The Assyrian Democratic Organization
By Abdulmesih BarAbraham
Cologne(Germany) – AINA — Confronted on daily basis with horrific reports about targeted killing, bombing of Churches, kidnapping and persecution of the ChaldoAssyrians in Iraq, the Society for Threatened People has intensified its human rights efforts for the ethnic group. Particularly it is focusing its campaign against the wide-spread ignorance of politics and media in Germany and Europe regarding the tragedy; the objective is to bring to attention the unrivaled and desperate situation the Christians face in context of the overall Iraq calamity and initiate actions of solidarity
The Society for Threatened Peoples is an international human rights organization campaigning against all forms of genocide and ethnocide. It has supported the Assyrians and made human rights violations public against the ethnic group in the Middle-East (Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria) for the last three decades. Few examples of the Society’s work should highlight the most recent campaign for Iraq’s Christians.
Just in April of 2007 the Society published a chronology of human rights violations against the ChaldoAssyrians in Iraq. The compilation, termed as a short summary („Kurze Zusammenstellung von Menschenrechtsverletzungen gegen Christen im Irak”) lists more than 40 incidents since the Invasion of Iraq by the coalition forces led by the U.S. in 2003.
In May 2007 the Society started an email campaign to appeal to the European Council to include the issue of the persecution of the ChaldoAssyrians in Iraq on the agenda of the European Council meeting. The campaign is still running and the appeal can be sent from here, saying:
Dir Sir:
Kidnappings, brutal murders perpetrated by Islamist extremists and the bombing of their churches have caused tens of thousands of Iraq’s minority Christian population to flee their ancestral homeland in panic. They have sought refuge in the more secure area of Kurdish Northern Iraq as well as in Jordan and Syria.
300 ChaldoAssyrians have been murdered. Neither the coalition forces nor the Iraqi government have been able to protect the Christian community in Iraq. The ChaldoAssyrians of Northern Iraq are ill-prepared to receive the number of refugees arriving. I therefore respectfully urge you to include the issue of the persecution of the ChaldoAssyrians in Northern Iraq on the agenda of the European Council and raise the matter in your discussions with the majority Kurdish authorities in Northern Iraq and with Jordan and Syria. I would also urge you to set up a special fund to provide for the rehabilitation and integration of these Christian refugees, in Northern Iraq in particular.
Yours sincerely,
31st Evanglical Kirchentag in Cologne
On the occasion of the 31st German Protestant Church Day (“Kirchentag”) taking place in Cologne from June 4-10, the Society issued a press release accusing the organizers of ignoring the largest persecution of Christians in present day and demanding support for the hunted ChaldoAssyrian Christians from Iraq. Inaugurated in 1949, the “Kirchentag” takes place every two years, and is the largest Protestant gathering in Germany and Europe. It attracts more than 100.000 participants who gather to share in the discussion forums, lectures, concerts, dancing and singing in what organizers label as “a festival of faith and reflection”.
The release (dated June 6th, 2007) cites Tilman Zülch, Secretary-General of the Society criticizing the Church Conference program by saying: “Instead of using the opportunity of the Kirchentag to inform the Christians in Germany about the biggest persecution of the Christian at present day and hence organize a focused large forum on the matter, the forced exodus of the ChaldoAssyrians from Iraq is not noticed at all”. As Christians who still speak the language of Jesus Christ, these people “need our tangible help. We must not abandon them!”, Zülch adds. Because “hope and pray are not sufficient in order to save the life of the ChaldoAssyrians”, he concludes The press release goes forth and mentions recent killing of a catholic priest and three deacons (AINA 6-3-2007) in Mosul right after the holy mess while not missing to point to the fact that hundreds of Christians have been kidnapped in the past years, women raped and humans beastly murdered.
According to the Society, bomb attacks were committed on 30 Churches of different denominations, and also on Christian schools and businesses of Christians. Furthermore, Islamic clergymen have taken part in the agitation against Christians, requested them to convert to Islam or to leave the country immediately. Death threats against ChaldoAssyrian Christians circulate daily on pamphlets or sent via SMS or letter post.
In the same press release the Society for Threatened People demands from the German Federal Government and the governments of the neighboring large European countries the acceptance of a contingent of 20,000 Christian refugees from Iraq to each country. In addition, says the Society, the ChaldoAssyrians already living in Germany should get a secured right to stay. In order to underline the urgency of its demands, on Thursday, June 7, the Society organized a mourning procession during a large church conference forum complaining about lack of support for the hunted Christians from Iraq. At this forum which was planned to focus on the Middle-East, Berlin’s Bishop Dr. Wolfgang Huber, the chairman of the Evangelical Church in Germany spoke as well.
The symbolic mourning procession was accompanied by songs and prayers in Aramaic language pointing to the tragic fate of the ChaldoAssyrians in Iraq. Text in large letters, “Abandoned: Christians of Iraq need your assistance!” was located on a two and a half meter high cross which was carried around along with a coffin through the crowd of the church conference participants by the Society’s team and AssyroChaldeans living in Germany. “Apparently the organizers of the Kirchentag do not want to take notice of the forced exodus of the ChaldoAssyrians, although they suffer from terrible crimes”, complained Tilman Zülch, Secretary-General of the Society. “None of the central forums during the Kirchentag announces possible help initiatives by the churches in Germany for the Christians in Iraq – brothers in faith”, adds Zülch.
The Society or Threatened People appealed in its related press release (dated June 7, 2007) to the German Evangelical Church Conference and German churches to join its campaign demanding from the Federal Government the acceptance of a contingent of 20.000 Christian refugees from Iraq. As result of the highly impressive procession the Society got all the attention of the Middle-East forum and Tilman Zülch joined the panel reading a resolution that was adopted immediately by the panelist and the forum attendees, more than 1,000 people.
Central demands of the adopted resolution are:
1-The German Evangelist Church Conference, our churches, municipalities and church institutions must campaign at the Federal Government for the Christian refugees from Iraq. Germany and the large European neighboring countries must each accept 20,000 of them!
2- The ChaldoAssyrians, which could flee to our countries prior the fall of Saddam Hussein need the engagement of our church to get secure stay permit! To deny them the asylum status, because the Iraqi dictator is no more in power, is a bright mockery in view of the new terror.
3- Our church must launch a large-scale humanitarian initiative for the ChaldoAssyrian refugees in Syria, Jordan and in the relatively safe Kurdish region.
As a final action during the Kirchentag, it is planned that the Society will hand over an appeal along with 4400 signatures for the acceptance of ChaldoAssyrian refugees in Germany to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel this coming Saturday. June 9th..
