Christians of Iraq

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Updated list of Opression and Murders of the Assyrians in Iraq Not reported by the International Press

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---- Kurds remove Arabs and Assyrians thru violence by Spero News  | Tags: iraq, eastern christianity, kurds, islam, ethnic cleansing. Kurds are overwhelming Kirkuk in northern Iraq, reversing the Arabisation policy of Saddam Hussein who brought Sunni and Shia Arabs, Assyrians and Turkmen. (It is true that Saddam brought Sunni and Shia Arabs to Kirkuk but not Assyrians or Turkmen. According to the March 2003 Human Rights Watch documents on War in Iraq http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/iraq/ and other sources, "starting in 1991 Gulf War, 'the Iraqi government systematically expelled an estimated 120,000 Kurds, Turkomans, and Assyrians from Kirkuk and other towns and villages in this oil-rich region." web master's comment November 16, 2006 There are fears that Iraq's northern city of Kirkuk will be a hot spot for increased violence following a mass influx of Kurds into the city in a bid to reverse the Arabisation policy of the government of ousted president Saddam Hussein. "People are dying every day in Kirkuk because everyone wants to control the city, which over the years was under the Sunni Arabs and the Turkmen. In the past two years, it has come into Kurdish hands," said Saleh Younis, political analyst and spokesperson for North Political and Sociological Group (NPSG), a local organisation that monitors political tension in northern Iraq. Kirkuk, some 250km north of Baghdad, is historically an ethnically mixed city populated by Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, Arabs and Armenians. However, its rich oilfields have been a major sticking point that has pitted Arabs [Sunni and Shi'ite] and Turkmen against the Kurds, who refer to the city as the 'Kurdish Jerusalem'. Some 70 percent of Iraq's oil-fields are in Kirkuk and the city is, therefore, vital to the country's economy. Arabs, many of whom were Shi'ite, settled in Kirkuk as a result of incentives that were offered by Saddam's former government. When the government fell on 9 April, 2003, Kurdish refugees returned to the city and insisted that it was Kurdish. As a result, many Arabs were forced to leave Kirkuk, despite Sunni and Shi'ite Arab leaders asking them not to. Areas that were once 80 percent Arab became 80 percent Kurd. In the process of the Kurds' reversal of the Arabisation of Kirkuk, thousands of Arabs and Turkmen were killed, analysts said. Tensions are still high. Analysts said that the next 18 months will be crucial for Kirkuk's future as this will be decided by a census and a referendum that are scheduled to take place there at the end of 2007. The referendum, in particular, should settle the question of whether Kirkuk will be annexed to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. "Tensions are on the rise because of Kurdish ambitions to have a referendum in Kirkuk within a year and in other areas they claim as well," said Joost Hiltermann, Middle East Project Director for International Crisis Group (ICG). Tensions between Turkmen and Kurds: Nearly 100,000 Kurds have returned to Kirkuk since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to ICG. The ICG reported that in addition to the returning Kurds who were expelled in the 1980s, other Kurds were also arriving with them to swell Kurdish numbers in the city. "The population of Kirkuk governorate in 2003 was 850,000. Today it is 1,150,000. Where did these 300,000 additional persons come from? Let's say this number is equal to 50,000 families. Only 10,000 Kurdish families were expelled under the old regime. Where do these additional 40,000 families come from?" ICG's report asked. For Turkmen - who were in the majority in the city 50 years ago, according to some demographic analysts - the annexation of Kirkuk by Kurdistan will further dilute their power and increase violence. Tension between Kurds and