Assyrian independence movement
The Assyrian independence movement is a political movement and ethno-nationalist desire of ethnic Assyrians to live in their indigenous Assyrian homeland in northern Mesopotamia under the self-governance of an Assyrian State.
The tumultuous history of the traditional Assyrian homeland and surrounding regions, as well as the
The territory that forms the Assyrian homeland is, similarly to the rest of Mesopotamia, currently divided between present-day Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria.[4][5] The efforts are specifically in the regions where larger concentrations still exist, and not the Assyrian homeland in its entirety, those regions with large concentrations being Erbil, and the Duhok Governorate in Iraq, the latter two being located in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and the Al-Hasakah Governorate in Syria.[6][7] Mosul and the Nineveh Governorate had a sizable Assyrian presence prior to the takeover and forced expulsion of the Assyrian population by the Islamic State in 2014.[8]
In his 53 years as
The independence movement is active both within the homeland and throughout the global diaspora,[14] with much resistance from the local Middle Eastern states and regions,[15] as well as the Kurdish.[16] The movement has spanned centuries, with the initial conceptualization of modern Assyrian statehood occurring in the 19th century with the waning of the Ottoman Empire and rise of European control of the region, notably by the British and Russian Empires, as well as the French Republic.
There have been many hindrances to the movement, including events such as the
Austen Henry Layard, the British Empire's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century, stated that the Assyrians had survived the Arab, Mongol, and Kurdish conquests in the mountains of Hakkari and northern Mesopotamia, where they had fought to maintain their independence in the nineteenth century.[18]
In 2016, the Iraqi Parliament voted against a new Christian province in Nineveh Plains, which was a stated political objective of all major Assyrian political groups and institutions. Assyrians, including the leader of the Assyrian Christian party Bet al-Nahrain, Romio Hakkari, protested the Iraqi parliament's decision and stated "We do not want to be part of the possible Sunni (Arab) autonomous region in Iraq".[19]
World War I
In Turkey
Assyrians primarily lived in the provinces of
The
At the outset of
In late 1914 and 1915, the Ottoman Empire under the
Following the unprovoked massacres of tens of thousands of unarmed Assyrian civilians by the Ottoman Turkish Army and their allies, the Patriarch of the Assyrians, Mar Shimun XIX Benjamin, declared war on the Ottomans on behalf of the Assyrian nation. The Assyrian army under General Dawid, the patriarch's brother, led the Assyrians in a successful breaking of an encircling Ottoman army maneuver, and across the Persian border onto the plains of Urmia.
Assyrian volunteers
In April 1915 the Assyrian nation, led by its main tribal chiefs of Bit-
The Russian Army Corps had promised reinforcements, which came too late, leading most of the population of the tribes and districts of
Survivors of fighting age joined the Assyrians of northwest Persia, northern Iraq and northeast Syria, including those from
Lacking allies except the British some miles away in Mesopotamia, the Assyrians planned to follow the Russian lines to the Caucasus, but the Allies (including British, French, and Russian diplomats) urged Mar Shimoun and the Assyrian army to defend the Allied-Ottoman front lines, and enjoy autonomy and independence in the post-war period as their reward.[28]
An Assyrian nation under British and Russian protection was promised the Assyrians first by Russian officers, and later confirmed by Captain Gracey of the British Intelligence Service. Based on these representations, the Assyrians of Hakkari, under their Mar Shimun XIX Benjamin and the Assyrian tribal chiefs "decided to side with the Allies, first with Christian Russia, and next with the British, in the hope that they might secure after the victory, a self-government for the Assyrians."
