=====================================================
                   THE   L   I   G   H   T   H   O   U   S   E
=====================================================
 

 Excerpts from "AN ASSYRIAN AUTONOMOUS STATE IN IRAQ"
                             by General Agha Petros
                                          1923

I ask that His Britannic Majesty officially grants to
the Assyrians as a home that portion of Northern Iraq
in the Vilayet of Mosul which lies north of latitude 36.
Its eastern boundary would approximately follow the
course of the river Zab from its junction with the
Tigris to where the former river is crossed by the
main Mosul-Revandos road, thence as far as the Persian
frontier, which it will follow to its junction with
Turkish territory (Vilayet of Van).  Thence its northern
frontier would march with that of Turkey as far as
longitude 42, which would roughly be its western
boundary.

The greater portion of the cultivated lands between
the rivers Zab and Tigris already belongs to the
Assyrians, otherwise known as the Chaldeans, as it
did to their fathers before them, while the rest of
it is mainly occupied by Yizidis and friendly Kurds,
but the Assyrians form the majority.  As to the
Yizidis they too are Assyrian by descent and are
quite prepared to make common cause with us, also the
friendly Kurds.

As to Mosul, it is the only town at present that could
be made the capital of the State, by its situation
and defensibility, this latter being a most important
matter in view of the necessity of having a secure
place for the storing of war material and supplies of
all sorts.  It serves as the market town of whole
region, and by reason of its distance from Baghdad and
the Iraq seat of Government should fall within the
sphere of Assyrian influence.  It is fully recognized
that a large proportion of the town population is
Arab,and for this reason the State would, in return
for its inclusion in its boundaries, be prepared to
grant his Majesty King Feisal special financial
privileges in regard to it.

                      *******

AT THE END OF WORLD WAR I, THE BRITISH OCCUPIED MOSUL
IN NORTHERN BET-NAHRAIN, NOTED FOR ITS MINERALS AND
OIL RESERVES.  AT THE SAN REMO CONFERENCE OF APRIL
25, 1920, THE FRENCH AGREED TO LEAVE MOSUL OUT OF
FRENCH MANDATE IN EXCHANGE FOR 25 PERCENT OF IRAQI
OIL.  ON NOVEMBER 1925 THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS GAVE
THE HAKKARI REGION TO TURKEY AND AGREED TO THE
SETTLEMENT OF THE ASSYRIANS IN THE MOSUL VILAYAT.
ON JUNE 5, 1926, AFTER THE SIGNING OF A TREATY
WITH TURKEY, BRITAIN DENIED THE ASSYRIANS THEIR
RIGHTS GRANTED BY THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.  SIX YEARS
LATER AGHA PETROS DIED UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
AT A RAILWAY STATION IN PARIS.  LESS THAN ONE YEAR
AFTER, THE ARAB AND KURDISH NEIGHBORS BEGAN COLLABORATING
IN THE INDISCRIMINATE KILLINGS OF THOUSANDS OF ASSYRIANS.

=====================================================
           G O O D   M O R N I N G   B E T - N A H R A I N
=====================================================

  MOSUL VILEYAT QUESTION TO BE DISCUSSED IN GENEVA

(ZN: Sidney)  According to a communique from the
Assyrian Universal Alliance- Australia Chapter, a UN-
sponsored meeting will be held next month in Geneva
to discuss the 1994 Draft Constitution of the Mosul
Vilayet Council.  On March 1994, the Council, comprising
of 13 mayors and religious representatives from northern
Bet-Nahrain, met in Ankara, Turkey, and discussed a plan
presented by the European Lawmakers to the International
Committee for European Security and Cooperation and
their Permanent representatives to the United Nations.

An office has been opened in Geneva to register all
the propriety owners with official "Ottoman" documents
issued before 1932.  All Assyrians in possession of
such documents are encouraged to contact AUA-Australia.
The resolutions passed in next months meeting in Geneva
will be presented to the UN General Assembly.  The AUA
office in Australia believes that several meetings
in Geneva and Turkey have already taken place without
any Assyrian representation. A Working Committee was
hence established in Australia to prepare all necessary
documentations on behalf of the Assyrian people and for
the benefit of the Council's Assyrian representatives
to the Geneva meeting in March.  For more information
please contact: Shmouel Warda
                AUA (Australia Branch)
                P.O Box 34
                Fairfield, NSW 2165 Australia
 
    THE ANNUAL ACADEMIC REPORT FROM DOHUK

(NM: Dohuk) According to a report from the Dohuk Branch
of the Union of Assyrian Students and Youth in Dohuk,
northern Bet-Nahrain, the following figures are noted
for the 1995-96 academic year:

   # of Students Enrolled     Subject/Level
   ----------------------   -----------------
           1294             Assyrian Classes
           1373             Primary Schools
           665              Secondary Schools
           530              High Schools
           74               University

In addition to the Assyrian language, history,
geography, science, and mathematics are taught in
Assyrian up to the fourth grade.  Arabic and Kurdish
are considered foreign languages and taught along
with Assyrian and English.  All educational
assistance, as for teachers' salaries and the
supplies, are provided by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO).

