Vol III, Issue 45
Shvadt 2, 6747 February 2, 1998
T H I S W E E K I N Z E N D A
THE LIGHTHOUSE
"THE SMALLEST ALLY"
Sixty six years ago today, on 2 February 1932, the Assyrian military
hero and commander of the united Assyrian forces during the First
World War, General Agha Petros de Baz, died in France- away from
his beloved homeland of Bet-Nahrain. His body was found at a
railway station in Paris, France. To date the cause of death
remains officially unknown. No Assyrian in the 20th Century has
been revered and eulogized as has Agha Petros who chivalrously
fought the Moslem forces of Turkish and Kurdish rebels in the
First World War, guided nearly a million Assyrians through the
Great Exodus of 1915-18, worked as the Ottoman Consul in Urmie,
established a prosperous business as a rug merchant in New York,
and spoke as the chief Assyrian negotiator from 1919 until 1923.
In his final efforts after the 1923 Lousanne Conference General Agha Petros wrote a letter to the British officials in
London hoping to rekindle the forgotten promises for the establishment
of an autonomous State for the Assyrians in Northern Bet-Nahrain.
This week, on the eve of perhaps another war in our homeland in
Bet-Nahrain and in remembrance of the legacy of General Agha Petros,
ZENDA publishes His Excellency's "Your Smallest Ally" letter written
from his hotel in London on 26 October 1923:
Dear Sir,
We beg to call your attention to the fact that our Nation, Assyro
Chalde, fought throughout the War on the side of Great Britain,
and lost more lives and property than any other nation, in proportion
to its population. Also after the Armistice, our brave army fought
side by side with the British in their Campaign in Mesopotamia,
and at the present time we have five battalions under British
officers in the North of Mosul, besides Gendarmes and Police.
We are recognised as "The Smallest Ally."
We greatly fear the consequences of a British withdrawal form
Mesopotamia. Being scattered among our war enemies, a British
withdrawal would probably be followed by a massacre of all Christians.
Therefore, we ask that the territory of our ancestors be "A CHRISTIAN
AUTONOMOUS STATE UNDER A BRITISH MANDATE." The land we claim is
our ancient land, which lies between the Rivers Tigris and Zab,
and Mount Zinjar on the North side of Mosul. We had our own independence
prior to the war in the North of this country. There is neither
Turk nor Arab, but a few friendly Kurds and Yezidies, who ar of
the same race as ourselves. We are the largest in population,
and will make a strong Buffer State between Turks and Arabs.
We do not expect, and indeed do not ask for, financial or military
help. We wish to stand on our own feet, in our own homeland,
to defend our families, and live in peace with our neighbours,
and offer in exchange our loyal services in the interest of His
Britannic Majesty's Government, from whom we have received so
many kindnesses in the past.
We have had long conversations with members of high standing in
the Foreign Office and Colonial Office, who have shown great interest
in our cause.
We need your help and we are sure you will use your influence
to get justice for our homeless people, who have been so sorely
tried since the outbreak of the Great War.
Another Massacre like those which have taken place in the recent
past, and the Assyrian Nation will cease to exist.
We ask you to help our nation, which has in the past defended
Christianity against every assault from the Moslem world. We
claim to be the oldest Christians in the world. Can you, as Representatives
of Christian Peoples, see this Christian remnant of a great Empire
dispersed or effaced? We believe you can not, and will not.
We are, Sir, Your Obedient Servants,
General Agha Petros
Commander-in-Chief of the Assyro-Chaldean Forces
President of the National Council
Soon after, the British and Iraqi governments exiled the Assyrian
General to France where he lived until his death at the age of
52. Only one year after His Excellency's death thousands of
Assyrians were slaughtered during a series of indiscriminate killings
known as the Semel Massacre.
ZENDA
GOOD MORNING BET-NAHRAIN
ASSYRIAN-KURDISH DELEGATION MEETS ITALIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER
(ZNAK: Rome) The Foreign Affairs committee of the Italian parliament
met with Assyrian and Kurdish representatives last week. The talks
were attended by Kurdish representatives Zubeyir Aydar, Necet
Buldan, Mehmet Balci, Kazim Baba, and the Assyrian delegate George
Aryo. Achillo Occhetto, chair of the Italian Foreign Affairs
committee, said that the decisions made at the meeting followed
on from earlier representations from talks held on the 10th of
December. He went on to stress that the Italian parliament will
do everything within its powers to help bring about a solution
to the "Kurdish question." Speaking on behalf of the Kurdish
and Assyrian delegation, Mr. Aydar called for economic and political
pressure to be placed upon the Turkish government, in pursuit
of a resolution to the issue of the Kurds, and other oppressed
ethnic groups in Turkey. The Assyrian delegate George Ayro also
took the opportunity to call for the cessation of the oppression
of some 150,000 Assyrians who live within the borders of the
current Turkish state. An Italian Foreign Affairs committee spokesperson
later described the meeting as very beneficial and called for
the recognition of the Kurdish and Assyrian representatives within
the International community.
