Neesan 7, 6746 Volume III Issue 8 April 7, 1997
zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz zz
z zzzzzzzzz
z
z z
z z z z
z z z
z z
z z z z
z z z
z zzzzzzz
z z z z
z zzzzzzz
z z
z z z z
z z
z
z
z
z z z z
z z
z
zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz z
zz zzzzzzz
z
z
A Weekly Online Publication of the ZENDA Assyrian Newsagency
===========================================================================
T H I S W E E K I N Z E N D A
===========================================================================
The Lighthouse...................... Religious Minority
Rights in Turkey
Good Morning Bet-Nahrain............ Western Negotiators
Visit the North
INC Press Release
Surfs Up............................ "don't know why
they exist."
Surfers Corner...................... Walk For Life
News Digest......................... British Oil Company
Eyes Iraqi Oil
Ziggurat............................ No New Entry
Calendar of Events.................. No New Entry
Entracte............................ No New Entry
Intelligentsia...................... Classes and Seminars
Assyrian Surfing Posts.............. Assyrian Internet
Conference
Pump up the Volume.................. Expertise and Weakness
Back to the Future.................. Esarhaddon's Superstition
Assyrian Province Under Trajan
Literatus........................... A Prayer to Ashur
This Week in History................ Founding of AUA
Bravo............................... ATRA: Assyrian-Russian
Magazine
The Directory....................... News Sources
Bshena.............................. Sun, Miami, and
San Jose
Salute.............................. Lena, Eddy, and
Firas
===========================================================================
THE L I G H
T H O U S E
===========================================================================
A U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
REPORT ON RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN TURKEY
The Constitution establishes Turkey as a secular state
and provides for
freedom of belief, freedom of worship, and private dissemination
of
religious ideas. The Government generally observed these
provisions in
practice. About 99 percent of the population is Muslim.
Under the law,
religious services may take place only in designated
places of worship.
Although Turkey is a secular state, religious instruction
in state schools
is compulsory for Muslims. Upon written verification
of their non-Muslim
background, Lausanne Treaty minorities (Greeks, Armenians,
and Jews) are
exempted by law from Muslim religious instruction, although
students who
wish to attend may do so with parental consent. Syriac
Christians
(Assyrians) are not officially exempt because they are
not an official
Lausanne Treaty minority. However, according to a church
official, because
the community is mentioned in the Treaty, its members
have not been forced
to follow any specific curriculum.
Many prosecutors regard proselytizing and religious activism
on the part of
either Islamic extremists or evangelical Christians with
suspicion,
especially when they deem such activities to have political
overtones.
Since there is no law explicitly prohibiting proselytizing,
police
sometimes arrest Islamic extremists and evangelical Christians
for
disturbing the peace. Courts usually dismiss such charges.
If the
prosyletizers are foreigners, they may be deported, but
generally they are
able to reenter the country easily. Twice this
year the armed forces
dismissed groups of soldiers for prohibited religious
and political
activities. Some of these soldiers have indicated that
they will bring
their cases to the European Court of Human Rights.
Most religious minorities are concentrated in Istanbul.
The number of
Christians in the south has been declining as the younger
Syriac (Assyrian)
generation leaves for Europe and North America. Minority
religions not
recognized under the Lausanne Treaty may not acquire
additional property
for churches. The Catholic Church in Ankara, for example,
is confined to
diplomatic property. The State must approve the operation
of churches,
monasteries, synagogues, schools, and charitable religious
foundations,
such as hospitals and orphanages.
The Government formed in July has sought a more cooperative
relationship
with religious minorities, particularly in Istanbul,
according to prominent
members of these communities. The state ministry responsible
for the
religious minority communities gave the Armenian Patriarchate
permission to
rebuild a church in Anatolia and informed the Patriarchate
that requests to
restore some other properties would be approved immediately.
These requests
have all been approved without delay.
The authorities monitor the activities of Eastern Orthodox
churches and
their affiliated operations. The Ecumenical Patriarchate
in Istanbul has
consistently expressed interest in reopening the seminary
on the island of
Halki in the Sea of Marmara. The seminary has been closed
since the 1970's
when the state nationalized most private institutions
of higher learning.