Assyrian resistance in Tur Abdin
The
We all have to die sometime, do not die in shame and humiliation
and lived up to their fighting words.[32]
Also in April, Kurdish and Turkish troops surrounded the village of Tel Mozilt and imprisoned 475 men, among them, Reverend Gabrial, the famous red-bearded priest. The following morning, the prisoners were taken out in rows of four and shot. Arguments rose between the Kurds and the Ottoman officials on what to do with the women and orphans left behind. At about this time, in
In October 1914, 71 unarmed Assyrian males of Gawar were arrested and taken to the local government centre in
Also in April, Kurdish troops surrounded the village of
In April 1915, Ottoman Troops invaded Gawar, a region of Hakkari, and massacred the entire population.[35]
In late 1915,
- Ain-Dare – 200
- Archkanes – 500
- Artoull (Altahtanie) – 500
- Artoun (Alfokanie) – 1000
- Bekend – 500
- Benkof – 200
- Berke – 500
- Charnakh – 200
- Dehok– 500
- Der-Chemch – 200
- Der-Mar-Yacoub – 500
- Der-Maze-n – 300
- Derr-Rabban – 300
- Galwaye – 500
- Goredi – SW
- Guedianes – 500
- Hadide – 1000
- Hartevena – 200
- Ketmes – 1000
- Mar-Chmoune – 300
- Mar-Gourya – 1000
- Piros – 1000
- Redwan– 500
- Sadagh – 2000
- Sairt – 2000
- Tellimchar – 1500
- Teln,evro – 500
- Tentas – 500
The village of Sairt/Seert, was populated by Assyrians and Armenians. Seert was the seat of an Assyrian Archbishop of the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Assyrian orientalist
The Assyrian National Council stated in a December 4, 1922, memorandum that the total death toll was unknown, but it estimated that about 275,000 Assyrians died between 1914 and 1918.[40] The Times of London was perhaps the first widely respected publication to document the fact that 250,000 Assyrians eventually died in the Ottoman genocide of Christians, a figure which many journalists and scholars have subsequently accepted.... As the Earl of Listowel, speaking in the
Scholars have placed the number of Assyrian victims at 250,000 to 500,000.[41][42][43][44][45]
Contemporary sources usually speak of the events in terms of an
The death toll of the Assyrian genocide in Turkey alone was approximately 250,000, according to contemporary and more recent sources. "In 1918, according to the Los Angeles Times, Ambassador Morgenthau confirmed that the Ottoman Empire had 'massacred fully 2,000,000 men, women, and children – Greeks, Assyrians, Armenians; fully 1,500,000 Armenians.' "[41] With 250,000 Greeks among the dead, that makes Ambassador Morgenthau's estimate of Assyrian deaths about 250,000.[41] The Assyro-Chaldean National Council stated in a December 4, 1922, memorandum that the total death toll is unknown, but it estimates that about 275,000 Assyrians died between 1914 and 1918.[40]
Assyrian rebellion
The Assyrian rebellion was an uprising by the Assyrians in Hakkari that began on the 3rd of September 1924 and ended on the 28th of September. The Assyrians of Tyari and Tkhuma returned to their ancestral land in Hakkari in 1922, shortly after World War I without permission from the Turkish government. This led to clashes between the Assyrians and the Turkish army with their Kurdish allies that grew into a rebellion in 1924, it ended with the Assyrians being forced to retreat to Iraq.
In Persia
The Ottoman forces threatened Urmia and northwestern Persia after the
Hannibal Travis, assistant professor of law at Florida International University, wrote in the peer-reviewed journal Genocide Studies and Prevention that[48] the Assyrian city of Urmia was "completely wiped out, the inhabitants massacred," with 200 surrounding villages ravaged, 200,000 of Assyrian dead, and hundreds of thousands more Assyrians starving to death in exile from their agricultural lands. The Associated Press reported that in the vicinity of Urmia, Turkish regular troops and Kurds are persecuting and massacring Assyrian Christians. The victims included 800 massacred near Urmia, and 2,000 dead from disease.[49]
Two hundred Assyrians were burned to death inside a church. The Russians discovered more than 700 bodies of massacre victims in the village of Hafdewan outside Urmia, mostly naked and mutilated, some with gunshot wounds, others decapitated, and still others carved to pieces. Other leading British and American newspapers corroborated these accounts of the Assyrian genocide. The New York Times reported on 11 October that 12,000 Assyrian Christians had died of massacre, hunger, or disease; thousands of girls as young as seven had been raped in sex attacks, or forcibly converted to Islam; Christian villages had been destroyed, and three-fourths of these Christian villages were burned to the ground.[50]
In Iraq
In Iraq, the Assyrians joined the Kurds and Arabs in celebrating the Ottoman defeat, and joining the levies of the
In July 1922, orders were issued in which no more Arabs were to be enlisted, as they were required to join the new
As a high British official in Mesopotamia wrote in 1933: "As they became more disciplined they rendered excellent service; during the
