THE SLEEP OF THE CENTURIES
Longworth, who came to visit Nimrod,
and descended into the N. W. Palace towards
evening, was "overpowered" by the
contemplation of so many strange objects: The
portly forms of kings and vizirs,
were so life-like, and carved in such fine
relief, that they might almost
be imagined to be stepping from the walls to
question the rash intruder on their
privacy. Then, mingled with them were other
monstrous shapes-the old Assyrian
deities, with human bodies, long drooping
wings, and the heads and beaks
of eagles; or, still faithfully guarding the
portals of the deserted halls,
the colossal forms of winged lions and bulls,
with gigantic human faces.
All these figures , the idols of a religion long
since dead and buried like themselves,
seemed actually in the twilight to be
raising their desecrated head from
the sleep of centuries: certainly the
feeling of awe which they inspired
me with, must have been something akin to
that experienced by their heathen
votaries of old.
[The Morning Post, 3 March, 1847]
submitted by Firas Jatou
PEACE & FREEDOM IN BET-NAHRAIN
HAPPY NISAN 6745
S U R F S U P !
========================================================
"I'm going crazy!!!! I'm
reading all these articles about Kurdish towns and
villages being attacked and no
one is saying what is happening with our
Assyrians. I'm trying to
hold back tears. I'm hearing that the Turks have gone
into khirkuk and they've been killing
and burning down hamlets all weekend."
-U.S.
"I'd like to correct the number
of Assyrian population in IRAN. In 1989 the
official number was 18,000."
-Vladimir Moghadassi, San Jose, U.S.
"Thank you for sending me copies
of the publication Zenda as issued in recent
weeks. It is an excellent idea
and I am certain many of our Assyrian people will
find it both interesting and informative.
Best wishes for you and Zenda.
-Herbert B. Quoyoon, New York
"WHERE IS ZENDA. I feel like
I am going through a withdrawal here. I NEED MY
ZENDA."
-U.S.
"I just read all of the issues of
Zenda that you sent me. I am amazed at the
incredible opportunity this wonderful
new medium presents for Assyrians to share
their ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
Congratulations on an auspicious beginning
to a wonderful journey."
-Ashourbel Moradkhan, San Jose
[in reference to the entry in Zenda
NO. 3's Back to the Future section]
Bader-Khan Beig of 1842...was not
an Ottoman. He was a Kurd who revolted
against Ottomans and at the same
time massacred several thousands of Assyrians;
not only in Hakkari but also in
Tur-Abdin. It is noteworthy that history
repeats itself. The Kurds
of today are also revolting against the Turks, and
they massacre Assyrians in the
same way as Bader-Khan. They are trying to clear
away all non-Kurdish elements...
all Assyrians from Tur-Abdin. So the number of
60,000 Assyrians mentioned in Zenda
could be right in 1970, not today. Today
there are hardly more than 2000
Assyrians in Turkey (Tur-Abdin). In Istanbul,
the European Turkey, there might
be some 15,000-20,000 Assyrians.
-Schlemon Moussa
Lund, Sweden
W E L C O M E T O Z E N D A
========================================================
Zenda welcomes our new on-line
subscribers from:
[UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS]
University of Toronto
University of Chicago
[INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS]
Pennsylvania, U.S.
Toronto, Canada
Chicago, U.S.
San Jose, California
N e W s D i G e S t
========================================================
-TURKISH FORCES INVADE NORTHERN BET-NAHRAIN-
(AP) On March
20, on the eve of the Kha B'Nisan celebration, about 35,000
Turkish troops moved into northern
Bet-Nahrain through the main road to Zakho
against separatist rebels of the
PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party. Backed by 80
tanks, 100 APC's (armored personnel
carriers), 280 vehicles, fighter jets and
Cobra helicopters, a stretch
of 185-mile front was occupied 40 miles inside the
Northern Bet-Nahrain, in pursuit
of an estimated 2,800 PKK guerrillas. The
offensive is concentrated on the
mountainous regions of Sinat-Haftanin, Metina,
Sive-Mezi Kervadari and the Kharkurk
triangle. The operation was launched
after Kurdish rebels killed 15
Turkish soldiers in an ambush near the Bet-
Nahrain-Turkey border Saturday.
Iraqi Kurdish leaders were surprised by the
scale of the offensive and angry
because they were not informed beforehand.
Turkey's Prime Minister Tansu
Ciller said that the operation would last until
the "terrorists" attacking
Turkey from their bases in northern Bet-Nahrain
were totally cleared from the area.
Turkish Air Force jets had flown 33
sorties against the rebel positions
by early afternoon, and that a total of 12
PKK camps had been
targeted. A military spokesman said 76 bombs were dropped
on a single camp in the Bote
region alone. The United States neither condoned
the attack nor condemn the operation.