===========================================================================
G O O D
M O R N I N G B
E T - N A H R A I N
===========================================================================
U.S.
& EUROPEAN NEGOTIATORS MEET WITH KURDISH LEADERS
(ZNUP: Washington) The Clinton administration, in
trying to repair a
fragile alliance between the two major Kurdish political
factions, made
scant progress in promoting peace between two Kurdish
factions during two
days of meetings in northern Bet-Nahrain, but came away
from the talks with
assurances their leaders would meet again this month.
Acting Assistant
Secretary of State David Welch and Robert Deutsch, a
specialist in Kurdish
affairs, along with their counterparts from Britain and
Turkey met Thursday
and Friday at an undisclosed location with leaders of
the Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party. During
two days of
separate meetings with the KDP's Massoud Barzani and
his PUK counterpart,
Jalal Talabani, the American, British and Turkish diplomats
were only able
to wrest assurances that the two leaders would meet again
this month.
Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said last week "The
United States
continues to believe that reconciliation and stability
in northern Iraq are
in the best interests of all the inhabitants."
A truce between the two factions was broken last year
after the KDP, with
help from Iraqi forces, conquered most areas of northern
Bet-Nahrain within
the Iraqi territory held by their PUK rivals. The offensive
shattered
efforts by the CIA to support Kurdish opposition to President
Saddam
Hussein and triggered an American evacuation from northern
Iraq of several
thousand dissidents including Assyrian and Kurdish families
who remain in
the Pacific island of Guam.
AN IRAQI NATIONAL CONGRESS PRESS RELEASE
London: 4 April, 1997
Following is a stAtement form Ahmad Chalabi, President
of the Executive
Council of the Iraqi natiOnal Congress.
"We welcome the visit of Mr. David Welsch and Mr. Robert
Deutsch and the
delegation from the US State Department to northern Iraq
this week. This
is the first visit by senior US officials to Iraqi Kurdistan
since Saddam's
invasion in August and Septermber 1996.
This trip follows from Secretary of State Albright's statement
of policy on
Iraq last week. It is now clear from all sides
that the US will not ever
deal with the regime of Saddam Hussein and that Iraq
will only be
reintegrated into the international community under a
democratic government
which will follow Saddam's dictatorship.
We call upon all political parties in nothern Iraq to
take advantage of
this opportunity to resolve the current stalemate.
The parties must reach
a political settlement which ensures the removal of Saddam's
forces from
Iraqi Kurdistan and the demilitarisation of the major
cities. A settlement
must also incloude specific provisions for the revenue
of the region to
benefit the people of the region equatably. We
also call upon all parties
to restore Iraqi Kurdistan as a viable base for the Iraqi
opposition to
carry out operations against the dictatorship.
For more information contact: INC Press Office
London (0171) 495-1666
===========================================================================
S U R F S
U P !
===========================================================================
"I agree with Ramin's concerns (ZENDA Vol III,#6) about
the state of our
political parties here in the US. I think almost all
of our political
institutions have no direction, they are in a state of
anarchy and simply
don't know why they exist. Often quarrels and backstabbing
are associated
with their activities and the end result is another split.
They are
basically in an everlasting identity crisis. In my opinion
our political
parties have achieved absolutely nothing of substance
for our people. And
I, along with Ramin, hold those Assyrians who have assumed
the leadership
positions directly responsible for that. This, also,
applies to ZOWAA in
the US.
I feel very strongly that the current ZOWAA leadership
is not capable of
conducting itself in a manner to gain the support of
Assyrians in general
nor it has the ability to carryout our people's needs
in the North. I
believe also there is no willingness to do anything to
further the cause of
ZOWAA in the US. Not all of our political parties enjoy
a true cause that
ZOWAA here in the United States does. And yet ZOWAA in
the United States
has often conducted itself in a manner as if the North
did not exist. It
has engaged in prolonged and painstaking arguments and
quarrels for reasons
associated with personal issues. This is just not acceptable.
Our people in
the North and the lands that we have lived from the beginning
are too
precious to let it be undermined and forgotten by the
inactivities of so
called their representatives in the US.
The recent events in the North force me to believe that
we lost a great
opportunity to better the lives of our people there.