In 1931 Assyrian Levies and Iraqi Army units were patrolling Barzan district. Government troops implied government control, which Shaykh Ahmad still wanted to avoid.[54]
On October 23, 1931, the
He added that "together with the undermentioned signatories being the responsible leaders of the Assyrian Nation" wanted to inform the League that the Assyrians, "which in past centuries numbered millions but reduced to a very small number due to repeated persecutions and massacres that faced us, ... have been able to preserve our Language and Faith up to the present time." He concludes that "WE ARE POSITIVELY SURE THAT IF WE REMAIN IN IRAQ, we shall be exterminated in the course of few years."[56]
On June 1, 1932, the Assyrian Levies presented a signed memorial to their commanding officer stating that "all the men had decided to cease serving as from 1st July." The reason was Britain had "failed adequately to ensure the future of the Assyrian nation after the termination of their mandate over Iraq."[57]
They had dug trenches and were determined on destroying the Assyrians and taking their properties and possessions. Assyrians painfully remembered the massacre of 1933 in Simele and the surrounding villages and pledged "Never Again!". They remembered the raping and pillaging of defenseless Assyrian villagers.[58]
In early 1933, the American representative in Iraq,
In early August 1933, the chiefs of the
Reports circulated of Assyrian mutilation of Iraqi soldiers, later proven to be false. In Baghdad, the government panicked, fearing disaster as the Assyrians presented a formidable fighting force that could provoke a general uprising in the north. The government unleashed
The Assyrian population of the district of Simele was indiscriminately massacred; men women, and children. In one room alone, eighty one Assyrians of Baz tribe were massacred.[61] Religious leaders were prime targets; eight Assyrian priests were killed during the massacre, including one beheaded and another burned alive.[62] Girls were raped and women violated and made to march naked before the Muslim army commanders.[61] Holy books were used as fuel for burning girls. Children were run over by military cars. Pregnant women were bayoneted. Children were flung in the air and pierced with bayonets.
Back in the city of
In the end, around 65 Assyrian villages were targeted in the Mosul and Dohuk districts.[63][64]
The Semele or
The Simele massacre of the
List of targeted villages [64] | |||||||||||||
Ala Keena | Bameri | Betershy | Dairke | Gond Naze | Kaserezden | Korekavana | Majel Makhte | Sirchuri | |||||
Aloka | Barcawra | Betafrey | Dair Kishnik | Harkonda | Kerry | Kowashey | Rabibyia | Shekhidra | |||||
Badalliya | Baroshkey | Bidari | Derjendy | Idleb | Kitba | Lazga | Rekawa | Spendarook | |||||
Baderden | Basorik | Biswaya | Fishkhabour | Kaberto | Khalata | Mansouriya | Sar Shorey | Tal Zet | |||||
Bagerey | Bastikey | Carbeli | Garvaly | Karpel | Kharab Koli | Mawani | Sezary | Tel Khish | |||||
Bakhitmey | Benaringee | Chem Jehaney | Gereban | Karshen | Kharsheniya | Qasr Yazdin | Sidzari | Zeniyat |
Today, most of these villages are inhabited by Kurds. The main campaign lasted until August 16, but violent raids on Assyrians were being reported up to the end of the month. After the campaign, Badr Sidqi was invited to Baghdad for a victory rally.[67] The campaign resulted in one third of the Assyrian population of Iraq fleeing to Syria.[68]
Immediately after the massacre and the shutting down of the Assyrian uprising, the Iraqi government demanded a conscription bill. Non-Assyrian Iraqi tribesmen offered to serve in the Iraqi army, to counter the Assyrians. In late August, the government of Mosul demanded that the central government 'ruthlessly' stamp out the rebellion, and that it eliminate all foreign influence in Iraqi affairs, and that the government take immediate steps to enact a law for compulsory military service.[69]
The next week, 49 Kurdish tribal chieftains joined in a pro-conscription telegram to the government, expressing thanks for punishing the 'Assyrian insurgents',[59][full citation needed] stating that a "nation can be proud of itself only through its power, and since evidence of this power is the army,"[59][full citation needed] they requested compulsory military service. Rashid Ali presented the bill to the parliament. His government fell before it was legislated and Jamil Midfai's government enacted conscription in January 1934.[69]
The massacre would eventually lead to 15,000 Assyrians leaving the Nineveh Plains for neighboring
Conferences and treaties
After siding with the Allies of World War I, the Assyrians were promised an independent state of their own. This promise was not kept.[73]
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
In 1919, the
In the letter the bishop wrote that 180,000 Assyrians had been massacred by the Turks. He also said that the Assyrian people were against the proposed autonomy of the Kurds. The letter convinced France to allow Assyrian representation during the upcoming peace conference.[74]
Three Assyrian groups were scheduled to participate in the Peace Conference: Assyrian delegates from the United States, Iraq and Iran.