        KURDISH REPRESENTATIVES' VISIT TO IRAN

(RU: Baghdad) A yet-unidentified Kurdish delegation was
invited to Tehran, Iran to take part in the celebrations
of the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.  Iraq is
wary of increased Iranian influence in its Kurdish region,
which allied airpower protects against possible attacks
by Iraqi armed forces.  Iran is using its influence to
bring peace between rival Kurdish factions. Its pro-
Kurdish Hizbollah (Party of God) is said to be operating
freely in northern Bet-Nahrain.

          ANTI-SADDAM OFFICE OPENS IN JORDAN

(RU: Amman) King Hussein stepped up his campaign against
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, allowing an Iraqi
opposition group to announce the opening of an office
in Amman, Jordan.  The Al-Wifaq or the Iraqi National
Accord  is one of numerous groups seeking to overthrow
Saddam. The group believes that Iraqi oil exports now
being discussed at the United Nations would only
increase Saddam's hold on the population. The group,
which has offices in London, Damascus and the northern
Bet-Nahrain, said it would open what would probably be a
``regional headquarters'' within days. Al-Wifaq is a
secular body that is not cooperating with the Iraqi
National Congress, the umbrella organization. However,
the king this month installed a new prime minister,
Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti, who was known in the last
government as the strongest backer of the king's moves
against Saddam.
 
=====================================================
                  S U R F S  U P !
=====================================================
 

"...I like that you announced Ninos’ new CD in last
weeks issue of Zenda.  Linda George’s CD is also on
sale.  I think it would be a nice idea to have a
section in Zenda making such announcements.  Maybe
even a personal section announcing weddings,
engagements, graduations, promotions, etc.  You know,
like the Lifestyles section in your local newspaper..."
 

                                    -Sandra Gevarguize
                                     Yonkers, New York
 

[GREAT IDEAS!  WE HAVE ADDED 2 NEW SECTIONS IN
RESPONSE TO YOUR COMMENTS AND MS. NADIA JOSEPHS' UNDER
THE FOLLOWING TITLES:  BRAVO & LITERATUS, RESPECTIVELY.]
 

"I am located in southern California, U.S.A., i would
be more than happy to provide you with any information
that would be useful to zenda.  Also i wanted to know
if you could give me Bishop Mar Bawai Soro's e-mail
address .  I would greatly appreciate it.
 

                                    -Rany Warda
                                     macc@eworld.com
 

[TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF OUR SUBSCRIBERS WE RESERVE
THE RIGHT NOT TO PUBLISH THEIR EMAIL ADDRESSES. YOUR
MESSAGE WAS FORWARDED TO HIS EXCELLENCY'S OFFICE.]
 

"How about posting the sources from which you sight
your enlightening quotes for "Back to the Future"?
Just a thought on how we can improve this masterful
work! Please withhold my name if this will be
published."
 

[BEGINNING WITH THIS ISSUE ALL "BACK TO THE
 FUTURE" QUOTES WILL BE PROPERLY REFERENCED."
 
 
=====================================================
               N E W S    D I G E S T
=====================================================
 

            OIL-FOR-FOOD TALKS CONTINUE
 

(RU:  UN)) Iraq's negotiator in oil-for-food talks said
the two sides were heading for a preliminary agreement.
Iraq has been under trade sanctions since its troops
invaded Kuwait in August 1990.  At issue are ways to
implement an April 1995 Security Council resolution that
permits Iraq to sell $2 billion worth of oil over six
months, on a renewable basis, to buy badly-needed food,
medicine and other humanitarian supplies.  The United
Nations has said little since the talks began and key
Security Council diplomats receive few briefings. On
Saturday, a U.N. spokeswoman said the two sides
discussed ``technical issues''  relating to banking,
oil sales and a distribution plan for the humanitarian
supplies. Should there be a tentative agreement in this
round of talks, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
as well as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would have to
review the plan.
 

