|
Assyrians in northern California
press for inclusion
With thousands in area interested in issue, it could help
shape political races
By Michael Doyle
SUN-STAR
July 11, 2005
WASHINGTON -- The new Iraqi constitution already is shaking
the San Joaquin Valley, and it's not even written yet.
Local Assyrians worry the new constitution will favor Islam
over Christianity. Their worries mobilize local lawmakers, who
now are starting to lean on the Bush administration.
"(They are) incredibly concerned about the current drafting
of the constitution," Merced Democrat Dennis Cardoza said.
"The reports they are hearing is that (Iraq is) drafting
a fundamentalist Islamic document."
The local worries and the political response they generate
illustrate how ethnic constituencies shape congressional action.
Beyond that, the long-distance lobbying over Iraq's constitution
highlights the controversial power the United States retains
over a sovereign nation.
Much closer to home, it could shape at least one local congressional
race.
With between 30,000 and 45,000 Assyrians thought to be living
in Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, the region claims
one of the largest such populations in the United States. Assyrian
media serves the region, as do Assyrian churches, and politicians
know to be attentive.
Recently, Cardoza met with His Beatitude Mar Emmanuel III
Delly, the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church. The Assyrian
religious leader advised Cardoza about developments in Iraq,
prompting the congressman to echo the concerns in a July 6 letter
to President Bush.
"The Assyrian people suffered greatly in their attempts
to obtain greater freedom and recognition," wrote Cardoza,
a member of the House International Relations Committee. "It
would be outrageous for minorities who have suffered and sacrificed
so much to not be afforded protection under the new constitution."
Some Republicans, though, view Cardoza's solicitude skeptically.
"The Assyrians, to be perfectly honest, until now haven't
seen too much of Congressman Cardoza," said John Kanno,
an Assyrian who has declared his candidacy against Cardoza. "All
of a sudden, he's pandering to the Assyrian community now that
he's got an Assyrian running against him."
Kanno's parents left their native Iraq in about 1957; subsequently
he was born in England, and has lived in the United States since
1981. An engineer now living in Modesto, Kanno did agree with
Cardoza that "we want freedom of religion" and "some
kind of safe haven" under the new constitution.
In June 2003, Cardoza introduced a House resolution expressing
concern about the status of Assyrians in post-war Iraq. The resolution
gained 10 co-sponsors, including Mariposa Republican George Radanovich,
but did not reach the House floor.
The transitional law currently governing Iraq calls for a
draft of the new constitution to be completed by Aug. 15. It
is supposed to be submitted to the Iraqi public for ratification
by Oct. 15.
One six-month extension is permitted, in case Iraqi officials
cannot meet the original deadlines.
Last week, the Iraqi National Assembly committee drafting
the constitution was expanded to 71 members with the addition
of 15 Sunnis. Dominated by Shiites, the committee includes one
Assyrian Christian, 15 Kurds and one communist, among others.
Iraqi officials insist no extension will be needed.
"We're going to stay on that timetable," Bush told
reporters last month, following a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, "and it's important for the Iraqi people
to know we are."
A current draft of the proposed constitution, translated by
George Washington University scholar Nathan Brown, includes a
provision stating that "discrimination on the basis of gender,
nationality, religion, origin or social standing is forbidden."
The draft also states that "the Iraqi citizen has the
right to freedom of thought, conscience, religious creed and
religious rites."
At the same time, with Muslims making up more than 90 percent
of Iraq's population, Islam may well be declared the nation's
official religion. In an interview, Brown said Friday that while
the "principles" of religious tolerance will be articulated
in the constitution, "the devil will be in the details"
as the new Iraqi parliament begins writing specific laws.
The United States, Brown added, will have "some influence"
in this, but won't be able to dictate the complete work. Still,
Cardoza said, "We have a certain amount of pressure we can
bring to bear" on the Iraqis who are writing their nation's
new governing documents.
"A number of our young men and women have died to bring
them their freedoms," Cardoza said.
|