The Assyrian group from Iran arrived in France first. The British, having no authority in Iran and fearing the presence of a group which it could not control, forced the Iranian Assyrian delegation to leave Paris and not participate.
Then the Assyrian delegates from the United States arrived. Their demands included the establishment of an Assyrian independent territory which would include Northern Beth Nahrain, beginning at the Little Zab Diyar Bakir and extending to the Armenian mountains, and that the territory would be under the protection of the great powers.
U.S. delegate Rev. Joel E. Werda in his petition concluded;
We have the most conclusive proofs to show that the Assyrians were urged by the official representatives of Great Britain, France and Russia, to enter into the war on the side of the Allies . . . with the most solemn promises of being given a free state. The Assyrians, therefore, having risked the very existence of their nation, and having made such appalling sacrifices upon the altar of freedom, demand that these promises of the Allied governments now be honorably redeemed.[75]
Great Britain and the U.S. delegates denied this petition, explaining that the U.S. President Woodrow Wilson had strong reservations concerning any plans to divide Turkey. The American Assyrian delegation returned from the conference empty handed.
The Assyrian delegates from Iraq, after many delays by the British authorities, were approved to travel to Paris on July 21 on one condition: that they pass through
Treaty of Sèvres, 1920
The Treaty of Sèvres, signed on August 10, 1920, between the Allies and Turkey, laid the foundations for the new Turkish frontier after World War I.[76] Assyrians were not permitted by Great Britain to participate in these deliberations under the rule that the Assyrians were not an equal power with the rest of the participants. However, the Assyrian issue was discussed and the plan was to contain full safeguards for the protection of the Assyro-Chaldeans and other racial or religious minorities under articles 62, 63, 140, 141, 142, 147, 148, 149, and 150. As a result of this treaty, Mosul (Nineveh) was given to Iraq while France was guaranteed 25% of Mosul's oil production.
Article 62 of the Treaty states:[77]
. . . this plan must provide complete guarantees as to the protection of the Assyro-Chaldeans and other ethnic or religious minorities in this area. To this end, a commission made up of British, French,
Kurdishrepresentatives will visit the area so as to determine what adjustments, if any, should be made to the Turkish frontier wherever it coincides with [the] Persian frontier as laid down in this treaty.
Treaty of Lausanne, 1923
The Treaty of Lausanne, signed on July 24, 1923, between the Allied powers and Turkey, was composed after Turkey requested that the issue of Mosul (Nineveh) be re-examined. Assyrians once again were not allowed to participate as Great Britain interfered, but they were promised again that their rights would be protected. It is worth mentioning that Agha Petros, General of the Assyrian Army, attended the opening ceremonies. The United States stood with Great Britain in these deliberations, the latter promising 20% of the oil industry business be awarded to American companies. Turkey lost its appeal to win Mosul back based on Great Britain's claims that the region would be saved for the future settlement of the Kurdish and Assyrian people, but no final agreement was reached.[78]
Article 39 of the treaty states:[79]
There will be no official restriction on any Turkish citizen's right to use any language he wishes, whether in private, in commercial dealings, in matter of religion, in print or at a public gathering. Regardless of the existence of an official language, appropriate facilities will be provided for any non-Turkish-speaking citizen of Turkey to use his own language before the court.
Constantinople Conference, 1924
The Constantinople Conference was between Great Britain and Turkey, May 21, 1924.
The Assyrians were told that Britain was "fighting" their case for them and that there was no need for them to attend. A letter on behalf of the Assyrians and their settlement was written under the direction of Sir Henry Conway Dobbs, the British High Commissioner in Iraq, under "Statement of Proposals for the Settlement of the Assyrian People in Iraq", in that regard.
