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Assyrian Universal
Alliance
Australia Chapter
Australia’s Intervention
Urgently Required For Assyrian Refugees of Iraq
13 May 2008
The Hon. Stephen Smith MP.
Minister for Foreign Affairs; Deputy Leader of the House
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Hon. Smith,
Greetings Receive.
We are writing this letter on behalf of our
Australian Assyrian community to congratulate you and to wish you
the very best on
your tenure as the Minister for Foreign Affairs
upon being sworn in
on 3 December
2007.
We thank you for the opportunity you granted us to
meet with you despite your very busy schedule
with today’s release of
2008–09, Commonwealth Budget.
The main purpose of this letter is to
request your attention and urgent intervention regarding the
prevailing situation in Iraq where the future of our ancient
Assyrian nation is bleak. The Human
rights situation is worsening and repression of the civil and
political rights continues deteriorating by the day. Our
people are facing both racial and cultural genocide.
Our
population in the homeland has dwindled to less than half of its
number before the war. The Assyrian refugees repeat endless stories
about crimes of murder, abduction, rape, threat of violence and
subjugation they face on a daily basis. Iraqi Christians flee with
their families leaving behind their belongings to escape this
horrific situation.
We bring to your attention that
on many occasions we have met with the
former Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Alexander
Downer MP. During our meetings we
briefed the Minister with the latest developments in Iraq, the
neglect of the Assyrian issue after the liberation of Iraq and the
difficulties facing our stranded refugees in its neighbouring
countries. As a matter of urgency and importance, the Assyrian
community delegates called upon the Australian government to take
emergency measures to alleviate the prevailing causes of forced mass
migration perpetrated against the Assyrians in Iraq.
Accordingly,
the current Assyrian
delegation asks your good self to support the Assyrian appeal to the
Australian government to
take immediate measures to address this
colossal humanitarian crisis that is endangering the very existence
of an ancient nation. We request your attention and support for the
following:
1-
To
safeguard our Assyrian towns and villages from terrorist attacks and
harassments by the Kurdish militia we are seeking Australia’s
support to establish, train and arm an Assyrian security force as
part of Iraq’s national security or police force reporting to the
central government of Iraq in Baghdad; not to the Kurdish Regional
Government.
2-
We request immediate economic
assistance to address the very basis of the acute humanitarian needs
of the Assyrian refugee population – particularly assistance in
establishing educational and medical care for the safety of
children, elderly, orphans, disabled and severely impoverished
families and individuals.
3-
We request your support of the Assyrian
demands to establish a geographically viable demarcated region
as an
Assyrian Governorate/province in the
historical Assyrian lands in Northern Iraq as part of the
modern day Federal Republic of Iraq.
This newly created Assyrian province
shall be administrated and protected by the Assyrians under the
jurisdiction of the central government of Iraq. The establishment of
such a province will be most crucial to the security and survival of
the Assyrians in Iraq by allowing greater local Assyrian control
within the context of their integrated, sovereign Iraqi state.
This
action will also encourage the Assyrian refugees
- whether those in the homeland or
the Diaspora, or internally
displaced - to return to Iraq.
Furthermore, such an Assyrian province
would allow for political, educational, linguistic, religious, and
cultural protection.
This Assyrian region will be a Middle
East success story of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, economic
prosperity and an example not only to the region but to the world.
On behalf of the
Australian Assyrians, we thank you very much for your consideration
and support.
Yours faithfully,
Hermiz Shahen
Secretary, Australia Chapter
Assyrian Universal Alliance |
