MP Yonadam Kanna (Secretary General of the Assyrian Democratic Movement) met with Knox Thames (US State Department Special Advisor for Religious Minorities) on Wednesday 29/11/2017.
he meeting covered the overall situation of the religious minorities in Iraq and our Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people in particular. They discussed the political situation and its repercussions post-ISIS, benefits of reconstruction, and assisting in the return of internally displaced people. The upcoming elections were also brought up along with areas of conflict, the importance of enforcing the law, and ending policies of exclusion and marginalization. Conversation included the need for added measures aimed at establishing the stability of religious and national minorities at home as indigenous components that require protection and security for our existence and rights.
MP Kanna praised the role of the international coalition and allies in supporting Iraq in its war against ISIS, and called for continued support for peace, stability, reconstruction and the return of displaced people after the rehabilitation of destroyed infrastructure, housing and vital installations.
Iraq’s Council of Ministers voted on Tuesday November 28th on the list of Ambassadors appointed by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The list includes 28 candidates for the post of Ambassador, including one of our people, the Minister Plenipotentiary Mr. William Eshaya Odisho. The list will be approved in the Iraqi Council of Representatives in the up coming days.
It is worth mentioning that Mr. William Eshaya was the Deputy Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations in New York throughout 2011-2014.
Our sources from Bartella reported that a girl from the town has been attacked by a member of 30th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Unit. The girl, a member of our community, reported the act to judicial authorities. She filed a lawsuit against the accused offender and he is now detained on charges of harassment.A source close to Al-Hamdaniya police station said that the judge had ordered to detain the suspect in accordance with article 402 on harassment, the suspect is being held in al-Hamdaniya police station, adding that the law would take its course by taking fair measures against the offender. He was also dismissed from the Popular Mobilization Units, according to a source close to the 30th Brigade of the PMU.
A week ago, a group of unknown people vandalized a number of Christian graves in Enishkeh village of Dohuk Province. Then on Tuesday, November 28th, materials inside Enishkeh Syriac School were stolen as well.
A source informed Zowaa. org that the group of unknown people stole the materials at Enishkeh Syriac School, security forces were at the scene and investigated the incident, and on Tuesday the materials from the teachers room of the same school were stolen.
he source added that a week ago, unidentified individuals vandalized the cemetery in the village and destroyed a number of tombs. There are no results in the investigation of theft and vandalism as of yet.
A group of people from the Kurdish villages near Nahla have made a new transgression on one of the villages of our Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people in the area.
The group trespassed on the lands of Keshkawa village in the Nahla area by building a house and an aquifer, and cultivated the land that was overrun. The villagers witnessed the group while they were planting the land, despite the decision of the Penalty Commission in Erbil on 27 August 2017, which ruled in favor of our people in Nahla.
Ninos Odisho, a member of the Provincial Council of Dohuk & Representative of Al-Rafidain bloc, considered these acts as a provocation to the owners of the land, a challenge, and a deliberate violation of the laws and regulations that were issued by the legal authorities.
“We have followed up the recent overtaking of Keshkawa in Nahla, and we have contacted the Mayor of Aqra District regarding the issue.” said Odisho. “The Mayor confirmed that the transgressors had been warned after the decision of the Penalty Commission in Erbil”
Mr. Ninos Odisho confirmed that the Mayor of Aqra District promised to follow up on the case and refer the transgressor to the investigation because of violation of the judicial directives issued by the Presidency of the Higher Court / Penalty Commission in favor of the people of Keshkawa village. The judiciary will order the relevant authority to remove the infraction on the lands.
He added, “The ordered issued by the Presidency of the Higher Court / Penalty Commission, the property belong to the Ministry of Finance and the rocky lands used as pastures for the people of the village (referring to the complainants and the accused). The court should have examined the evidence carefully before issuing the decision to avoid such mistakes.”
Mr. Odisho urged the governmental authorities to intervene and end the transgressions not only in Nahla village but in other villages of our people in Kurdistan region of Iraq as well.
Attached is the decision of the court, which was issued in favor of the people who submitted complaints.
MP Imad Youkhana Yaqoo, Rapporteur of the Iraqi Council of Representatives sent a request to the Federal Supreme Court for the purpose of interpreting the term “other disputed areas” mentioned in paragraph 2 of Article 140 of the Constitution in terms of:
1. Definition of the disputed areas.
2. What is the criteria in determining whether the region is disputed or not?
3. Which is the authority to determine whether the region is disputed or not?
After evaluation and deliberation, the Federal Supreme Court found that Article 140:2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq (2005) stated that “the responsibility placed upon the executive branch of the Iraqi Transitional Government stipulated in Article 58 of the Transitional Administrative Law shall extend and continue to the executive authority elected in accordance with this Constitution, provided that it accomplishes completely (normalization and census and concludes with a referendum in Kirkuk and other disputed territories to determine the will of their citizens), by a date not to exceed the 31st of December 2007”
The Federal Supreme Court finds from the above constitutional text that the constitution uses the term “disputed areas” in Article 140:2 to refer to the disputed areas between the Kurdistan region and the federal government. And that the Article 53:A of the Administrative State Law for the transitional stage has drawn the boundaries of the Kurdistan region where it states: The Kurdistan Regional Government is recognized as the official government of the territories that were administered by the government on 19 March 2003 in the governorates of Dohuk, Arbil, Sulaimaniya, Kirkuk, Diyala and Nineveh.