No Assyrian casualty figures have been
made available yet. PKK has
been battling some 200,000 Turkish soldiers since
1984 to achieve self-rule for Turkey's
12 million Kurds. An estimated 15,000
have died since. Turkey,
like Iraq, Iran and Syria, fears its sizable Kurdish
minority would be encouraged in
its separatist ambitions if the Iraqi Kurds
achieved independence. The
opposition Iraqi National Congress (INC) claims
that, in the Zakho and Dohuk regions
where large concentrations of Assyrians
reside, Turkish troops had
arrested hundreds of men and women, accusing them of
being PKK sympathizers. As
many as 4500 men and women may have already been
abducted by the Turkish troops
and transferred inside Turkish territory.
The Turkish army is (also) bombarding
the villages around Zakho extensively, the
INC said in a statement. Turkish
paratroopers had dropped on villages 15 miles
northeast of Dohuk. But a
tank advance towards the district of Shiranish,
northeast of the Bet-Nahrain border-town
of Zakho, had met heavy resistence from
Kurdish guerrillas, it said.
According to the Turkish News Agency at least 800
PKK members were killed, where
only 8 Turkish soldiers have died in the clashes
since Monday.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-ASSYRIAN KILLED IN BET-NAHRAIN-
Toronto (ZN) Edward Khoshaba
Isho a resident of the village of Blamed in the
Aqra region of northern Bet-Nahrain
was killed by an angry non-Assyrian mob in
Bet-Nahrain. Ten days before, Edward,
while tending his sheeps nearby his
village was attacked by a group
of thieves. In defending his herd, Edward kills
two of the robbers and then immediately
surrenders himself to the authorities.
He was then transferred to a local
prison in Dohuk, Bet-Nahrain, where he was
kidnapped and taken to the village
of Bakerman. An angry mob, waiting for his
arrival, begins beating Edward
and with three blows of an axe brakes his skull.
Edward's body was then taken to
the local office of the Democratic Party of
Kurdistan in Aqra and handed back
to his family. Doctors were not allowed to
examine Edward's body and the exact
cause of death was never determined. Mr.
Isho's family and friends buried
his injured body on March 8.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-DEBUT OF THE ASSYRIAN WEB SITE ANNOUNCED-
Toronto (ZN) Mr. Firas Jatou
announced the debut of the "Assyria on-line", a
World Wide Web site on the Internet.
The WWW home page, embelished with the
image of the Assyrian winged-bull,
can be accessed using Mosaic or Netscape
applications at http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/cgi-bin/hpp?assyria.html
This web site features hyperlinks to the following internet pages and web sites:
1) Animation of the palace of Ashur-nasirpal
2) The Assyrian Mastiff Dog
3) The Oriental Institue of Chacago
4) Assyrians of the 5th Century
B.C.
5) Assyrian Cuneiform Language
6) Zenda (back issues)
Mr. Firaz is a major contributor
of information to Zenda and an active member of
the United Assyrian Youth of Canada,
which is organizing the Syriac Computing
Symposium, later this month.
Netscape program can be downloaded by accessing
the following site: ftp://ftp.netscape.com/netscape/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-KURDISH REBELS WOUND SADDAM'S SON-
San Jose (MC) Kurdish rebels
in northern Iraq claim to have wounded Saddam's
oldest son, Udai, in a Baghdad
murder attempt and nearly assassinated the
country's defense minister, General
Ali Hassan al-Majid, who was visiting the
northern oil city of Kirkuk.
Odai Hussein, 31, was shot by several gunmen
firing assault rifles in Baghdad
and hospitalized with serious wounds. Majid,
Saddam's cousin, escaped the ambush
unharmed, yet several of his bodyguards were
killed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-SADDAM SURVIVES POORLY-PLANNED COUP ATTEMPT-
(RU) Led by Wafiq Samaraii,
who headed Iraqi intelligence during the Gulf War
but later lost his post, a coup
was to be carried out by major sections of the
Iraqi military, with simultaneous
attacks mounted in both northern and southern
Iraq. It failed in the early hours
of operation. The coup would have united
Iraq's main opposition group with
army contingents and Kurd and Shiite forces
throughout the nation. Instead,
during the attempt over the past weekend, key
Kurdish forces declined to attack.
Samaraii was able to flee across the border
into Syria.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-VATICAN SUPPORTS REMOVAL OF SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAQ-
(AP) Iraq won the support
of the Vatican in its campaign against the economic
sanctions imposed by the United
Nations. The backing came only three days after
the United Nation Security Council
again renewed the sanctions imposed on Iraq
after its invasion of Kuwait in
1990.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Perry asks Iraq to release Americans-
(AP) Less than 48 hours
before the Turkish occupation of northern Iraq, U.S.