Our people suffered,
died, lost their homes, lands, and we in the Unites States
watched and
waited for a group of people that call themselves ZOWAA
in the Unites
States to do something. But unfortunately ZOWAA in the
US has produced
disappointing results.
For this, I agree with Ramin's call for action to have
a new ZOWAA
leadership in place in the United States. However I don't
believe that one
person should hold so many responsibilities that Dr.
Lincoln Malik has
assumed for him. Our problems are too many and I don't
think it is fair for
our nation to let one man, as Dr. Lincoln malik has,
to take the destiny of
our nation in his hands. Supporting our people in the
North and Iraq
requires concerted effort by all Assyrians here in the
US. This requires
that the ZOWAA leadership to make it its agenda to work
towards reaching an
agreement with the rest of the organizations to work
for the cause.
The ZOWAA leadership under Dr. Lincoln Malik is in a
patatic stage of a
melt down and it cannot fulfill the needs of our people
in the North. And
the reason is that there are simply no able people in
the organization.
Many able, willing and ready people were either encouraged
to leave the
organization or, on a point blank, were ordered to stop
working. A good
case for the latter would be the original chapter in
San Jose who were by
all means a good example of seeing people working so
well together and
achieving the goals that they had promised to reach.
They suddenly
disappeared from the scenes and later we found out they
were ordered to
stop working for the organization. I always wondered
a good managed
organization would not stop a section where it makes
an exceptional
progress. There must be something wrong with that organization
if it does.
Stopping this group from continuing their work for our
people was, I
believe an action that should be investigated fully and
scrutinized as
Ramin points out in his letter."
Sam Shapira
Chicago, Illinois
***************
"Thank you for sending me the new Zenda issue. I was reading
the comments
of different Assyrian individuals on ZOWAA, AAS, and
the recent rallies of
Gabba Atranaya. From what I have gathered including
in Toronto Canada,
ZOWAA reps in North America made their intentions clear
by attempting to
saboutage these rallies. In Toronto they taught
certain individuals to
make comments and/or ask questions to try to bring confusion
amongst the
listeners, but in reality it was an embarrassment for
ZOWAA. As one
intellectual put it, "It was a political suicide for
ZOWAA". It seems that
anyone that disagrees with anything ZOWAA does and says
is a traitor in the
minds of the individuals placed as reps of ZOWAA. They
have claimed that
the individuals who are members of Gabba Atranaya are
Baathees, when in
fact they have no proof of such thing. Gabba Atranaya
does not kiss the
feet of the kurdish occupiers of our ancestral homeland
and call it
kurdistan like some other Assyrian Organizations and
individuals. Perhaps
that is upsetting the masters of such organizations.
It seems the word
DEMOCRATIC that appears in ADM is there for decoration.
This has been
clear by their own actions and mentality.
In an interview of the members of Gabba Atranaya, by
a kurdish newspaper,
the interviewer asked "In all of your publications we
have not seen any
place the word kurdistan iraq, why is that?" Their reply
was, "In the plans
of some of the kurdish political parties is the greater
kurdistan, where do
the Assyrians fit in this picture?, Nowwhere in these
plans is there a
mention of the rights of the Assyrians, so how can we
accept this?" In the
meantime, ADM's publications seem like a media
tool for the kurds and
kurdistan! Mr. Carlo Ganja's question of the individual
giving a lecture
instead of a question was most appropriate, even though
Mr. Ganja has
accepted it as a mistake. Sometimes we have to look at
the intentions to
make a judgement.
Besides, the kurds have done more harm to the Assyrians
in the last six
years than the baath regime in its entire existence.
I do not recall any
incident in any area under the rule of baaths,
where Arab mobs of a few
hundreds have taken Assyrian individuals and murdered
them in a savage
manner as the kurdish mobs have done. Nor have I heard
of any 14 year
Assyrian girl kidnapped by Arab individuals in daylight
and forced into
marriage. Such acts of terrorism seem to be a daily part
of the kurdish
agenda, and perhaps that is why the kurdish criminals
are never punished.
ASSYRIA FOR ASSYRIANS."