The government of Turkey claimed Mosul as part of Turkey, and Fet'hi Beg declared that the Assyrians, whom he referred to as Nestorians, are welcome to live in their previous lands in Turkey where they would find freedom. Sir Percy Cox stated that Mosul belonged to Iraq and that the Christian Assyrians needed protection from Turkey.
This was part of his statement:
...His Majesty's Government has decided to endeavor to secure a good treaty frontier, which will at the same time admit of the establishment of the Assyrians in a compact community within the limits of the territory in respect of which His Majesty's Government hold a mandate under the authority of the League of Nations, if not in every case in their ancestral habitation, at all events in suitable adjacent districts. This policy for the settlement of the Assyrians has the full sympathy and support of the Iraqi Government, which is prepared for its part, to give the necessary cooperation for giving effect thereto.[81]
Ultimately, no agreement was reached. Turkey then massed its troops on the border to occupy the Mosul Province by force. The Assyrian Levy Force of 2,000 was sent north to protect Iraq since the Iraqi army at this time was unfit to undertake such a task. The Assyrian force was largely responsible for the annexation of Mosul to Iraq rather than to Turkey, as an official of the League of Nations stated.
Interwar period (1925–1939)
Recommendation of the League of Nations
On June 16, 1925, the Commission presented its findings. It recommended that the Assyrian people receive full protection if they were to return to Turkey, that they be given their freedom, and that they receive reimbursements for all their losses during World War I.
These recommendations were not approved. It was finally decided that the issue be referred to the Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague, an integral part of the charter of the League of Nations. This court was later replaced by the International Court of Justice after the birth of the United Nations.
The Hague September
In 1925 the Permanent Court of International Justice took over the disputed border line issue and, in December 1925, adopted a resolution which refused the idea of the Assyrian's return to Hakkâri and gave that region to Turkey, while giving Mosul to Iraq and settling on a border line almost matching the same status quo line which was called the Brussels Line. Further, it recommended the continuation of the British mandate on Iraq for another 25 years to safeguard the Assyrian interests.[83]
Assyrian human rights
On November 11, 1927, the Assyrians continued to protest their mistreatment and sent letters to the League of Nations, requesting a report from both the governments of Britain and Iraq concerning the situation. The Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague did not accept the reports of Britain and Iraq and requested that both countries fulfill their obligations towards the Assyrians.
British treaties and Assyrian petitions
Britain dropped the earlier established recommendations by the Mandate Commission on the grounds that those recommendations should be directed to the Turkish Government and not the Iraqi Government, Assyrians from the Hakkâri and Tur Abdin originally, escaped and have no intentions of returning to Turkey. Hence, they should occupy the land the Iraqi government has provided for them.
Several treaties were signed and ratified between Britain and Iraq in the next two years in what seemed to be Britain's preparations to clear the way for Iraq to enter the League of Nations.
Three petitions were received by the Mandate Commission stressing the fears of the Assyrians regarding the termination of the Mandate; they were dated in September 1931; October 20, 1931; and October 23, 1931. One was rejected by Sir Francis Humphrys on the grounds that it was submitted by a person not qualified to represent the Assyrians. Humphrys still pledged the moral responsibility of Great Britain to the future attitude of the Iraqi government.
The October 23, 1931, petition was submitted by
The Mandate Commission reviewed the Assyrian petition and was still not satisfied with Britain's and Iraq's assurances of protection of minorities. Worth mentioning here that Sir Humphrys was accused by his own fellow British officials to fabricate lies in regards to the Iraqi government's sentiments about the Assyrians.
The Mandate Commission gave its recommendations, stating that they are concerned about the Christians, and accordingly, average people were given the right to submit any petitions to the League of Nations, directly, in the future.
In partial compliance with requests of the petition, the Iraqi government set up a further land-finding committee. It discovered but little land both cultivable and available. In fact, they found malaria-ridden, swampy lands, and recommended expenditure on an irrigation scheme to produce more. Hundreds upon hundreds of Assyrians died with malaria in those lands.
The Council of the League of Nations accepted the recommendations and Iraq issued a declaration guaranteeing the protection of minorities on May 30, 1932.
Accordingly, Iraq was accepted into the League of Nations on October 3, 1932.[84]
Massacre of Assyrians in Iraq
The Assyrian national question was taken to
Mar Eshai Shimum was quoted in the meeting:
If the (British) mandate is lifted without effective guarantees for our protection in the future, our extermination would follow.