Defense Secretary William Perry,
visiting Kuwaiti officials, released photos of
Iraq's re-newed build up of its
troops. He also called on Iraq to release two
Americans being held by Baghdad.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-CANADA CELEBRATES AUA'S 27TH ANNIVERSAY-
Toronto (ZN) Among several
other programs scheduled for later this month, the
United Assyrian Youth of Canada
(UAYC) will celebrate the 27th anniversay of the
establishment of the Assyrian Universal
Alliance. The guests of honor will be
the Honorable Senator John Nimrod,
the General Secretary of the AUA, accompanied
by Mr. Homer Ashurian, Deputy Secretary
of AUA. This and many other cultural
and educational events are planned
as parts of the UAYC's celebration of Nisan
6745. Other scheduled programs
include:
A Walkathon to
Mel Lastman Square
Assyrian folklore
music and dance
Fundraising
for the children of Bet-Nahrain: victims of the Gulf War
Open House invitation
to other ethnic communities of Toronto
Assyrian art
exhibition
Assyrian political
rally
Trip to the
Ontario Royal Museum
Assyrian children's
gathering
Kha b'Nisan
dance party, featuring Ashur Bet-Sargis &
Athletic tournaments
For more information contact UAYC
at (416) 747-9107.
-IN SEARCH OF ASSYRIAN AMULETS-
Toronto (ZN) An Assyriologist
from the University of Toronto is building a
collection of Assyrian artifacts
to be housed in this school's Department of the
Near Eastern Studies. Professor
Amir Harrak's research centers around Syriac
literature. He is particularly
interested in the Assyian amulets, worn to deter
evil spirits. Professor
Harrak was able to identify one such amulet as dating
back to the 18th Century from the
Qudshanus region in the Hakkiari. Unless
these artifacts are donated to
the Department Professor Harrak will gladly
photograph the items for later
research. For more information write to
jatou@waves.toronto.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-AN ASSYRIAN JOINS TIME MAGAZINE-
Toronto (ZN) Nina Burleigh
joined Time Magazine as a contract contributor
covering the White House.
She covered the Clinton campaign in1992 and her
articles have appeared in the Chicago
Tribune, Chicago Magazine, Spy, and other
publications. Nina is a Chicago
native and received her double Master degrees
in Public Affairs and English from
the University of Chicago. Mrs. Burleigh
visited Baghdad and Basra shortly
after the Gulf War and speaks "tourist"
Arabic. She is married to
John Baumann, an architect.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-CIVIC CLUB OF TURLOCK DONATES $20,000-
Chicago (ZN) In the
last meeting of the Assyrian American National Federation
it was announded that the Assyrian
Civic Club of Turlock has donated $20,000 to
the needy Assyrians of Northen
Bet-Nahrain.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-BET-SARGIS AND AZIZ WILL RELEASE NEW ALBUMS-
San Jose (ZN)
In the next few weeks the Assyrian entertainers, Ashur Bet-
Sargis and Walter Aziz, will release
their new albums entitled Mirror of
Deception and Colours, respectfully.
Ashur in collaboration with his co-
producer David Sargis (Ogen's younger
brother) of the Black Cats will introduce
such new hits as Nora Aldyana and
Qamoodi Wat Byayi. Walter's Colours reveals
his multi-lingual talent with a
range of hits in Assyrian, English, Brazilian
and Arabic. Walter's album
will also be released on compact disc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-ASSYRIAN BUSINESSMAN OPENS AMERICA'S LARGEST MID-EAST FOOD STORE-
San Jose (ZN) On Friday,
March 10 the Middle Eastern community of the San
Francisco Bay Area celebrated the
opening of the United Food Store in San Jose,
California. Under the ownership
of the local Assyrian businessman, Atour
Eliasnia, the store offers a variety
of the Middle Eastern food and products.
With over 10000 square feet of
area it is the largest Middle Eastern Food Store
in North America. Mr. Eliasnia's
other business ventures include importing of
other food products, i.e.Indian
rice "Tilda", and the manufacture of the
semiconductor parts in San Jose.
C A L E N D A R OF E V E N T S
===========================================================
Mar 24-April
"Gilgamesh"
New York City
For tickets call 388-8100
Mar 28
Syriac Computing Symposium
Strata Hotel, Toronto
Ontario, Canada
April 2
"The Meaning and Practices of Kha b'Nisan"
Eden's Banquet Hall
6313 North Pulaski, Chicago
"A History of Nisan"
a lecture by Rabbie Yosep Bet-Yosep
&
Nisan Bazaar: Assyrian food, books, accessories...
