Assyrian International News Agency
April 28 2006

European Parliament Meets Assyrian Politician on Assyrian Question

An official meeting of European Parliamentarians headed by Mr A.J.
Maat, representative of the European Human Rights Commission, and Ms
Attiya Gamri (Dutch Provincial Parliamentarian) and other members of
the European Parliament took place on 18-19 April 2006 in Europe’s
capital Brussels, Belgium. The meeting dealt particularly with the
situation of the Assyrian (also known as Chaldean and Syriac) people
in Iraq. After her visit at the beginning of April, Ms Gamri was able
to highlight in detail the obstacles and oppressive circumstances
that limit the freedom of the Iraqi Assyrians’ ethnic and political
rights. This is happening especially in northern Iraq, where there is
relative peace. However, the Kurdish political parties — by means of
Kurdish soldiers and militiamen — are manipulating the political
climate very aggressively, especially in regards to the Christian
Assyrians who have always been peaceful and have been seeking for
political and ethnic rights without the use of violence.

Mr A.J. Maat will present and discuss the fieldwork report made by
the Assyrian Delegation who visited the Assyrian regions of northern
Iraq this April at the upcoming European Parliament meeting. Mr A.J.
Maat asked about the percentage of money that has been donated to for
the reconstruction of Iraq by the European Community that’s has
directly reached the Assyrian minority. Ms Gamri promised to present
him the facts on this as soon as possible.

Besides the Iraqi issue also the worrying situation within Syria was
on the agenda of this two-day meeting. Of particular interest was the
issue of Mr Yacoub Hanna Shamoun, an Assyrian detainee in Syria for
more than 20 years without trial (in violation of all international
human rights conventions signed by Syria). On this case in the near
future an official request by the European Parliament will be sent to
the Syrian government. Ms Gamri discussed the situation of the
Assyrian people in Syria in general. She gave a brief report on the
past decades and the worrying future of the Assyrian presence in
Syria. The third main point that was on the agenda of this meeting
between the European Parliament and the Assyrian politician is the
Turkey File and the European Union. Mr C. Eurling has been requested
officially to include the recognition of the Assyrian Genocide next
to the Armenian Genocide whenever the debates mention this critical
point regarding the Human Rights Situation of Turkey and their
eventual succession to the European Union. This request was
immediately accepted by the European Parliament members.

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