CHURCHES OPPOSE MILITARY STRIKE ON IRAQ
(ZNAF: Geneva) The World Council of Churches Friday recommended
that its 300 members urge their governments to oppose threats
of military strikes against Iraq in the UN arms inspections crisis.
In a statement issued by its headquarters in Geneva, the council
said seven of its members who went to Iraq this month were concerned
that a military strike "would only increase the suffering of innocent
people." The mission's report said UN sanctions in force against
Iraq "seriously violate the basic rights of vast sectors of the
population to properly feed, lodge and care for themselves," and
asked for a "careful re-examination" of the sanctions.
SURF'S UP!
"I am the Chief Editor of a magazine named AssyrianNews, mainly
in swedish. We write about our people in the world, mostly news
from Bet-Nahrain. But I see some very good news in Zenda. So
I am asking you if it is okey
to translate some of your news into Swedish and publish it in
AssyrianNews for Swedish readers. Those Magazines which have
news from Zenda, I can send to you .
Ahiqar DeBasso
Stockholm, Sweden
News & information printed in ZENDA is currently used in several
American, European, Australian, and Russian printed magazines,
radio and television programs. ZENDA is a source of Assyrian
news and information and with proper reference to our name any
part of our printed material may be used in bringing information
to any Assyrian community around the world. Our best wishes for
the success of your online magazine!
"We all care for our brothers in Bet-Nahrain. No one of us felt
home when we were in our homeland.. We all know that those who
still live in homeland, are treated very badly, ( in the north
- considered as Kurd's Christians, in other parts as Syrian talkers
- Nateqeen bel Seryaniya ). We all are sure that there is no
future for us in our homeland.. So let us begin to ask our governments
to help our brothers in the homeland to be accepted as immigrants
and political refugees. In doing so, we will see HOW all the
European and U.S governments will react. THEY WILL TRY to keep
our brothers in homeland because they do need us there, for we're
the most intelligent people there, and we are Christian. A call
for all our associations and political parties ( including our
churches ): to ask the U.N and other governments to help our brothers
leave that Moslem region and save the lives of the rest of our
brothers.... BTW, the result of such act from our churches and
parties WILL SHOW WHO OUR REAL FRIEND IS... God Bless Assyria,
Amen."
Youkhanna Khzyran
Toulouse, France
"I would like to talk about the Lighthouse article in the January
12th issue: "THE FRANTERNITY OF ASSYRIANS, ARABS, KURDS AND TURKOMANS."
My beloved Assyrians, fortunately, I was able to interview the
General Secretary of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ZOWAA),
who has been visiting Germany, about the steps ZOWAA made (especially
in Europe) according the six killed Assyrians in North-Iraq.
So I don't know which steps have been made in the US, but here
are some of them made in Europe: In Germany and Sweden, there
have been several discussions with different organisations like
for example with Society for threatened People (Gesellschaft fuer
bedrohte Voelker), who also made a press release, which I have
read in German. There are some Information in this release, which
can just be from Northern Iraq and the only contact from this
region to the West, is with Zowaa. Besides, there are some discussions
between Zowaa and Holland's ministry of justice about this incident."
Adrin Takhsh
Berlin, Germany
"This is in response to last week's article from an Assyrian sister,
Doris Babassi, that I have a lot of respect for. I am very happy
about your grandfather that was respected and treated well by
the missionaries. But your father was an exception to the rule,
because he made sense and he must have been a smart man. I give
your grandfather a lot of credit for being bright and open-minded.
Are you trying to tell me your grandfather would not have been
an honest and a gentleman if it wasn't for the missionaries. I
doubt that very seriously. I think you are a nice lady and mean
well, but naïve like the rest of the Assyrians. Missionaries
were not there to help the world, but they were there to colonize
and to give you religion to control your mind and to take advantage
of the resources. There has never been any good coming out the
w>
Transfer interrupted!
