The Election on January 30, 2005, was a milestone in Iraqi politics. We desperately waited to cast our votes. It was an historic moment for all Iraqi's in general but it was a new day in particular for the Assyrians (Chaldean Catholic Church, the Church of the East, Syriac Orthodox, Yizidis, Mandaee, and many other Christian Denominations). A new hope was rising in the horizon after centuries of persecutions and uncountable atrocities at the hands of Iraqi leaders. Under the role of Baath party, our villages were destroyed, Churches demolished, people tortured, women abducted, language and culture falsified, etc... .
Our hopes and spirits were high with the new free and Democratic Iraq. History is repeating itself, the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) has blocked the Assyrians living in the villages of Nineveh Plains to practice their basic human right to vote. They have stopped and arrested Mr. Louis Marquis, Mr. Behnam Aiyub, and Mr. Djalil Merzina the three Assyrian officials responsible for bringing the voting boxes and ballots. They were severely beaten by Kurdish militia and taken to prison. Two of them were released and advised not to identify or give information about the incident. However Mr. Djalil Merzina is still imprisoned and kept in the prison's hospital. Our hopes and expectations were shattered by the Kurds which is another form of Saddam with the same agenda but a different player.
We are appealing to the Iraqi government, the United States, Great Britain, the world community, and the United Nations to address the injustices against Assyrian people. We demand:
Creation of a self-administered region on the plains of Nineveh to preserve, protect, and enhance our history, language, culture, and heritage.
An immediate release of Mr. Djalil Merzina and the withdrawal of all Kurdish militia from Nineveh Plains especially their assassination squads.
Fair representation for the Assyrians, the indigenous people of Iraqi, in the newly formed assembly.
Return of all confiscated Assyrian lands in northern Iraq by the Kurds.
Exclude the northern part of Nineveh from the Kurdish controlled zone.
ألعراقُ إنجيل خالد ... والآشوريون سفر في ذلك الانجيل.
