The Assyrian Democratic Organization
They are practicing terrorism in its most abominable forms. They didn’t distinguish between places of worship and the occupation forces, between the olive branch and the gun, between the dove of peace and the hawks of war. This is an organized crime against defenseless innocentIraqis whose only fault is that they are Christians .
It is but a new episode in the series of attacks and crimes, killings, kidnappings, extortions and destruction of holy places, perpetrated by terrorist fundamentalist Islamist groups hiding behind false resistance and religious slogans. These criminals have no relation whatsoever with anything religious or patriotic. They are aiming at vacating Iraq of one of its oldest people and its religious and national components,of those who laid the foundation of its history and civilization in Somar Akkad Assur and Nineva and in every inch of Mesopotamia, of those who helped Moslems entering Iraq and Syria (Bilad aSham) of those who helped building the basis of Islamic state in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, they are aiming at dislocating the indigenous people of Iraq the Chaldeans , Syriacs and Assyrians. These perpetrated crimes as a matter of fact are flagrant hostilities against all the Iraqi people regardless of their religious beliefs and ethnicities , they aim at destroying the national fabric , enflaming internal unrest and communal conflicts in order to prevent the establishment of free , unified , stable and democratic Iraq .
The bombing of Iraqi churches, for the second time in less than three months, can not be considered routine and accidental acts in the course of the Iraqi war, these are premeditated acts that raise many question marks about the future of Iraqi Christians in the area and the forces planning to dislocate them. As a matter of fact, all the indications point in the direction of the Islamic Conference held in Lahore , Pakistan in the beginning of the eighties of last century , wherein leaders of some Islamic countries suggested the eviction of the Islamic Arabic east from Christians – as they (the Christians) constitute according to their justifications – an extension of the Christian west, an enemy of Arabs and Islam. The only commendable country which opposed that suggestion then was Syria.
No doubt, the aggressions against Iraqi Christians is one aspect of the terrorism phenomenon, the ideological, religious and political terrorism which is on rise in the Muslim and Arab world, but at the same times it fits within the framework of (Blessed Terrorism) a call launched by Usama Bin Laden the leader of AlKaeeda, a call which is finding a lot of supporters, Islamists , Iraqis and Arabs in the world , amongst them (The Planning and Follow-up Organization ) which claimed responsibility for the bloody attacks on the Iraqi churches on the 1st of August this year, as well as Sheik Muhamd Bashar Fiad, spokesman for Iraqi Al Sunna Moslems Scholar’s Organization , who considered the Iraqi Christians collaborators and thus justified killing them, abusing their holy places and dislocating them from Iraq. He unleashed this call publicly in an interview with the London’s al Wasat daily and alArabie satellite news channel . Certainly, extremist calls and ideas like this provoke terrorism and encourages violence against the peaceful and defenseless Christians. Therefore, we think the Iraqi government, as a guarantor of the security of the Iraqi people, should put an end to terrorist sheikhs such as Muhamd Bashar Fiad by putting them in jail and bringing them to justice on charges of enticement to killing and provocation of communal unrest and strife in Iraq .
The Assyrian Democratic Organization, while condemning and denouncing these terrorist, barbaric acts that are against all the international, human and religious values, it calls upon the Iraqi government and the multi-national forces in Iraq to protect the Iraqi Christians against the terrorist attacks, moreover it appeals to the Arab League and all the human right organizations as well as the international society to act as soon as possible in order to provide security for the Iraqi Christians to prevent the occurrence of an impeding catastrophe of more killings bombings and displacement. It further, calls upon all Iraqi political parties whether Arabic, Kurdish, Turkmen, to renounce and condemn these barbaric crimes , and above all, it calls upon the Iraqi religious authorities , Shiite or Sunni, to issue clear Fatwas (legal opinion issued by Muslim scholar )- not only some shy statements – condemning these criminals and banning any activity that could do harm to the Iraqi Christians, this would eventually strengthen the confidence among the Christians in their presence and future . Besides, the Organization appeals to the Arab governments and the different Arab political parties, organizations and the religious authorities to denounce these criminal acts which most provably would be exported one day, by theses terrorists, to the neighboring countries in their frantic fight to spread destruction and chaos in the whole region.
Further, ADO calls upon all the honest Iraqis , to unify and join forces, in this crucial phase of Iraqi and the region’s history, to abort the attempts aimed at disrupting Iraqi national unity and social fabric. Furthermore, it invites the international community and the Arab League to help Iraq to combat terrorism and restore its security and stability, and it also appeals to our Chaldean, Assyrian, Syriac and all Christian people to keep on clinging to their land and country and maintain their distinguished civilized, humane and patriotic role as they did throughout their long history, and not to let these heinous crimes weaken their determination.
We further confirm that the ADO as well as the other political, social and religious organizations of our people, in Iraq, in the region and the world are required now to take more serious stance vis-à-vis what is happening to our people in Iraq and to show readiness to confront this big conspiracy that is being weaved against us through joining forces and unification of positions and national vision above any petit disagreements and quarrels over narrow partisan or communal gains. It is now to be or not to be question for a people who has been living on this land and whose ancestors inscribed their history on clay tablets thousands of years ago.
Honor for our martyrs, the victims of terrorism, shame and disgrace for the criminal killers.
Assyrian Democratic Organization
Political Bureau
Syria 20/10/2004
