Press Release
ASSYRIAN UNIVERSAL ALLIANCE
AUSTRALIA CHAPTER
Member: Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization (UNPO)
Sydney - May 28, 2007.
The Assyrian Universal Alliance (A.U.A. - Australian Chapter) has determined
that it must continue to do all that it can to make the Assyrian voice be heard
by all Democratic Governments and International Organizations. For the past
five years A.U.A. has managed to hold several meetings with The Hon Alexander Downer MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and
raised the Assyrian issues with The Honourable John Howard MP, The Prime
Minister of Australia. We have managed to establish the Assyrian Parliamentary
Friendship Group and lodged a successful petition in the Federal Parliament in
support of establishing a
geographically viable demarcated region for the Assyrians, in Northern
Iraq .
We are pleased to announce that on Thursday 24 May 2007, a
delegation representing the Assyrian Universal Alliance - Australian Chapter, the
Assyrian Church
of the East and the Assyrian Australian National Federation (AANF); went on an
official visit to Canberra
to hold a number of meetings with government officials. The delegates attending
these meetings were;
1- His Grace
Bishop Mar
Meelis Zaia AM.,
of the Diocese of Australia
and New Zealand of the Holy
Apostolic Catholic
Assyrian Church
of the East .
2-
Hermiz Shahen , Secretary of the Assyrian Universal
Alliance - Australian
Chapter.
3- Rev Father
Genard Lazar of the Youth Ministry, Assyrian Church of the East.
4-
Paul Azzo , the organiser of this meeting, active
member in the Assyrian community and Adviser to the Assyrian Universal Alliance
on Foreign Affairs.
5- David M.
David, Vice President of the Assyrian Australian National Federation, Chairman
of AUA Executive Committee in Sydney.
The
delegation met with Mr. Kevin Andrews MP., Minister for Immigration, in the
presence of the Honorable Concetta Fierravanti-Wells. During the
meeting the delegates congratulated the Minister on his new appointment and
expressed their sincere gratitude for the magnificent and tireless efforts by
the Prime Minister of Australia, The Honourable John Howard MP., for taking an
active part in the process of helping the Iraqi people realize a free and
peaceful future and for fighting terrorism and extremism in the world and
particularly in the Middle East.
The delegation briefed the Minister with the
latest development in Iraq
and the neglect of the Assyrian issue after the liberation, the wages of
sectarian violence and systematic abuses by Islamic extremists against the entire
Christian population. As a matter of urgency and importance, the delegates
called upon the Australian Government to take some immediate action and lasting
measures to address the major humanitarian crisis suffered by the Assyrian
refugees and requested emergency assistance such
as food, shelters, education, health care facilities and legal documents for
these displaced Iraqi Christians in order to improve their living conditions in
the host countries, specifically in Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Lebanon.
At the
conclusion of the meeting, the Assyrian Universal Alliance handed an official
letter and some detailed reports to the Minister and another letter addressed
to the Prime Minister of Australia, The Hon. John Howard MP., concerning the
situation of the Christian Refugees and mounting number of threats facing the Iraqi Assyrians.
Later the delegates met with representatives of the Assyrian Parliamentary
Friendship Group Committee in a closed meeting included Senator
Marise Payne, and both Chairmen of this Committee, Mr. Chris Bowen MP.
and Mr. Bruce Baird MP . and
discussed thoroughly the
deteriorating situation facing indigenous Assyrian Christians in
Iraq ,
the major refugees crises and the possible actions to help the Iraqi
Assyrians. After midday the delegation attended another meeting with Mrs Louise Markus MP and then traveled back to
Sydney .
The Assyrian
Universal Alliance - Australian Chapter, wish to thank Mr.
Paul Azzo for his unrelenting commitment to our
cause and his dedicated efforts to organise all the meetings held in the past
five years, His Grace Bishop Mar Meelis Zaia
for his tremendous efforts to address the Christian Assyrian crises in Iraq.
Also we extend our thanks and appreciation to the Minister of Immigration
and members of the Australian Parliament for their continued support for our
people’s rights in Iraq and for raising the Assyrian issue in the Australian Parliament. We hope that
this meeting achieves positive outcomes for the interest and needs of our
Assyrian people in Iraq .
Hermiz Shahen
Secretary,
Assyrian Universal Alliance- Australian Chapter
PO Box 34, Fairfield NSW 1860 Australia. Tel: (02) 9823 5340. Fax: (02) 9610 2499. Mobile: 0407 235349
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