Turkmen has risen already and has been responsible for the killing of dozens of people every week. The local Turkmen have said that the international community should intervene and protect them. Many of their families have fled the city after a serious upsurge of violence. "We are in the middle of a major crisis. Our children cannot go to schools, medical assistance is hard to come by as there is violence even in hospitals and a large number of our people are unemployed," Abu Mounir, 45, a Turkmen resident said. Security deterioration: Security in Kirkurk deteriorated following the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, former leader of al-Qa'eda in Iraq. "A number of his group seem to have moved to Kirkuk to foment ethnic trouble, capitalising on the divisions that exist, and create chaos," Hiltermann said. In the past two months, the city has witnessed the bloodiest violence since the US-led invasion in 2003. "Most of the killings were a result of ethnic tensions. Each community wants power but unfortunately the Turkmen do not occupy positions of authority and [they] lack weapons, making them the main victims of the violence in Kirkuk," said Lt. Col. Khalif Mashhadanny, a senior member of the local police. He added that most of the 1,000 killings in Kirkuk over the past four months were due to tension between Kurds and Turkmen. Kurds are pinning their hopes on the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which aims to reverse the Arabisation policy in Kirkuk by normalising the city's situation. "The implementation of Article 140 in Kirkuk will mean the total loss of power of Turkmen who have already been killed by Kurds who want to seize control," said Jamal Shann, deputy head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC) in Kirkuk. "This Article should not be implemented. We will do whatever is possible not to let our community lose its last vestiges of power in the government," Shann said. According to Hiltermann, the solution to the Kirkuk problem mostly depended on what role the international community would take in at least defusing the crisis by postponing the referendum on Kirkuk and establishing a mechanism for addressing it. Bassam Kirdar, a spokesperson for Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said that Kurds were not for the destruction of Kirkuk or for the killing of minorities but they just wanted to claim their rights by getting back what Saddam's government had taken from them. "We will make sure that Kirkuk is in our hands through Article 140 because it is our right since we are the majority in Kirkuk and Turkmen and other minorities should accept this to prevent violence and preserve the integrity of the city," Kirdar said. Source: IRIN

Who are the Christians of Iraq? Tishrin II = November Kurds remove Arabs and Assyrians thru violence Nov. 19, 06 Kurdish Officials Employ Saddam Hossain's Tactics Nov. 19, 06 Nuri Kino on Swedish National TV argues the Assyrian cause Nov.18, 06 Professors Dr. Otto Jastrow and Shabo Talay are planning a Toroyo Assyrian Language Dictionary Project Nov.16, 06 Bishops, commission plead for help for Iraqi Christians Nov.15, 06 Turkey Tries to Escape Its History Nov.14, 06 Terrorists Blast Iraqi Church Nov.12, 06 The Non-reaction to the Murder of an Assyrian Priest Nov.12, 06 Turkey Gives Non-Muslims the Right to Own Property Nov.12, 06 Hermit Assyrian nun is anything but reclusive Nov.10, 06 Fresh Concern Expressed About Iraq's Assyrians Nov.10, 06 Silencing Ancient Echoes: Iraq's Christians Nov. 9, 06 The Non-reaction to the Murder of an Assyrian Priest Nov. 9, 06 Iraqi bishop calls for Christian gathering: unite to be counted and more secure Nov. 8, 06 Proud Assyrian Survivor Can Move on Nov. 7, 06 Assyrian Genocide Victims Discovered In Turkey: Report Nov. 6, 06 Lecture by DR. DONNY GEORGE former Chairman, Board of Antiquities, Iraq Nov. 6, 06 Assyrian areas in northern Iraq as shown in a map by Newsweek Nov. 3, 06 Church calls for action over gruesome violence toward Christians in Iraq Nov. 2, 06 Evidence