 MARONITE PATRIARCH CRITICIZES THE LEBANESE GOVERNMENT
 

(RU: Beirut) Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, Patriarch of the
Maronite Church since 1986, accused the government of
Lebanon of failing to restore a state of law since the
1975-90 civil war.  The Beirut press published extracts
of his statement on the eve of Prime Minister Rafik
al-Hariri's departure for talks with Pope John Paul II
in the Vatican. Sfeir has emerged since the war as the
main Christian voice in Lebanon in the absence of the
minority group's most prominent leaders in exile and the
refusal of many others to participate in politics.  His
Holiness asked "what can one say of the corruption in
the administration, of the epidemic of graft that continues
to spread, of the preference given to political and
confessional sectarianism in appointments to public office
to the detriment of competence.''  Patriarch of the
Maronite Church, one of the 5 major  Assyrian
churches, often blasts the government for marginalizing
the once-dominant Christians and failing to defend the
sovereignty of Lebanon in the presence of 1,000 Israeli
soldiers who hold a southern border strip and 35,000
Syrian peacekeeping troops. Political sources said
Hariri wanted to discuss with the Pope ways of bringing
Lebanon's Christians back into the political mainstream
from which they have been alienated since their defeat
in the civil war.
 

  IRAN & IRAQ DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF WAR PRISONERS
 

(RU: Tehran) Iran and Iraq are holding talks on
prisoners of war and troops missing in action.
Delegations met at a border location for talks ``to
discuss obstacles in the way of bilateral relations
in an effort to normalize Tehran-Baghdad ties.''  The
two countries will exchange lists of prisoners of war
they were holding.  Iran says 5,000 to 10,000 prisoners
are still held by Iraq.  Baghdad denies holding any
Iranians. Iraq says more than 20,000 Iraqis are held
by Iran.  There may be as many as hundreds of Assyrian-
Iraqi POW's remaining in the prison camps of Iran.
 

1996 ELECTIONS RESULTS OF THE AAA OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
 

On Sunday February 11, 494 Assyrian voters in Southern
California cast their vote for 33 candidates running
for 35 available positions.  With 234 votes cast in
her favor, Madlen Zango became the first woman to
be elected as the president of the Assyrian American
Association of Southern California.  Sargon Ishaya, a
former president of the Association, was elected as
Vice-President and the following individuals will
fill the remaining positions:
 

Board of Directors:
        George Malik
        Victor W. Mooshabad
        Wilson Shirabad
        Pierre Toulakani
        Robert Baba
 

Board of Advisors:
        Emanuel Bet-Maleck
        Joseph Bet-Shmuel
 

Council
        Peter Armia
        Kristine Assouri
        Catherine Baba
        Noray Bet-Baba
        Gladis A. Barko
        Apnoil Barko
        John Bet-Eivaz
        Yourka Bet-Maleck
        Joseph Danipour
        Eleen Dawoodtabar
        Jozef Essavi
        Ruben Ganjeh
        Avigham Isayo
        Kardelieh Lazar
        Tidi Pourdavoud
        Emil Rostamo
        William Rostamo
        Victor Saroukanioff
        Zia Tomik
        Atourina Noghli
        Jeanne Noghli Youkhana
        Isha Yousif
 

Under the by-laws of the new constitution all eligible
Assyrians including non-Association members had the
privilege of voting.  Members of the AAASC recently adopted
a new constitution which allows every adult Assyrian,
resident of Southern California, to participate in the
elections of the Association.
 
ELECTIONS OF THE AFA'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS IN BERKELEY
 

(NM: Berkeley)  At the December 17 general membership
meeting of the Assyrian Foundation of America, in
Berkeley, California, the following officers were
re-elected to the Board of Directors:
 

President               Martin Jacob
Vice-President          Charles Yonan
Secretary               Germaine Badal
Treasurer               Julius N. Shabbas
Chair, Membership       Linda Schwat
Chair, Education        Nathan T. Nasseri
Chair, Social           Sargon W. Shabbas
 

  CHICAGO ASSYRIAN SOCCER TEAM REACHES SEMI-FINALS
 

(ZN: Chicago) The Winged Bull Soccer team continues with
its victories on the field with an unblemished record
of 12 Wins, 3 Ties and 0 Losses.  On February 17, it
advanced to the semi-finals by beating Central America
3-1 and Croatia 3-0, in the first round.  The Odium Stadium,
in Villa Park, Chicago was vibrating to the cheers of an
estimated 350 Assyrian fans out of an estimated 1500
attendance. In the semi finals, the Assyrian team lost
to Mexico (5-4) and was forced out of the playoffs.  The
Assyrian Athletic Club (AAC) of Chicago, is proud to
announce Discounted rate seats on their chartered flight
to Sydney, Australia, where the Winged Bull Soccer team
will play five matches against different Assyrian
Australian teams from late September through October 1996.
Cost per person is $1250- departing from Ohare Airport,
Chicago. For more information contact  Syalda@aol.com.
 
