove that you are right and the rest of the world is wrong. This is not an easy task and if Galileo was around he would tell you first hand that it is a lifetime struggle to dispel a myth and replace it with science that can be understood and proven using mathematics. Just 350 years or so ago they used to burn witches. The religious tolerance was such that anything that could not be explained or the human mind could not comprehend was often perceived as evil and therefore, would be deemed to be magic. We all now know that there is no such a thing as pure magic and when the trick is revealed, the answer seems so simple.

The Assyrian Nation is just emerging from such a phase. The phase of totally and willingly accepting what was taught to them by the knowledgeable as well as what was dictated forcibly by forces of occupation. Only recently, we are beginning to examine, explore, feel and touch issues for the sake of making informed decisions based on complex data. Having gradually but not totally removed some of the barriers we can see the emergence of a better educated and well informed generations coming to grips with the political, social and economical circumstances and the realities affecting our nation. The small glimmer of hope for a democratic Iraq still flickers and it would be a huge factor in establishing a base upon which we can plan and build on.

However, some remnants of the old school still exist and are hanging on to the old myths. Clinging to the notion that our religious beliefs or a single organization will eventually prevail will only result in missed opportunities and prolonging our national slumber. Our religious teaching has enough to suggest that a person is given the brain and acumen to think through and decipher what is good and what is otherwise. The constants of a changing world require that we evolve accordingly and adapt and/or seize calculated opportunities. Our organizations have not been organized to the point of establishing unified policies. In our universe, we all know that the sun is where the other planets revolved around and to think that one single organization is the centre of the Assyrian Universe is a myth. To the majority, our nation is the sun and all Assyrian organizations should find common grounds to work together harmoniously in plotting paths that lead to our unified objectives.

I will go on believing that sooner or later we will find that we need one another. Contributing to the well being of a fellow Assyrian is in reality serving myself as well. You being a single spoke in the Assyrian national wheel assure me that like you, I am very much attached to the same hub (our nation).

Vision we have, it is the plan and a National Fund that is missing A fund where all able Assyrians need to contribute a minimum of one dollar a month. If I can entrust my nation’s fate then I can certainly depart with my twelve dollars.

Planning, cannot and will not be achieved with magic. We need the proper resources namely people and money.

Is there an organization that is willing to shelve their differences and humble itself to take the initiative?

PS. This article was inspired by Mr. Wilfred Bet-Alkhas’s article in April 12/2004 entitled “Zinda Magazine Calls for Historical Sum

Bravo
Assyrians at their Best

Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church Working for Captives' Release

Courtesy of Zenit News Agency
28 April 2004

(ZNDA: Baghdad) The Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, Mar Emmanuel III Delly, has confirmed that His Beatitude is working for the release of hostages in Iraq, particularly three Italians, but he asked for patience.

Patriarch Delly told an Italian episcopal conference that the hostages "are well and I think that in the end they will be released."

The Chaldean patriarchate has been working for days, in collaboration with the apostolic nuncio, for the release of the three kidnapped on April 12. A fourth companion in captivity was murdered two days after being seized.

"We are looking at all solutions, without discarding any; we are knocking on all doors," said the Chaldean patriarch.

He appealed to family members "to pray and have confidence in the Lord. They must have patience and not talk too much. We must work in silence."

He added: "The situation could change from one moment to the next, because there are people who are not working for the good of Iraq. In this region, one must be cautious, proceed with slow but sure steps. On this question, less noise is necessary on the part of the media."

The kidnappers transmitted a video Monday showing the three Italians and asking the Italian people to organize a large protest in Rome against the war in Iraq. Otherwise the captors threatened to kill the hostages.

Family members have organized a protest in Rome for Thursday, calling for the release of the kidnapped.

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