Subj: ZENDA I (Vol III,#8 ; 4/7/97) Date: 97-04-11 06:17:19 EDT From: zenda@ix.netcom.com (ZENDA) To: zenda@ix.netcom.com Neesan 7, 6747 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 Volume III, Issue 8 A Weekly Online Publication of ZENDA Assyrian Newsagency -Section 1 of 2- =========================================================================== T H I S W E E K I N Z E N D A =========================================================================== -Section One- 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 -Section Two- 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -End of Section 1 of 2 ----------------------- Headers -------------------------------- From zenda@ix.netcom.com Fri Apr 11 06:16:58 1997 Return-Path: Received: from dfw-ix10.ix.netcom.com (dfw-ix10.ix.netcom.com [206.214.98.10]) by emin24.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-2.0.0) with ESMTP id GAA25835; Fri, 11 Apr 1997 06:16:52 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from smap@localhost) by dfw-ix10.ix.netcom.com (8.8.4/8.8.4) id CAA01839; Fri, 11 Apr 1997 02:19:02 -0500 (CDT) Received: from sjx-ca9-01.ix.netcom.com(199.182.128.33) by dfw-ix10.ix.netcom.com via smap (V1.3) id sma001716; Fri Apr 11 02:18:31 1997 Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19970411001804.006e16b4@popd.ix.netcom.com> X-Sender: zenda@popd.ix.netcom.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.1 (32) Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 00:18:04 -0700 To: zenda@ix.netcom.com From: ZENDA Subject: ZENDA I (Vol III,#8 ; 4/7/97) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"