 

=====================================================
  D I R E C T O R Y  OF THE  N E W S  S O U R C E S
=====================================================
AA (AAA of San Jose Newsletter)
AP (Associate Press)
AS (Assyrian Server in Sweden)
BN (Bet-Nahrain Journal)
EB (e.Babylon BBS): 1-209-668-1827
        Hollister, California
JS (Journal of the Assyrian Academic Society)
   P.O. Box 4102   Des Plaines, Illinois 60016-4102
NQ (Nebu Quarterly)
        P.O. Box 59422, Chicago  Illinois  60659
NM (Nineveh Magazine)
NN (Nineveh Newspaper)
RU (Reuters)
SC (soc.culture.assyrian)
TN (Turkish News Agency)
WS (The Wall Street Journal)
ZN (Zenda Reporters):   zenda@ix.netcom.com
 

=====================================================
       C A L E N D A R    OF     E V E N T S
=====================================================
Feb 24          National Executive Committee Meeting
                Assyrian American National Federation
                New Britain, Connecticut
 
March 1         The AAA of San Jose
                General Meeting
                BETA; 20000 Almaden Rd
                7:30 pm
 

March 13        "How a Babylonian Schoolboy learned
                 his ABC's"
                Public Lecture Series
                University of Toronto
               (416) 978-4531
 

May 24-27       Assyrian State Convention of California
                San Jose, CA
                Fairmont Hotel
 

May 24-25       Memorial Weekend Games
                Chicago, Illinois
 

May 25-26       2nd Assyrian Community Networking Conference
                San Jose, CA
                Fairmont Hotel
 

June 1          Nineveh Choral Concert
                Conducted by Maestro Nebu Issabey
                San Jose, California
                Santa Teresa High School Auditorium
                8:00 pm
 

June 9-11       The ARAM Conference
                Harvard University
                Cambridge, Massachusetts  U.S.
 

Aug 29-Sept 2   AANF National Convention
                Modesto, CA
                Red Lion Inn Hotel
-----------------------------------------------------
                  ENTERTAINMENT
-----------------------------------------------------
 

March 16        A Fundraising Party for Rep. Anna Eshoo
                AWANA
                Church of the East
                San Jose, CA
 
-----------------------------------------------------
                    MEETINGS
-----------------------------------------------------
Thursdays     Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club at
              Modesto Junior College
              1:00 pm
              Founders Hall 125.
 

-----------------------------------------------------
                    CLASSES
-----------------------------------------------------
Mondays       Assyrian Language Classes
              BETA:  AAA of San Jose
              7:00-8:30 pm
 

              Assyrian Discussion Group
              BETA:  AAA of  San Jose
              8:00-9:30 pm
 

Thursdays     Nineveh Choir:  Maestro Nebu Issabey
              BETA:  AAA of San Jose
              7:30-9:00 pm
-----------------------------------------------------
                    SPORTS
-----------------------------------------------------
Tuesdays      Boys Soccer Practice
              South Valley Christian School
              Corner of Blossom and Shawnee
              San Jose, California
              5-6:30 pm
 

Sundays       Boys/Girls Volleyball
              Campbell Community Center
              Camden & Union
              Campbell, California
              6-9 pm
 

=====================================================
   A S S Y R I A N   S U R F I N G   P O S T S
=====================================================
                     NEW WEB SITE(S)
 

Assyrian Collection of the Metropolitan Museum
        http://www.metmuseum.org/htmlfile/gallery/second/
        near.html
 

.......................................................
 