After the establishment of the Kingdom of Iraq in 1932, an Assyrian uprising followed through the following year, anyone refusing to sign a declaration of loyalty to King Faisal and agreeing not to thwart the scheme of the League of Nations for the settlement of the Assyrians, was deported by the order of the government on August 18, 1933, and deprived of Iraqi nationality.
The failed uprising led to the massacre of 3,000 Assyrians throughout northern Iraq.
The largest massacre was in the village of Simele. Eyewitnesses wrote numerous books about the events.[85]
The Levies, alarmed by this and the imminent withdrawal of British troops, decided upon a concentration of all Assyrians in the
After negotiations with Assyrian leaders, the Levies withdrew their request and the British battalion was withdrawn. In all, 296 were discharged. No Iraqi was held responsible for the massacre. A large number of Assyrians began to flee Iraq and find safety in Syria, under French control at the time. The transport and machine gun Assyrian companies ceased to exist as separate units, both being divided between the two Assyrian battalions. Kirkuk was occupied by a platoon from the 2nd battalion to guard the wireless and other RAF stores.
Due to the events of 1933, Assyrians mark August 7 as their martyrs day.
…We're washed up as a race, we're through, it's all over, why should I learn to read the language? We have no writers, we have no news — well, there is a little news: once in a while the English encourage the Arabs to massacre us, that is all. It's an old story, we know all about it.[86][87]
Mar Eshai Shimun in Geneva with Yousuf Malik
After the Simele massacre, the Council of the League of Nations was absolutely sure that the Assyrian issue was still an unsolved problem. The Assyrian Patriarch requested the League to form an Assyrian and Kurdish enclave in the north of the province of Mosul under a special administration. The Patriarch reminded the Council about the plan originally suggested by Lord Curzon, the British Foreign Minister, on December 17, 1919.
In Iraq,
On October 24, the Assyrians submitted another petition by Yousuf Malik, an Assyrian Nationalist from Iraq who was exiled to Lebanon and who moved between Cyprus, Beirut and Damascus exposing what was going on inside Iraq and the British games. This petition gives the details of many cases of oppression against the Assyrians in Iraq, details on hardships from government officials, and the facts about the Simele massacre.
From October 1933 to June 1935, the committee of six looked into many options. They covered
Things did not change for the Assyrians in Iraq until the outbreak of World War II, when the Iraqis revolted under Rashid Ali al-Kaylani who sided himself with Germany and wanted to force the British out of Iraq completely. The faith of the British existence in Iraq hanged in the hands of the 1500 Assyrian Levies' ability to hold the British Air Force Base in Habbaniya against the rebels of over 60,000 Arab tribesmen and regular troops who surrounded the base.
The Battle of Habbaniya is well described in the book, The Golden Carpet by Somerset de Chair, a British intelligence officer serving in Iraq during World War II.
Assyrian resistance during World War II
The British and Soviet Allies used the Iraq Levies, many of whom were Assyrians, to resist German efforts to gain a foothold in West Asia.[88] The Iraq Levies distinguished themselves in May 1941 during the Anglo-Iraqi War.
In the early days of World War II, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani came to power as Prime Minister of Iraq. As one of his first acts, he sent an Iraqi artillery force to confront the RAF base situated in Habbaniya, RAF Habbaniya. By the end of April, the Iraqi armed forces were situated in strong positions on the escarpment above the base and a siege began.
As early as 1920, al-Husseini was active in both opposing the British in order to secure the independence of Palestine as an Arab state and opposing Jewish immigration and the establishment of a
al-Husseini was still in the
Iraq had been a major supplier of
During 1940/41 Iraq joined the Axis powers and the Battle of Habbaniya took place. At Habbaniya, the besieging Iraqis demanded the cessation of all training activities and of all flights in and out of the base.
The commander at RAF Habbaniya,
The siege was lifted by the units based at Habbaniya, including pilots from the training school, a battalion of the
By 1942, the Iraq Levies consisted of a Headquarters, a Depot, Specialist Assyrian companies, 40 service companies and the 1st Parachute Company, which consisted of 75% Assyrian and 25% Kurd. The new Iraq Levies disciplinary code was based largely on the Indian Army Act. The Levies had 22 Assyrian companies, 5 Mixed Assyrian/Yizidi companies, 10 Kurdish companies, 4 Gulf Arab companies and 3
. The Iraq Levies was renamed the Royal Air Force Levies.In 1945 after the Second World War 1945– the Iraq Levies were reduced to 60 British officers and 1,900 other ranks and the RAF Regiment took over command of the Levies. In 1946 the Iraq Levies battalions were redesignated as Wings and Squadrons to conform to the RAF Regiment procedure.
