The Assyrian Democratic Organization
Each year, on April 24th, Christians living in Near East or originating from there – like Assyrians, Armenians or Greeks – commemorate the beginning of the Genocide 1914-18 in Turkey. Even after almost 90 years the topic of the bloody pursuit and killing of over 2 million Christian did not loose any of its importance. The official Turkish side placed since then the coat of the silence over the historical events and refuses its recognition. The Christian ethnic groups concerned fight for decades in vain for the acknowledgment of this Genocide. The trauma, which separates Christians and Muslims in Turkey and in the Diaspora for so many years gained on sharpness recently by a call of the Turkish education minister. As the German Newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (May 23, 2003) reported, the minister requested that the Turkish and also Armenian primary schools have to write essays to fight the “groundless genocide statements”. In the middle schools the pupils may write against the “statements of the Armenians, Pontus Greeks and the Süryanis [Turkish name for Orthodox Assyrians]”. The reactions are interesting in this context. Protests raised not only among the Christians but also among Turkish journalists against this “bad joke” (so the Islamic newspaper Yeni Safak). This until recently inconceivable behavior of the press can be interpreted as the breaking the old protection fences in this debate.
The Assyrian Democratic Organisation (ADO), established 1957 in Syria strives for years for the rights of the Assyrian people and acknowledgment of the Genocide. An important goal of the ADO, so Dr. Jaques Iskandar, is the internationalisation of the Assyrian Question. The fight for the cultural and national rights of the Assyrians is a peaceful effort and is based on mutual respect of their neighbours, emphasized Dr. Iskandar, the theologian and moderator of the event.
“The question of the past is important for the future,” noticed Federal State Parliament President Johann Hatzl in his greetings. “History is part of the personality of a people” he added. Not only the suffering but also the achievements would contribute that. In this sense he congratulated the Assyrians in the name of the City of Vienna for what they carry out and accomplished in history.
That the destiny of a people lie not only in its own hands but are also dependent on the “more powerful ones” was the thesis of Mrs. Anna Elizabeth Haselbach, the Vice President of the Upper House of Parliament of the Republic of Austria. She demanded from the “powerful ones” to insist on the adherence to the contract of Lausanne from 1923 with regards to the Assyrians. Therein the rights of the minorities in Turkey were defined. Assyrians should be allowed to freely speak and teach heir language continued Mrs. Haselbach. “This are human rights that needs to be respected.” She concluded “that we understand your efforts for a righteous and peaceful future” and promised to support this efforts “so far we can”.
Mr. Issa Hanna, Chairman of the ADO, Europe, urgently appealed to the Federal State Parliament President to support the request for acknowledgment of the Genocide. In his speech he touched the U.S. led war against Iraq. He reminded about the fact that in Iraq the Assyrians place the third-strongest ethnic group and requested the responsible nations to let participate all ethnic groups (Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians and Turkomans) in a future government and organisation for a democratic State of Iraq.
Mr. Ergen Aslan, Chairman of the ADO, Section Austria, presented some new facts about Tur Abdin, which is the homeland of many Assyrian immigrants to Austria. In 2001, Mr. Ecevit, the Prime Minister at that time released a decree, granting all (emigrated) Assyrians the rights and obligation to their assets and property in Turkey. This triggered a large echo in the Turkish and Western media. Since then many Assyrians the possibility of a return is discussed.
Some Assyrian families took initiative with the responsible authorities in the district town of Midyat in order to initiate the legal formalities. Mr. Aslan Ergen reported that the applicants have been insulted, struck or intimidated by threats: “Not even Turkish attorneys take such cases because of fears from Kurds and Islamic fundamentalists, who illegitimately acquired the possession of the Christians”, he said. By such cases the efforts around a peaceful coexistence of the different ethnic and religious communities in Turkey receive a setback again. Because they stir only fears and prejudices. At the same time it becomes clear that decrees are not converted necessarily into the practice.
In her extended speech, Dr. Gabriele Yonan defined a substantial problem in the enlightenment process of the Genocide by the Turkish side which resists vehemently the term “genocide”. Meanwhile deportations, killings of Christians are hesitantly acknowledged, however a systematic Genocide is explained as “propaganda” and still rejected. Therefore Mrs. Yonan speaks of “a Genocide without names and search for identity”. One must find a name she said which becomes fair to both, the descendants of the victims as well as of the perpetrators. Turks do not feel addressed by the current terminology. Therefore at a recent conference the suggestion came up to speak of “Ottoman Genocide at Christian minorities”. Thus, it would become clearer that the victims were not only Armenians, but also Assyrians. Additionally it would be clear that the perpetrators are to be found in the late Ottoman regime. However, today’s Turkey must take the responsibility to that extent, that it smoothes the way to an enlightenment about the dark marks of its history.
According to Yonan, the definition of the genocide as fixed in article 2 of the U.N. Convention of 1948 applies clearly to the murder of the Christians in 1915. It concerns a) The killing of a sub-population, b) Causing serious physical and mental injury to a sub-population, and c) Intervention in the living conditions of a sub-population. The historians agree, so Yonan, nearly without exception that 1915 was a Genocide. She mentioned numerous documents, among them some from Pater J. Lepsius as published in his “blue book”. She also referred to the book “Flickering Lights” as published in 1924 in America and statements made by the Syrian Orthodox Bishop Afram Barsaum. The above mentioned instruments as defined 1948 however can not necessarily be applied to today’s Turkey. However, one can not forget the cultural Genocide which occurred during the last three decades against the Christians in Tur Abdin. The Turks, so Yonan , wanted to get rid of the remaining Christian population and set under the pretext of the Kurdish fighting the Christians under pressure. 250,000 Christians left Turkey for these reasons and emigrated into the Western countries.
Meanwhile and after three generations passing, history still “exists in the collective memory of the population and can exist there for 1000 years.” In order to come to a new and peaceful start, Yonan added that Turkey would have to recognize the Genocide as a part of their history and condemn it. Turkey should apologize with the descendants and carry out compensation, by recognizing Assyrians as linguistic and ethnic minority in Turkey – as specified in the “Convention for National Minorities”. This convention was not signed by Turkey however until today.
The sensitivity of the topic rather increased in the long years since “Shato d’Seifo”. The importance of education and investigations on the Genocide are urgent. A prove to this are the letters of the “Initiative of the Muslim Austrians” and the “Islamic Religious Community in Austria” on the occasion of the anniversary in Vienna. Both organizations do not deny the crimes of the ruling powers at that time, however vehemently resist that the Islam would have to hold debt as root cause of systematic driving out and destruction of the Christians.
Here sensible approaches are needed on both sides. It concerns right, not revenge, it is about forgiveness, but not forgetting.
Assyrian Democratic Organization