Nenus Younan
Toronto, Canada
**************
"I enjoy reading Lena Mushall's articles in ZENDA.
She writes her articles
in a rational and responsible manner. I wish if
we can find more fine
Assyrian writers as Lena Mushall in ZENDA and in all
Assyrian publications.
Ashur Simon Malek
Ontario, Canada
ashour@ican.net
**************
"I've been reading ZENDA since February and I still don't
understand why
you keep saying 'Bet-Nahrain' in your articles.
Let me remind your
so-called Assyrian readers that there has never and will
ever exist such a
country in the Middle East. Your attempts to marginalize
our struggle in
Kurdistan, with your news articles in 'good morning bet-nahrain'
are
rediculously funny. Give it up zenda and write
about the true path to
democracy in the north...and stop filling your readers'
minds with
nonsense. I'm sure they have better things to do
with their lives than to
read your boisterous articles every Friday. Long live
Kurdistan, long live
Democracy in the Middle East, and happy Norooz to all."
Bashir M.
Michigan
[Our readers often print out and distribute ZENDA in hard-copy
form among
non-internet readers. All letters to ZENDA, regardless
of the commenter's
subscription status, are printed as received. ZENDA
uses the term
Bet-Nahrain (Mesopotamia) in referrence to a geographical
(not-political)
area encompassing the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.
This includes
northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Iraq.
As outlined in the
political decrees of certain Kurdish political parties
the term Kurdistan
refers to a territory which includes northern Iraq, the
whole of southern
Turkey and northern Syria, parts of western Iran, Azerbaijan,
and Armenia.
ZENDA is published on Monday only.]
===========================================================================
S U R F E R S
C O R N E R
===========================================================================
ZENDA readers are invited to respond to the following
request(s) by either
directly writing to the author or sending a reply to
ZENDA.
***************************************************************************
"There are many ways to raise funds for our people in
Bet-Nahrain, one of
which is to spend a joyful day walking or running for
such a great cause.
The Assyrian Aid Society-Santa Clara Chapter invites
everyone, ZENDA
readers especially, to participate in this event.
If you wish to join,
please call me or send me an email, and I will gladly
mail you a
registration form. We need your support.
Let us show our unity and our
love for our people through our actions and not by words
alone. Even if
you are unable to attend a small donation would be greatly
appreciated. In
these hard times every contribution, no matter how small,
counts. Thank you."
Lena Mushell
San Jose, California
Lmushell@ssi.samsung.com
(408) 954-7811
===========================================================================
N E W S
D I G E S T
===========================================================================
ALL EYES ON OIL FROM BET-NAHRAIN, AGAIN
(ZNUP: London) Lasmo, the British oil exploration and
production company,
hopes to do business in Iran and Iraq when United Nations
and U.S.
sanctions are lifted, a published report said last week.
Lasmo plans to
form a joint venture company in Abu Dhabi, Oman, Syria
and eventually in
Iran and Iraq. Conscious of the U.S. sanctions introduced
last year to
punish non-U.S. companies which invested $40 million
or more a year in the
energy sectors of Iran and Libya, Lasmo does not want
to take any action
which might adversely affect its business in the future.
Lasmo already
holds acreage in Libya on which it is planning to drill
two wells this
year. Lasmo has established Khaleej Petroleum in Kuwait
with a local
partner and hopes to access opportunities in the Middle
East through this
company. Northern Bet-Nahrain, based on geological studies,
holds rich oil
reservoirs, majority of which remain untapped.
===========================================================================
Z I G G U R
A T
===========================================================================
--------------------------------
David Yonan's Konzert:
Sonntag den 20. Juli 1997 um 11:00
David Yonan spielt Geige
Mathaeikirchstrasse 1
Berlin
im Musikinstrumenten Museum Berlin, Curt-Sachs Saal (dierekt
neben der
Philharmonie)
===========================================================================
C A
L E N D A R
OF E V E N
T S
===========================================================================
Thru April 27
Masterpieces from the Pierpot Morgan Library:
A collection of relics 3300 B.C. to 1800 B.C.
Cylindrical Seals
From Uruk, Akkadian, Babylonia and Assyria
California Palace of the Legion of Honor
Lincoln Park, San Francisco.
