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Assyria: Assyrians Demonstrate
in Washington, D.C.
June 12, 06
Helen Talia
Chicago (reporting from Washington, D.C.)
by Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
A united Chaldo Assyrian Suryani front confronted the Iraqi government
on its latest resolution to eliminate what the Assyrian Democratic
Movement has worked for more than 27 years to establish, which
is to be recognized as equal citizens, among other minorities
in Iraq. Reminder... 'Al Rafidain' - Slate #740 won two consequtive
elections in Iraq's primary election, electing Mr. Younadam Kanna,
Secretary General of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, as their
representative in Iraq's National Parliamant. Today, by dismissing
the word Assyrian, Chaldean, and even Syriac, the Iraqi government
has moved to recognize these minorities as Christians only, by
extension stripping them from their national identity and eliminating
their legislation powers from the Iraqi parliamant, hence their
ability to play an integral role in Iraq's law making processes.
An approximate 600 believers marched the streets of Washington,
D.C. on June 7th, as buses unloaded from primarily Chicago, followed
by Detroit, Arizona, Nevada, California, and Canada, and from
the East Coast states. The marchers, carrying everything from
flags of United States, Iraq, Assyria, Assyrian Democratic Movement,
to bearing their hearts and souls, chanted slogans and national
anthems in Assyrian, English, and Arabic, displaying strong emotions
that prompted Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, Mr. Samir
al-Sumaidai, to leave his post and address the public, who at
the time was chanting the famous Iraqi slogan "Bil Rouh,
Bil Dam, Nahdelak Ya Iraq," translates: with soul, with
blood, we give to you Iraq, giving a rise to the occasion which
left many attendees in tears.
The message was simple, 'Treat Minorities in Iraq As Iraqi
National Citizens.' Evidentally, this message was strong enough
to be carried into the Iraqi embassy as Mr. al-Sumaidai personally
welcomed several Assyrian digniteries: Dr. Adam Benjamin - Assyrian
Democratic Movement, Reverend Aweqam Pithyou - Assyrian Church
of The East, Mr. Aladin Khamis - President, Assyrian American
National Federation, Mr. Michael Youash - Project Director for
the Iraq Sustainable Democracy Project in Washington, D.C., Mr.
Sheba Mando - President, Assyrian National Council of Illinois,
along with Ashur TV Satellite, Assyrians Around the World, and
TV Shrara - California. The results were favorable and sources
confirmed that Iraq's ambassador was moved by the demonstrating
crowd as he welcomed Iraq's minorities to both, voice their demands,
and submit an official proposal to move the Iraqi government
to un-do its last resolution, removing nationalistic representation
of the ChaldoAssyrians Suryani people.
Next, the crowd was moved from the Iraqi Embassy to the U.S.
Capitol to send President George Bush and his administration
a message about his foreign policies and the treatment of minorities
in Iraq, or lack of. Supposedly the United States went to rescue
the Iraqi people (as a whole) from persecution under Saddam Hussein's
tyrranical regime and to establish democracy in Iraq. But in
the process, and in addition to the collateral damage inflicted
on the land and the country's infrastructure, some people went
under, going from a sub-culture to no-existent within Iraq. The
United States's foreign policy in anything but neutral, backing
up one people, and isolating another; publicly opening the gate
wide enough for the Kurds in the north to destroy human and animal
life alike, forcing villagers to abandon their homes and flee
the country... downsizing minorities in Northern Iraq.
"Obviously, the United States policymakers have larger
issues to worry about than to what's happening to a relatively
small community," said one demonstrator Slewo Oshana. This
was evident when a representative from the Kurdistan Democratic
Party who was visiting the Iraqi embassy in Washington, D.C.
on this day, resented the allegations made by the ChaldoAssyrian
Suryanis, denying their claims against the KDP, who in recent
events have flexed their muscles far enough to impose on the
villagers in the Nineveh, Mosul region to join the Kurdistan
Democratic Party in order to employ in any government or municipality
offices. Isn't it ironic that the Kurds have cried wolf for years
to the world about Saddam's treatment of their people, who in
turn have done, if not the same, worse to another people.
The Assyrians are a dominant race, whose culture and literacy
has spanned for more than five thousand years, and the world
has not heard the last from us. We defy all conditions that limit
us recognition as people of origins in Iraq. We reject subjectivity
to the Kurdistan Democratic Party. We demand representation as
people of national origins by our elected representatives.
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