From GFA (Assyria Liberation Party)

22/07/2005 A.D.
22/03/6755 Assyrian Year

His Holiness the Patriarch,

It came to our attention your article, which was published in An-Nahar newspaper (Beirut) on June 12, 2005 titled: "Islam and Christianity a historical completeness in building the Arab culture".

We read the following: "Today as Muslims and Christians we need to spread national awareness, following in the footsteps of the blessed forefathers who shed their blood on the Arabian homeland's soil when they liberated it from its usurpers, defending it over the generations when the Muslims and Christians were in the same trenches. They protected the civilization and handed it to us a trust to preserve, and their blood runs in our veins" Then your Holiness continue: " We are one Arab people, so let's strengthen the patriotic unity allover the Arab world and let's raise high the banner of Arabism".

If this was written by an individual, it would not have amazed us but for such a declaration to come from the highest religious authority, the supreme head of the Syriac Orthodox Church ­ in support of previous statements by the Bishops of the church promoting Arabism causes reservation and resentment of the believers in our Church all over the world.

We would like to remind Your Holiness that this declaration contradicts the one in1994 published in the 1994 issue of the Patriarchal magazine, when in Athens, before thousands of the Greek Church believers, you explained the ture identity of our people.

Each person has the right to express his opinions, feelings and identity. If you consider yourself an Arab, then that's your choice and is aright which you can't be stripped of by any one, but why then the generalizing and speaking on behalf of every one else and why are you declaring the identity of the Syriac Church believers as Arab!?

What is the meaning then of our own language, noble civilization and usurped homeland. We are an independent people with our own national, historical and human characteristics which are deeply rooted in our homeland for thousands of years, so with due respect to all the peoples of the universe whom we respect and appreciate, but it's our right to demand that we be treated equally.

There's an attempt in the published article to earn the sympathy of Arabism, favoritism and informal merging with Arabic speakers. Our forefathers paid a dire price for their beliefs, denominations and nation they willingly paid with their lives because of their faith in their Cause and belief And they were forced many a time to accept Islam.

His Holiness the Patriarch, had we accepted to be called (Arabs) we would have spared ourselves lots of persecution and misery.

Isn't it unjust to purposely attempt to redefine our culture nad heritage and failliate its disapearance into Arabism- With all due respect to the Arab brothers and other peoples with whom we share living in our homeland- Your Holiness knows more than any one else that we are a noble people, inheritors of a civilization whose roots go into history for more than 3000 years B.C., that our people speak the Assyrian language [Eastern and Western dialects] and that this language has its own distinctiveness and entity which are completely independent of the Arabic language.

Many of our people deserted their nationality and faded away among other cultures who occupied our homeland (Ashur) forced by repression, persecution, and tyranny of tyrant rulers, cruelty and of racial and religious discrimination, and cruelty of the majority against the minority

It's regrettable that as the world and the Middle East are passing through diverse circumstances where democratic powers, civil society organizations, opposition movements and secular powers are calling for removal of dictatorial regimes, re-establishing democratic freedoms and recognizing national, political, cultural and religious plurality in the Arab worl- As all this is going on, some of our religious figures and political organizations are competing to deny our national identity and distinctiveness by dissolving, throwing themselves into the
lap of others, adopting names and cultures that have nothing to do with our nation and nationality.

Aren't all the declarations by such people against a stab in our nation's honor, toying with its components, denying its rights and existence By whom!? When!? And in what age!?

At a period of national realizations and rapid changes which are overcoming the world!? We are being Arabized, Kurdified, Turkified, and Persianized when we are the most ancient people in the whole world!? What's more troubling of all is fact that we are being forced by few individuals , they forget that every person is free to choose where he belongs.

Statements such as these issued by Your Holiness and some Bishops are farther away from the mission which you have been consecrated for, which we didn't allow ourselves to interfere with, but we declare our complete rejection of such statements and our rejection of any political or religious authority that try to falsify our true history, identity, and nationality.

What our people need today are brave leaders capable of defending the basic values of our existence and demanding national rights for our Assyrian nation (all denominations) but we don't need those who are endeavoring to falsify our history, obliterate our identity, and make us fade away within other peoples.