(415)863-3330
Thru Fall 1997 Ancient Mesopotamia: The Royal Tombs
of Ur
2650-2550 B.C.
Third Floor
--------------------------------------------------------------
Apr 9
Recent Excavations at Gordion, Turkey:
An Achaemenid Persian Imperial Town in Central Anatolia
Lecturer: T.C. Young, Jr.
Royal Ontario Museum
Toronto, Canada
8:00 p.m
Apr 11-13
Big Bear Ski Trip
Skiing, hiking, Mountain biking, etc.
Assyrian Student Union Big Bear Trip
Members $40 non-members $65
Includes lodging, transportation, and 1st night's food.
Contact Sargon Gewargis: fishtale@juno.com
s8913705@mail.themall.net
Apr 13
The 18th Anniversary Celebration
Assyrian Democratic Movement
A Political Rally
The Assyrian American Association
20000 Almaden Road, San Jose
6:00 pm
Apr 24
Beginning of Settled Village Life in Eastern Anatolia
Dr. Michael Rosenberg
Associate Professor, University of Delaware
6:00 p.m.
Reception Follows
Rainey Auditorium
Free (215) 898-4890
May 4
"Near Eastern Archeology"
Speaker: Dr. Thomas E. Levy
University of California, San Diego
Location: Westchester, New York
Call Hugo Vandenwall Bake (914) 472-0874
May 5
"Near Eastern Archeology"
Speaker: Dr. Thomas E. Levy
University of California, San Diego
Location: Tufts University, Boston
Call Jodi Magness (617) 628-5000 x2680
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/classicsDept/aia.html
May 23-26
Assyrian State Convention of California
Turlock, California
May 24
A C N C '97
The Third Assyrian Community Networking Conference
The Assyrian State Convention of California
Turlock, California
Organized by The Assyrian Community Networking Society
Jul 20
A Concert by the Assyrian Violinist, David Yonan
Mathaeikirchstrasse 1
Musikinstrumenten Museum, Curt-Sachs Saal
Berlin
11:00 am
Aug 26-Sept 2
Assyrian American National Convention
Hyatt Regency Dearborn
Fairlane Town Center
Detroit, Michigan
All Single,double,triple,quad rooms: $95 per day
Reservations: (313) 982-6880
Reservations must be made by August 7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
E N T R A C T E
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apr 26
A Cocktail Dance Party
5th Anniversary of the Assyrians Around the World
TV Program
Entertainers: Julian Jindo
Julian & Janan Band from San Diego
Hyatt Hotel
1740 North First Street
San Jose, California
(408) 993-1234
$20.00
Tickets: Etminan Market & United Foods
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I N T E L L I G E N T S I A
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO
Assyrian Athletic Club Soccer Development Program
Ages 7-14
7:45-9:45 pm
Mondays
Warren Park Gymnasium
Western Avenue & Devon Street
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 1997-98
Syriac Classes Taught by Dr. J.F. Coakley
Elementary Syriac
Instructor: J. F. Coakley
Basic Syriac grammar and syntax
with selected readings from the Syriac Bible and
other early texts.
Readings in Syriac I
Historical and theological texts, and early poetry
Readings in Syriac II
Special attention to exegetical texts and to reading
manuscripts.
MODESTO
Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club at
Modesto Junior College
1:00 pm
Fridays
Founders Hall 108
Modesto, U.S.A.