After World War II
Mar Eshai Shimun at the United Nations
The United Nations was born in San Francisco (replacing the League of Nations).
The Assyrian Patriarch,
Several petitions from the Patriarch in 1945 and 1946 were sent to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to look into the Assyrian National Question. A letter from the UN Secretary-General # 1100-1-4/MEJ dated Oct. 7, 1946 was received by Mar Shimun stating that he had referred the Patriarch's petition to the Commission on Human Rights.
Petition to the UN Secretary-General about Assyrian Massacres in Iran
A petition concerning the Assyrian massacres in Iran was filed again by
Assyrians in the Republic of Iraq (1958–2003)
Inspired by
The overthrow of Iraq's monarchy instilled new hope for the Assyrian cause. However, this hope was short-lived. Qassem was assassinated in February 1963, throwing Iraq into a period of political uncertainty. Out of the chaos emerged the
The Ba'ath brought promise to Iraq and the Assyrian cause when the new government recognized the cultural rights of Syriac-speaking citizens (Assyrians, Chaldeans and members of the East Syrian Church) in 1972. Syriac was to be the language used at all primary schools where the majority of pupils spoke that language in addition to Arabic. Syriac was also to be taught at intermediate and secondary schools where the majority of students spoke that language in addition to Arabic. Special programs in Syriac were to be broadcast on public radio and television and three Syriac-language magazines were to be published. An association of Syriac-speaking authors and writers was also established.[91]
Still, no autonomy was granted to the Assyrians. However, movements towards autonomy and independence remained active. In 1968, a new
When Saddam Hussein rose to power, things began to change for the Assyrians in Iraq. Assyrians were deprived of their cultural and national rights while at the same time the Ba'athist regime tried to co-opt their history. The 1972 proclamation was reversed and Hussein began a strict campaign of Arabization on any non-Arabs in Iraq, including Assyrians as well as other groups such as Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, and Armenians. During the Iran–Iraq War, many Assyrians were recruited to the armies of both sides. This resulted in Assyrians in Iraq killing Assyrians in Iran. It was estimated that 60,000 Assyrians were killed during the conflict.
When Hussein first assumed power, the Assyrian population in Iraq numbered 2 million to 2.5 million. Due to both persecution by his regime and subsequent emigration to Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, that number began to decline drastically.
Post-Ba'thist Iraq (2003–present)
With the fall of Saddam Hussein and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, no reliable census figures exist on the Assyrians in Iraq (as they do not for Kurds or Iraqi Turkmen), though the number of Assyrians is estimated to be approximately 800,000.
The
Assyrian Convention Addresses Assyrian Autonomy
The panel discussion entitled "Focus on Iraq" on August 30 featured Assyrian politicians and activist from Iraq and the U.S., which was held in Chicago.
Mr. Willis Fautre's (from Human Rights Without Frontiers) model, two overlapping forms of federalism are envisioned. First, the nation would have separate administrative "regions", each with its own parliament; a form of territorial federalism. Each community (Assyrians, Turkmen, Arabs, and Kurds) would also have their own parliament representing their communities throughout the country; a form of community federalism. The community parliament would have full autonomy in religion, culture, schools, agriculture, energy, and protection of monuments.
The unity of the federal government would be guaranteed by a bicameral system with a House of Representatives elected directly by the people and a Senate appointed by the various communities. For legislation affecting linguistic, cultural, or religious rights, both houses of parliament would have to pass the bill. In addition, though, in the community-based Senate, a super-majority (e.g. 2/3) vote would be needed in addition to a simple majority of every represented community. In such a way, each community would enjoy virtual veto power in matters of language, culture, and religion.
The proposal for an Assyrian self-administered zone established in the environs of Mosul, extending to Dohuk in the north and
Current situation
The first of the many church bombings that were to come occurred on the morning of August 4, 2003, that left 19 worshippers dead.
