Aramean Organizations sent a letter
to the United Nations and ask for the protection of the Aramean
people of Iraq.
Nr.:
2010-3-23/5
Netherlands, 23rd
of March 2010
Re: More than 5000 Arameans
moved out of Mosul
The
United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq
Special Representative of
the Secretary-General for Iraq
His Excellency Mr. Ad
Melkert,
New York
United States of America
Your Excellency;
We, the undersigned, the Arameans of Aram-Naharaim Organization and
the Aramean Democratic Organization wish to convey our sincere
concerns to you regarding the deteriorating situation of the Aramean
Indigenous nation of Iraq and other minorities in the Mosul area.
The Aramean people (not to be confused with ‘Armenians’) speak
Aramaic, [1] the language spoken by Abraham, Moses and
Jesus, through which they have made a very important contribution to
world civilizations. [2] This ancient Semitic people, now
divided into several denominations and spread throughout the Middle
East, amount to approximately 8 million people worldwide. The
various Aramean denominations in Iraq are also known as religious
designations such as “Syrian Orthodox”, “Syrian Catholics”, “Chaldeans”,
“Assyrians”, “Greek Orthodox” and “Greek Catholics”. [3]
Since
the beginning of February 2010, the forces of intolerance and
fanaticism in Mosul area started to attack, threat, kill and expel
our people from the city. According to the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), [4] more
than 5000 people have left Mosul for outlying areas for security. In
addition at least 15 Arameans have been killed.
What
is now taking place before the eyes of the world is a ferocious
attempt of ethnic cleansing by the forces of abyss who do not
understand the meaning of words like respect, peace and brotherhood,
but rather prefer the ‘law of the jungle’ and the path of fanaticism
and bloodshed.
Your
Excellency, this is a repetition of the events of 2008 which were
also carried out in Mosul against the Aramean Indigenous nation by
the same diabolical forces. In several letters [5] to the
UN and the Iraqi government we asked action to be taken to prevent
the ethnic cleansing of this area of its original inhabitants who
have been present in this region for thousands of years. In 2008 the
central government promised an investigation to these atrocities.
Unfortunately, it is still unclear who have been responsible for
this hideous attempt of ethnic cleansing. [6]
In
our letter of 31st of October 2008, [5] we
proposed to the United Nations that the following necessary measures
should be taken:
1. To urge the Iraqi government to conduct an independent
international inquiry under the auspices of the United Nations to
ensure transparency and reliability on the atrocities which took
place in Mosul.
2. To bring the perpetrators of the atrocities against our nation
before the international court of justice.
3. Many of the displaced Aramean Christians fear to return back to
Mosul. Therefore we ask the UN to assist the displaced Arameans and
non-Arameans back to their homes in Mosul and offer them a complete
compensation, including repairing their destroyed homes and damaged
cultural or spiritual buildings, and provide them with security
guarantees to facilitate a general feeling of safety.
4. To put the Mosul area under UN protection until the Iraqi
Government is strong enough to provide the minimum security for the
citizens of Mosul, including Aramean Christians and others.
If these suggestions and proposals were even partially implemented,
the current cruelties would not have been taken place, nor would the
situation be as serious.
Your
Excellency, these evil forces of intolerance and fanaticism are not
familiar with peace, respect and mutual cooperation. For this reason
we believe that the international community has the moral obligation
to protect the Aramean Indigenous nation of Iraq, also known as
“Assyrians” or Chaldeans, by forcing peace under UN assistance in
this area. This will facilitate a general feeling of safety among
the various Aramean denominations and prevent our nation from
leaving the area.
Furthermore, contrary to other groups in Iraq, the Aramean
Indigenous nation does not have their own militia to protect
themselves. Since the central government has proven not to be able
to provide the Aramean Indigenous nation with the minimum protection
to prevent this savagery, we ask the United Nations to arm our
nation under UN supervision to be able to protect themselves and to
deal with this lawlessness.
The
marginalization, persecution and exclusion of our nation for hundred
of years and their precarious situation in these days, in which they
are threatened with ethnic cleansing from the lands of the
forefathers, is due to the forces of Islamic fanaticism and
intolerance and arabic nationalism, which implemented on cultural,
social, religious and academic level, gave
the final blow to the Aramean nation and accelerated their downfall
in the lands of the forefathers.
Finally we trust that you have noticed our sincere concerns and
will consider the precarious situation of the Aramean nation in Iraq
to thwart the plans of the invisible powers, whose ultimate goal
seems to be ethnic cleansing of the area of its Indigenous Aramean
nation at any cost. It would be a great loss to mankind if the
Cradle of Civilization would be cleaned of its original inhabitants
by those who apply and enjoy the law of the jungle instead of the
law of respect, brotherhood and solidarity. Today something can be
done to prevent this happening, tomorrow may be too late!
Respectfully Yours,
Gabriel Sengo
Chairman
Arameans of Aram-Naharaim Organization |
Gabi Gallo
Chairman
Aramean Democratic
Organization |
|