Bet-Umtah: 20000 Almaden Road
San Jose, California
Free, 3:30 pm
April 22
International Festival: "Faces of the World"
Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club of MJC
Assyrian music, food, and fashion show
Modesto, California
Cost: $5.00, $3.00 (students)
May 25-29
California State Convention
Pasadena, California U.S.
June 8-10
The Syriac Conference
Catholic University
Washington D.C. U.S.
June 29
Legal Aspects of Care of the Elderly in the Ancient Near
East: A Colloquium
[Society for the Study of Ancient Near Eastern Law]
On Mesopotamia: Drs. C. Wilcke, M. Stol, and K.R. Veenhof
Papyrologisch Institut
Witte Singel 27
NL 2311 Eig Leiden
The Netherlands
July 3-7
42nd Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale
Luven, Belgium
"At the Crossroads of Civilization in the Syro-Mesopotamian
Realm, Lanaguages and Cultures in Contact"
July 4
Assyrian United Organizations of California Olympics
San Jose, California
Chairman: Homer Benjamin @ (408) 997-3592
Aug 31-Sept 4 Assyrian
National Convention
Sheridan Hotel
Chicago, Illinois U.S.
June 9-11,1996 The ARAM Conference
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts U.S.
ENTERTAINMENT
March 25, 1995 Kha b'Neesan
Dinner Party: AAA of Yonkers
Association Hall, Yonkers, New York
Entertainer: Linda George
Donation: $25.00
April 1, 1995 Assyrian
New Year Parade, Chicago
Parade route: Peterson and Western to Pratt ending in Warren
Park
Traditional Music of Dawla and Zorna
Assyrian New Year Party
O'Hare Expo Center
Entertainers: George Chaharbakhchi, Fatin Shabo, Emanuel Bet
Younan,Shabi Lawando, Ramsin Odisho with Brothers
and Bet Nahrain bands.
Donation: $15.00
April 1
Kha b'Neesan Dinner Party: AAA of San Jose
Hyatt San Jose
San Jose, CA
Entertainers: Robert Khanishan and the Sonata Band (featuring
Juliana Hamza)
Donation: $40.00
MEETINGS
Thursdays
Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club at Modesto Junior College
1:00 pm, Founders Hall 125.
W H Y N O T A S K Z E N D A?
==========================================================
What's the word in Assyrian for
... ??
Who were the ... ? What did
really happen in ...? Well, why not ask Zenda?
Z E N D A A S K S
==========================================================
Thanks to all of our readers who
responded to the request for the Internet
Meeting. Zenda's staff in
Chicago will discuss the meeting date and time with
he organizers of this year's National
Convention in Chicago. How about a wine
and cheeze social? Well,
let's not get too carried awary! After all, this is a a
meeting of the surfers and not
wine connoisseurs.
What should be done with the case
of Edward Isho, viciously murdered in our
homeland of Bet-Nahrain?
Send your reply to Zenda.
Would you like to have your email
address included in the Assyrian Email
Directory? Contact Firas
Jatou in Canada (jatou@waves.toronto.edu).
P U M P U P T H E V O L U M E
=========================================================
English
Assyrian Pronunciation
Comfort
nyakha
Beer
arsana
Room
tawana
B A C K TO THE F U T U R E
=========================================================
BC (1207):
Ashur-nadin-apli, Tukulti-Ninurta I's son, and the nobles of
Assyria revolt against the Assyrian
king and seige his capital. Tukulti-Ninurta
was captured in his palace
and slain with a sword.
AD (1849):
The first Assyrian periodical, Zahrire d'Bahra appears in Urmia.
This bi-weekly journal was founded
by the American missionaries under the
guidance of Justin Perkins and
assisted by Rabi Mirza Shmuel Khangaldi. Each
issue consisted of four pages,
with local and international news. Its
publication lasted until the end
of World War I (1918).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments? Suggestions?
Write to Zenda at walkhas@qntm.com and let us know
about your community's activities.
The materials published in Zenda are not
edited and your stories and articles
will be published as received, unless
directed otherwise.
Would your friends like to receive
their own copy of Zenda via email? Send us
their address.
If you or someone you know may wish
to receive "hard" copies of Zenda contact:
Zenda @ P.O. Box 20278 San Jose, California
U.S.
=============================================================
A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S
=============================================================
Zenda wishes to thank the following
individuals for making this issue of Zenda
possible:
Pauline Jasim:
Chicago, Illinois
Firas Jatou:
Toronto, Canada
Albert Gabrial:
Hollister, California
& our sources at the Iraqi
National Congress and the Turkish News Groups.
The next issue of ZENDA will be
sent to you on April 3, 1995.