Ancient Mesopotamia
        http://sipparorinst.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/RA/ABZ
        U/ABZU_REGINDX_MESO.HTML
 

Akkadian Language
         http://ruurq2.sron.ruu.nl/akkadian/
 

Assyria On-Line
        http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~jatou/./
 

Assyrian Flag
         http://www.cesi.it/flags/assyria.html
 

Assyrian Server (in Sweden)
         http://www.cs.umu.se/~dprhi/assyr/assyr.html
 

Assyrian Songs
        http://users.aol.com/assyrianme/songs/
        assyrian.html
 

Assyrian Woman Home Page
        http://www.nineveh.com/~agabrial/woman.htm
 

Assyrian Youth Association of Sweden
        http://www.cs.umu.se/~dprhi/assyr/assyr.html
 

Church of the East Page
        http://www.allover.com/org/assyrian.ch.east/ace.html
 

Corpus Neo Assyrian Project:  Helsinki, Finland
        http://www.helsinki.fi/science/saa/cna.html
 

e.BABYLON
        http://www.garlic.com/~agabrial/babylon.htm
 

Journal of the Assyrian Academic Society
        http://www.garlic.com/~agabrial/jaas.htm
 

List of Books on Babylon
        http://www.vuw.ac.nz/who/Jamie.Norrish/nephilim/
        Bibliographies/babylon.html
 

Mesopotamia
         http://www.singnet.com.sg/~edmonds/sumerian_
         main.html
 

"Newsgroup"     soc.culture.assyrian
 

Nineveh Kids Homepage
        http://www.garlic.com/~agabrial/kidsweb.htm
 

Syriac Comp Inst
        http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/gk105/syrcom/
 

 
=====================================================
          P U M P  U P  T H E  V O L U M E
=====================================================
ENGLISH                   ASSYRIAN
 
Wealthy         Aa-teera    [M]  Aa-tirta   [F]
Developed       Mitqadma    [M]  Mitqademta [F]
Progress        Shooshaatda [M]  td as in tdlaa for "three"
 

_____________________________________________________
F = Feminine     M = Masculine      P = Plural
 
=====================================================
        B A C K    T O  T H E    F U T U R E
=====================================================
B.C.(729) In an effort to establish order in southern
Bet-Nahrain, Tiglath-Pileser III liberates the
Babylonians from the Chaldean nomadic tribes.
The high priests of Babylon recognize the kingship
of Tiglath-Pileser III as their gods' lawful
representative in Babylonia.
 

<< Ninos Isaac, "Profiles of Great Kings", Nineveh Magz,
  Volume 18, No. 4, 1995 >>

A.D.(770's-820's)  Two Assyrian Patriarchs hold the
most conspicious position in the ecclesiastical history
of the Eastern Church.  During the Patriarhy of
Timothius the missionaries of the Church of the East
penetrated the Mongolian territories, and Patriarch
Hananeshoa successfully evangelized the Gospel of
Jesus in China and erected the now famous Nestorian
monument.

 << Rev. Joel Warda, The Flickering Light of Asia >>
 

======================================================
                                  L  I  T  E  R  A  T  U  S
======================================================
 

       ******TWO ANCIENT SUMERIAN PROVERB******
                                 [CIRCA 3100 B.C.]
 

"Possessions are sparrows in flight which can find no
place to alight."
 

"He who has much silver may be happy;
 he who has much grain may be glad;
 but he who has nothing can sleep."

======================================================
                      T H I S    W E E K   I N    H I S T O R Y
======================================================
Feb 23, 1915:  Ottoman Turks assemble and execute 60
  Assyrian youth who had sought asylum in the Catholic
  Mission of Urmia, Iran.
 

Feb 24, 1918:  Rev. Yosip DeKalaita, an Assyrian
  scholar and a school principle dies at age 82.
 

======================================================
                                         B   R   A   V   O
======================================================

We extend hearty congratulations to the Cifarelli Family
in New York on the arrival of the new 8 lbs and 13 oz.
member of their family on January 25.  Megan Cifarelli,
a curator at the NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art, recently
joined the growing circle of Zenda readers.
 

=====================================================
                             W E L C O M E   T O   Z E N D A
=====================================================
Zenda welcomes our new on-line subscribers from:

              [CORPORATE ACCOUNTS]

Tencor Corporation
 

              [UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS]

Modesto Junior College  Modesto, California
 

             [INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS]

New Britain, Connecticut
 

=====================================================
                       A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S
=====================================================
Zenda wishes to thank the following individuals &
organizations whose contributions appear in this issue:
 

Sargon Yalda            Chicago, Illinois
Hannibal Givarguiz      Tehran, Iran
Carlo Ganjeh            San Jose, California
Robert Baba             North Hollywood, California
 

____________________________________________________
 

ZENDA will continue to print your comments and
suggestions free of editing, as they appear in our
mailbox.  All letters will be printed in our SURFS UP!
section unless directed otherwise.
 

We urge you to submit your community events, personal
accomplishments, and meeting/school times to Zenda
no later than Sunday at 12:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time.
 

-----------------------------------------------------
Our Next Issue will appear on Monday, February 26, 1996.
-----------------------------------------------------