As the attacks on Assyrians continue to escalate, with the 20th church bombed and the death toll of the Assyrians climbing in 2004, demands by Assyrian politicians for an autonomous safe haven reached at an all-time high. A meeting took place in the
A meeting was organized by the Labour MP Stephen Pound, in conjunction with the Assyrian Democratic Movement and the Jubilee Campaign, a Christian human-rights group. Pound's demands were:
- Support an autonomous administrative region as a safe haven
- Support the infrastructure of the region
- Oppose "the active and passive ethnic cleansing" of "the only indigenous people of Iraq"
Pound argued "the fate of the Chaldo-Assyrians in Iraq will define the socio-political structure of the Middle East."
The then
On November 30, 2005, Iraq's Foreign Minister,
In the same weekend, a further five Assyrian churches were bombed in Iraq. By the end of 2004, an estimated 40,000 Assyrians and other Christians had fled Iraq since the beginning of the war.[93]
Australia's Labor Party member Chris Bowen spoke about the possibility of autonomy for the Assyrians numerous times in the Parliament during 2005.
On February 24, 2006, Minister of Human Rights in Kurdistan, Dr. Mohammad Ihsan, stated "We don't mind Iraqi Christians concentrating anywhere they wish, and establishing a new province for themselves in the Nineveh plain, and bringing together Iraqi Christians from all over the world and their return to their houses and towns."
On March 18, 2007, it was reported that Muslims were forcing the
On May 9, 2007, Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East,
The following week a group of armed Muslims set fire to St. George Assyrian Church in the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad. The group of men poured gasoline on the church and set it on fire. This is the same church that was bombed in the first of a wave of bombings of Assyrian churches. When St. George was bombed in 2004, the church Cross was not damaged; the bombers tore the cross down with their hands after the bombing.[97]
European support
The
US Support
In September 2016, a bipartisan resolution was introduced into the US House of Representatives to support the creation of a permanent safe haven for persecuted minorities, including Christians, Yazidis, and Shiite Turkmen, that would be centered on the traditional Assyrian homeland in the Nineveh Plain.[100] The legislation was introduced by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), and it had 11 co-sponsors from Democrats and Republicans. It was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee [101]
Assyrian Christian Police Force
This section needs to be updated.(January 2024) |
During recent[when?] kidnappings and murders of Assyrian Bishops and priests in the North Iraqi region, Assyrians have demonstrated worldwide in the thousands in demanding protection for their villages and the Nineveh Plains region, which Assyrians hope will become an autonomous area under the control of the Assyrians and minorities in the North.
A $4 million measure will fund a 711-man local police force for the Nineveh Plain. It is part of a $30 million emergency relief package for the predominantly Christian region submitted to Congress last month[when?] by Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va.
In April 2008, the initial complement of 711 policemen were called up and began training. Another 4000 policemen will be needed to fully secure the region and establish checkpoints on all highways and roads leading into the villages.
See also
- Assyrian homeland
- Assyrian genocide
- Simele massacre
- Assyrian nationalism
- Proposals for Assyrian autonomy in Iraq
- Assyrian people
- Assyrian diaspora
- List of Assyrian tribes
- Assyrian flag
- History of the Assyrian people
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Our Smallest Ally is now homeless, and dependent on our charity at Baqubah, for its lands and villages have been utterly destroyed, and it has the further mortification of seeing — from reasons beyond our control — that although it threw in its lot with the ultimately victorious side, Kurds, and others of the defeated enemy, are in practical possession of its ruined homesteads. Such a state of things is incomprehensible to the minds of this people, but it is due to the difficulties of the country, the entire absence of food in, and the inaccessibility of their home, for purposes of ordinary transport, coupled with the extremely disorderly political conditions of Kurdistan and North-Western Persia.
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Högt upp i Nd:s program står att verka för en återvandringspolitik. Södertäljes syrianer och assyrier ska uppmuntras att skaffa sig ett nytt land, gärna med hjälp av generösa bidrag.
[dead link] - ^ English version[permanent dead link]
- ^ "House Resolution Introduced-to-create Safe Haven for Persecuted Minorities In Iraq" algemeiner.com 9 2016 https://www.algemeiner.com/2016/09/15/house-resolution-introduced-to-create-safe-haven-for-persecuted-minorities-in-iraq/ Archived 2016-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
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