of Turkey's World War One Massacres Covered up by the Military” Nov. 2, 06 This Was Genocide, But Armenians Were Not Its Only Victims Nov. 1, 06 Assyrian UN Delegation Calls for Autonomous Region for Iraq's Assyrians Nov. 1, 06 Tishrin 1 = October The West Turns a Blind Eye to the Ethnic Cleansing of Christians in Iraq Oct. 31, 06 U.S. Bishops Call for Protection of Iraq's Christians Oct. 30, 06 Hood celebrates 150th anniversary of Assyrian reliefs Oct. 30, 06 Assyrian History On Display Oct. 29, 06 Freedom of Religion Key for All in Iraq Oct. 29, 06 14 years young Assyrian boy decapitated in Iraq Oct. 29, 06 Assyrian civic club marks 60 years Oct. 27, 06 From Discovery to Dartmouth: The Assyrian Reliefs Oct. 27, 06 Sargis Aghajan: A Saint or a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing? Oct. 26, 06 Priest Sends SOS for Christians in Iraq; Faithful Flee, Churches Close in Baghdad Oct. 25, 06 The World Must Speak About the ongoing Assyrian Genocide Oct. 25, 06 Iraqi Militias Conducting Ethnic Cleansing Campaign Against Baghdad's Christians Oct. 23, 06 Pope Urges World Leaders to Help Iraqis Rebuild Troubled Nation Oct. 23, 06 Iraq's Christian Assyrians: Living in Fear Oct. 23, 06 Assyrians built aqueducts to bring water to Nineveh predating Romans by 400 years. Oct. 23, 06 Hope for Assyrian Christians 'Rapidly Dying,' Says Former Iraqi Minister Oct. 20, 06 Christians Live in Fear of Death Squads in Iraq Oct. 20, 06 Congresswoman Esho's Letter to Rice about the endengered Christians of Iraq Oct. 20, 06 IRAQ: CHRISTIANS LIVE IN FEAR Oct. 20, 06 Iraq: Christian Minority Seeks Haven From Violence Oct. 19, 06 GEORGIA: Will mob halt Assyrian Catholic centre? Oct. 19, 06 Ancient ruins inspire hope in U.S. forces in Pre-Christian Iraq . Oct. 18, 06 Christian Migration From Mid-East At Heart of Patriarchs' Meeting Oct. 19, 06 Assyrian language Lecture and Seminar in London Oct. 19, 06 Save Us from the Time of Trial Oct. 18, 06 Persecution of non-Muslims increases in Iraq. Oct. 18, 06 In Iraq, a New Level of Threat to Christians Oct. 17, 06 World Has Forgotten Iraqi Christians: Chaldean Patriarch Oct. 16, 06 Some 500 people attend funeral of beheaded priest Oct. 16, 06 Christians are vacating land of Christ Oct. 15, 06 Threats force Iraqi Christians to flee to Syria Oct. 15, 06 Turkey starts to admit it has an ‘Armenian Question’ Oct. 15, 06 Some Turks change religion as way to West Oct. 14, 06 Beleaguered Yazidi find peace high in Iraq's northern mountains Oct. 14, 06 Beheading of Iraqi priest latest attack on minorities Oct. 14, 06 Kurdish Militia Attacks Assyrian TV Station in North Iraq Oct. 13, 06 Iraq priest 'killed over pope's speech' Oct. 13, 06 More than 35,000 Christians have fled violence in Iraq Oct. 13, 06 Prominent Assyrian Priest Beheaded Oct. 12, 06 Father Paulos Iskandar Killed by Terrorist Abductors Oct. 12, 06 Who Will Remember the Assyrian Genocide? Oct. 11, 06 Abducted and raped, young Christian women and girls are driven to suicide in Iraq Oct. 11, 06 Was the genocide of the Ottoman Empire in1915 only against the Armenians, or included Assyrians also? Oct. 10, 06 Traditional Assyrian Costumes Oct. 9, 06 Organisation and Substitutionism Oct. 8, 06 A Nation Without a Country Oct. 8, 06 Swedish authorities honor Malfono Gabriel Afram Oct. 7, 06 Christian husband and wife converts from Islam released Oct. 7, 06 Terror campaign targets Christians of Iraq Oct. 6, 06 In 20 years, there will be no more Christians in Iraq' Oct. 5, 06 \FIRST-PERSON: Assyrian haircut Oct. 5, 06 The Assyrians: Ignored Among Fears of an Iraqi Civil War Oct. 4, 06 Two Iranian Christians arrested in Mashad. Oct. 4, 06 Car Bombs at the Christian Assyrian shopping district in Baghdad killed 16, injured 87 Oct. 4, 06 30 Christian families receive threats to leave Mosul - Iraq Oct. 2, 06 Mr. Sarkis Aghajan, the Finance Minister of the Kurdistan regional Government Asks for more rights for the Assyrians Oct. 2, 06     Archives August, September 06 June, July 06 March April May 06 February 06 December05 Januray 06