Statement on the occasion of 49th anniversary of the foundation of Assyrian Democratic Organization

Damascus- ADO– The foundation of ADO in July 1957 by an elite of our intellectuals and national youths came as a natural response to the aspiration of our Assyrian SyriacChaldean people to gain its legitimate national rights on its historic land.

And since its outset, as the first political national Organization in the recent history of our people, it has constituted a leverage for national work , leaving behind the sectarian reality of our people and reinstating the national question on the top of priorities of the new generation of youths who were greatly attracted to its ideology and stance. This paved the way later for the establishment of institutions and political groupings that have energized our people’s life and created a political, cultural and ideological movement which ,up till now ,is growing and interacting due to a very conscientious approach to the causes of our national existence and the unity of our identity , as issues of an indigenous people that has suffered a lot of repression and discrimination that led to the displacement and exile of a great number of its sons .

The Organization has suffered a lot at the hands of successive totalitarian regimes because of its national patriotic stance . It’s activists during this period have been subjected to detentions , searches and exile .Yet all these pressures , not only do did not swerve it from its peaceful, moderate approach but also strengthened its adherence to its national, patriotic line and increased its involvement in the national issues, being an essential constituent of this efforts and an important tributary of the national democratic movement in the country . Hence, this prompted her to join “Damascus Declaration for National Democratic change ” which represents the broadest coalition base for forces of democratic change in the country. This step on the part of the Organization was consistent with its directives as well as with the determination of all the forces included in the Declaration, those aspiring to transfer the country to a democratic regime that would embody the ambitions of all the Syrian people.

As we are celebrating our Organization’s 49th anniversary, Syria is witnessing a state of political restriction because of the absence of democracy , the ongoing state of emergency, worsening economic conditions , increasing unemployment and wide scale corruption and squandering in the state institutions. Moreover, the adoption of security solution by the state vis-?-vis the peaceful political opposition demands have made things more complicated. Arbitrary detentions as well as dismissal from jobs among members of civil societies, political activists and human right groups have increased recently as means to intimidate the opposition and encircle their activities.

No doubt , finding solutions for the country’s accumulated crisis as well as confronting the pressing regional conditions, whether in Iraq, which is currently witnessing the beginning of a civil war, or in Philistine which is being subjected to a tyrannical Israeli aggression , makes incumbent on the regime, first, to introduce radical changes in policies followed, second, to speed up the democratic changes in Syria according to a comprehensive political reform plan with the participation of all the vital democratic forces in the country, with an aim of reinforcing social peace and gradual peaceful transformation to a democratic regime that would respond to the needs of the Syrian society with all its components and eventually stave the country off the dangers coming up.

To kick this off , there is no way but to unleash the general freedoms, repeal the emergency law as well as all the other exceptional laws and courts, set free the political detainees, to close forever the file of political detention, reinstate the employees dismissed and finally, draft new democratic laws for elections and political parties that would take into consideration the real political and national demographic status of the people and would put an end to political monopoly. As a matter of fact, our people, in diaspora and the country ,has interacted with its brethrens in Iraq and supported its legitimate national demands in a democratic free Iraq. But the worsening security situation aroused a lot of fear for Iraq and the Iraqi people, particularly for our people there, especially after the crimes committed against them and the recurrence of attacks against their places of worship and finally the displacement of tens of thousands from their towns and villages on the hands of terrorist and fundamentalist militias.

We call upon the Iraqi government to show more care for the condition of these refugees and exert more efforts to restore security to Iraq so that all Iraqis would enjoy peace and stability and the occupation, consequently, would come to an end. If the security question is the greatest challenge now facing the Iraqi people, our people faces yet another challenge which is establishing its national identity in the Iraqi constitution, and this calls for relinquishing all kinds of partitions and divisions as well as uniting efforts of our people’s political and ecclesiastical leaders to achieve this goal.

Regarding Turkey, the cause of our people has always been alive in the memory of the generations being connected with the genocide perpetrated against our people by the Turkish “Al-Itihad Wal-Taraqi “government during the I world war which claimed the lives of half a million Syriac Cheldo Assyrians and the displacement of the survivors, in one of the most hideous crimes of the modern history. In fact, in spite of the attempts of the Turkish government to enter the EU, it has not occurred to her to apologize, just for once, for its past, and further, has not changed its policies on minorities nor has it stopped its transgression on the properties and attacks on our people still living there, in violation of her proclaimed policies as well as the terms of accession to the EU.

Our Organization keeps on demanding Turkey’s successive governments to recognize the genocide and the subsequent binding legal obligations, it further, calls for the countries of EU to set Turkey’s recognition of the genocide as a precondition for her full membership in the EU. Finally, as we are celebrating the 49th anniversary of our organization and nearing its golden Jubilee next year, we call upon all our people in diaspora and the homeland to be more involved in the national issues and to reinforce the Organization’s patriotic role and national existence in the homeland and further, we confirm that ADO has been and will always remain the voice and conscience of our people everywhere.

In addition, and on this occasion, we reaffirm its complete readiness to cooperate and open to all the parties, churches, institutions, intellectuals of our people to the benefit of our people and country.

– Mid July 2006
ADO-Political Bureau