ASSYRIANS SEEK ELECTION REDRESS

LOCAL Assyrians joined 200 people in a demonstration outside the American Consulate and State Parliament on Monday.

 

Secretary of the Assyrian Universal Alliance?s Australia Chapter, Hermiz Shahen of Bossley Park, said the alliance is horrified of news their countrymen have were prevented by Kurdish forces from voting in the Iraqi election.

The alliance has set up a petition urging the Federal Government to call on the Iraqi Government to designate a geographic `Protected Administrative Area’ for the Christian Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs and Mandeans in Iraq.
 
Many local Assyrians jumped at their first chance to vote in the transitional national assembly out-of-country election in Fairfield on January 16.

Exiles were voting for 275 members to be elected to the National Parliament and officers elected to the National Parliament and officers elected to the district councils in the 18 provinces of Iraq.

In Australia and New Zealand, the Assyrian Democratic Movement, the leading party of the Alrafidayne National List, is leading the results.

 

But Mr Shahen is fearing the worst.

 

He said the Iraqi Government has made no attempt to acknowledge, investigate, or punish officials in the north (a Kurdish controlled region) and in around Baghdad and Mosul, for preventing Christians from voting.

“The Kurds have the upper hands out of a population of about 4 million people,” Mr Shahen said. “About 2.1 million {are reported to have} have voted, which no civil society can believe. “

 

We have information that they have manipulated their votes just to raise up their numbers. ?In the meantime, they have prevented the voting boxes and staff from reaching to the Assyrian towns and villages.”

The alliance has appealed to world governments to restore voting rights to Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs and Yazidis. ?Such a status quo is unacceptable and the Assyrian community in Australia, demands that this injustice be rectified as soon as possible,” he said. “Without representation, Assyrians will not be able to fight for their rights under Iraq‘s new constitution.”

Federal MP for Prospect, Chris Bowen, will table the petition in Parliament.