Assyrian Territory in Iraq: Sign the Petition of Cardonline

Acts of violence committed against the Assyrians¹ by Kurds and Islamic fundamentalists have necessitated the exodus of tens of thousands of Iraqi-Assyrians post-liberation. More than half a million Assyrians were disenfranchised during both electoral periods as a direct result of the blockade imposed by the Kurdistan Democratic Party on Assyrian villages in Northern Iraq. Religiously motivated attacks continue to crucify the remnants of the oldest adherents of Christianity.

Under the Ba?ath regime led by Saddam Hussein (1979-2003), Assyrians were repeatedly targeted for forced assimilation and despotic campaigns against ethno-religious and indigenous minorities.? Assyrians living under Kurdish rule in North Iraq (beginning in 1990) face similar acts of oppression at the hands of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

It is time for the world to recognize the plight of the Assyrians and immediately take the necessary steps to secure this ancient people in their ancestral homeland in North Iraq. The success of the newly democratic Iraq is directly dependent on sustainability of the country?s only indigenous community.

As such; we, the signatories of this petition demand:

• The immediate establishment of an Assyrian Administrative Region as promulgated under Article 121 of the Iraqi Constitution in Northern Iraq, the ancestral homeland of the indigenous Assyrians;
  
  
• Preservation of the cultural, historical, linguistic and religious identity of the Assyrians of Iraq;
  
  
• The return of all illegally confiscated Assyrian Lands by illegal Kurdish settlers and the obliteration of the resolution adopted by the Kurdish Regional Government in Arbil in October of 2002 entitled ?General Conditions for the Ownership of Illegally Obtained Lands?;
  
• The safe return of all Assyrian Refugees and Assyrians in the Diaspora to their homes, especially those residing in Northern Iraq;
  
• Efficient supply of monetary aid for infrastructure rebuilding and basic sustainability of predominantly Assyrian areas such as the Nineveh Plains without discrimination;
  
• The recognition of past atrocities inflicted upon the Assyrian people of Iraq including the Simele Massacres of 1933, the Arabaziation tactics of the Ba?ath Regime, the ANFAL Campaign, and the Kuridfication of Assyrian lands and culture.
  
• Consideration for the plight of the Shabaks, Yezidis, Turkmen and other minorities, for whom such a measure could provide safety and security;