NORTH HOLLYWOOD Assyrian Boy Scouts
Assyrian American Association of Southern California
Assyrian Club
5901 Cahuenga Blvd
North Hollywood, California
9:30am to 12:30pm
Sundays
Contact Sargon Gewargis @ fishtale@juno.com
(818) 891-3705 after 7:30 pm
Assyrian Student Union
California State University, Northridge
Assyrian American Association of Southern California
Assyrian Club
5901 Cahuenga Blvd
North Hollywood, California
6:00pm
Contact Sargon Gewargis @ fishtale@juno.com
(818) 891-3705 after 7:30 pm
SAN JOSE
Nisibin School
Assyrian Language Classes
Ages 5-14
10:00-1:00 pm
Saturdays
AAA of San Jose BETA
20000 Almaden Road
Raabie Nimrod Simono's Intermediate Grammar Class
AAA of San Jose BETA
ONLY IN MARCH
Class Days Vary (Contact ZENDA for more information)
Maestro Nebu Issabey's Nineveh Choir Practice
AAA of San Jose BETA
8:00 pm
Thursdays
TORONTO
Nisibis School
10:30-1:30
Saturdays
The Church of the East
Toronto, Canada
===========================================================================
A S S
Y R I A N S U
R F I N G P O
S T S
===========================================================================
For review an update and receive a registration form to
attend this years
Assyrian Networking Conference in Turlock, California
see: http:\\www.nineveh.com
===========================================================================
P U M P UP THE V O L U
M E
===========================================================================
English Modern Assyrian
Expertise
mshaal/tdoo/taa [F]
Weakness
Nvee/loo/taa
[F]
___________________________________________________________________________
F = Feminine M = Masculine
P = Plural
===========================================================================
B A C K TO THE
F U T U R E
===========================================================================
B.C. (680) Esarhaddon, king of Assyrian, begins
his 11-year rule from
Nineveh. He is reputed to have been extremely superstitious
and much under
the influence of magicians and exorcists.
<< From Distant Days, Foster >>
A.D. (115) The Roman emperor Trajan creates the
Province of Mesopotamia
which included Nisibin (Nisibis) and Singara.
<< The Roman Near East, Miller >>
===========================================================================
L I T E
R A T U
S
===========================================================================
A PRAYER TO ASHUR
This prayer was once inscribed on the pavement of a palace
gate at
Dur-Sharukin (Khorsabad), an Assyrian city built by King
Sargon II in 710's
BC.
May Ashur, father of the gods, look steadfastly with the
radiance of his
holy features upon this palace. may its rnewal
always be ordered, until
distant days. Let it be established from his holy
utteance that protective
spirit and safeguarding god be on the watch day and night
within it and
never leave its sides.
At his command may (these words)fall, "May he who made
a frow old, far into
the future." May he who dwells therein rejoice within,
in good health,
happiness, and blithe spirits. May he enjoy well-being
in full measure.
===========================================================================
T H I S W E E K
I N H I S T O R
Y
===========================================================================
April 10, 1968: The Assyrian Universal Alliance,
the first world-wide
Assyrian political organization, is founded in Pau, France.
===========================================================================
B R A
V O
===========================================================================
A NEW ASSYRIAN-RUSSIAN MAGAZINE PUBLISHED
ATRA, a new Assyrian Magazine, entirely published in Russian,
is currently
in circulation. ATRA is produced in St. Petersburg
and Chicago under the
direction of its editor, Mr. Basily Shoomanov.
To subscribe contact the
editor at:
ATRA
1138 West North Shore #5A
Chicago, IL 60626-4640
U.S.A.
or call (312) 465-0327
===========================================================================
the D I R E C T O R
Y
===========================================================================
ZNAD (Assyrian Democratic Organization)
ZNAM (Archeology Magazine)
ZNAP (Associated Press International)
ZNBN (Bet-Nahrain Inc/ KBSV-TV "AssyriaVision")
ZNDA (Zenda: zenda@ix.netcom.com)
ZNMN (San Jose Mercury News)
ZNNQ (Nabu Quarterly)
ZNNV (Nineveh Magazine)
ZNRU (Reuters)
ZNSJ (San Jose Mercury News)
ZNTM (Time Magazine)
ZNUP (United Press International)
ZNUS (US News & World Report)
===========================================================================
W E L C O M
E T O Z E
N D A
===========================================================================
Zenda welcomes our new on-line subscribers from:
CORPORATE ACCOUNTS
Sun Microsystems
Zellweger Analytics, Inc.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
San Jose, California
Miami, Florida
===========================================================================
S A L
U T E
===========================================================================
Zenda wishes to thank the following individuals &
organizations whose
contributions appear in this issue:
Lena Mushell
San Jose, California
Eddy Williams
Chicago, Illinois
Firas Jatou
Chicago, Illinois
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN OUR NEXT ISSUE:
A full report on the spectacular Kha b'Neesan 6747 Celebrations
in Chicago.