The term “Kurdistan Regional Government” shall refer to the Kurdistan National Assembly, the Kurdistan Council of Ministers, and the regional judicial authority in the Kurdistan region. The Supreme Federal Court finds that the disputed areas are those lands that were administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government in the above-mentioned text on 19 March 2003.
The criteria in determining whether the area is disputed or not is shown in Article 53:A of the Administrative State Law for the transitional stage: the boundaries of the eighteen governorates shall remain without change during the transitional period.
Paragraph 3 of the request, regarding the authority to determine whether the region is disputed or not, the Federal Supreme Court finds that this was defined by Article 140:1 of the Constitution in light of the provisions of Article 53:A of the Administrative Law Transitional of the transitional stage for the transitional period.
The decision was issued based on article 94 of the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq 2005 and Article 5:2 of the Federal Supreme Court Law No. 30 of 2005.
With the start of the new academic year 2017 – 2018 in order to bring joy in the hearts of our students and support their parents. The Assyrian Aid Society, in cooperation with the International Christian Orthodox and International Lutheran Relief Societies (IOCC), distribute stationery to our students at various levels of study in the governorates of Dohuk, Arbil and Nineveh Plain villages.
On Thursday, Nov. 2nd, 2017, the Assyrian Aid Society-Iraq distributed the stationery to (1270) students in school of Alqosh town, including (First & second Alqosh primary schools, Alqosh basic school, Alqosh secondary school and Dost high school).
On Sunday, Nov. 12th, 2017, the school supplies were distributed to (550) students in schools of Shekhan area (Perozawa primary school, Ainsefne primary school and Shekhan high school).
On Monday, Nov. 13th, 2017, the school supplies were distributed to 180 students in Armoota Basic school in Armoota village – Erbil Province.
raqi Parliament’s Security & Defense Committee has accused Kurdish forces in the Nineveh Plain of carrying out arrests against activists & citizens without any legal justification.
They are also calling on the central government to demand the control of the federal forces in Teleskof & Alqosh, and end the presence of the forces causing these issues. “The Kurdish forces of some parties arrested dozens of residents and political activists, we’re calling on the federal government to enforce control over those areas”, stated MP Imad Youkhana, a member of the committee. “These arrests were carried out without any legal justification or arrest warrants and were carried out indiscriminately to intimidate and displace the people,” he added. He’s calling on the central government to “enforce its control over Alqosh, Teleskof, and other areas through law enforcement and security after the failure of negotiation with the KRG to hand over the areas peacefully,” noting that “the continuation of these situations is detrimental to the interest of the citizens and threatens the civil peace of religious minorities.”
The US Consul General in Erbil, Mrs. Cherie O’Leary, met with MP Yacoob Gewargis Yaqo (head of Al Rafedain bloc in the KRG Parliament) and Ashur Sargon (President of Assyrian Aid Society – Iraq) at the Erbil US Consulate Office on November 16, 2017.
During their meeting, they discussed the general political situation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Nineveh Plain, and the situation of our Assyrian Chaldean Syriac people. In addition, a comprehensive explanation was provided on the overall return of internally displaced people (IDP), their daily needs, reconstruction and infrastructure development. These areas suffer from a large shortfall in support that does not meet the basic needs of the displaced to return to their homes and original towns.
MP Yacoob G. Yaqo and Mr. Ashur Sargon urged the United States and the international community to play a bigger and more influential role in providing support and helping the IDP. They called for support to work towards stabilizing their areas, both on the security front and economically. They reiterated the removal of the Nineveh Plain from all political conflicts and enable Nineveh Plain residents to protect their land and maintain the security file as that is the best way to restore confidence in the people of these areas who have faced years of displacement.
On November 11, 2017, Ms. Ruwaida Al-Haj, an official of the Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), held a meeting with Chaldean Syriac Assyrian representatives in Dohuk to discuss the land grabbing violations in the villages of our people in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and to discuss the meetings held by UNAMI with officials in the Region to end these abuses.
During the meeting, the mission listened to the problems faced by all villages related to the issues of transgression and expropriation of their lands. A number of suggestions were presented by our representatives as solutions for this problematic and important issue, in order to find resolutions and move forward quickly in Nahla and other villages affected. They also discussed the decisions issued by judicial and administrative bodies that have not yet been implemented.
The seminar was attended by representatives from the villages of Nahla and the villages that have been displaced for years. A delegation from the Assyrian Democratic Movement, including MP Yacoob Gewargis Yaqo (KRG Parliament), Gevara Zia, Ashur Sargon, Talia Shamoon, Ninos Odisho (Head of Al-Rafidain list in the province of Dohuk), were in attendance along with a number of members of the KRG Parliament, legal officials, and active followers of these cases.
The delegation had met earlier with Ruwaida Al-Haj with our people’s representatives in the office of Mr. Jaafar Aymanki, Deputy Speaker of the KRG Parliament, on Tuesday November 7th, in the presence of Members of Parliament from Al-Rafedain bloc and Abnaa al-Nahrain, in addition to a number of other MPs. The UN delegation had stressed to follow up with the cases of abuses on the lands and villages of our Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, through field visits to villages and meetings with officials in the authority to lift the abuses
