Two members of the Syriac-Chaldean-Assyrian people Murdered in Mosul-Iraq

On 27th June 2007 at around 10:00 am, two invaluable members of our struggle, namely, Zuhayr Yousef Stayfo (Born in Karemlesh 1958) and Luay Sleyman Nouman (Born in Tel Esquf 1986) were murdered by some unknown persons in Mosul.

This latest incident of the martyrdom of Mr. Zuhayr Yousef Stayfo and Mr. Luay Sleyman Nouman, who were both members of the Bethnahrin Patriotic Union (HBA), displays the current critical situation that our people are going through in Iraq. Our People, who are impartial to the ongoing intercommunity clashes in Iraq, are being subject to a great aggression by various groups.
Mainly from Baghdad and Mosul, tens of thousands of Syriac-Chaldean-Assyrian people have been forced to leave their houses and flee elsewhere. Our people are being threatened by some fanatic Islamic groups, forced to convert into another religion and to pay Jizyeh (a tax collected from non-Muslims by Muslim rulers). As a result of this backward fundamentalist mentality, without differentiating between young, old, woman, child or cleric, everyday some of our people are being kidnapped and murdered. The fear and panic has become a part of their daily life. Our people are therefore defenceless against these attacks and feel that they have no security for their future.

Whilst the Iraqi government and the international forces still have not found a solution to the ongoing violence and the terrorist attacks, the games played on our people and the amount of attacks against them has reached an alarming level. Accordingly, a system of security should be urgently implemented in order to eliminate such barbaric outcomes. Otherwise, the daily attacks against our people will soon turn into an ethnic cleansing. Therefore, we request from the respective representatives of the United Nations, the European Union, the Arab League and the rulers of the Middle Eastern countries, to take a sensitive approach against the attacks that our people are facing and not to remain indifferent in finding a solution for them. It should be noted that the aim of such attacks is to create a lasting hostility between different
nations of the region. Our people have greatly contributed to the development and the civilization of the humankind from this region. Therefore, like every other people, the right to living in Iraq and in all the Middle Eastern countries should also be granted to our people.

Social concepts of lifestyles of the people such as autonomy, federation, independence and freedom, are an alternative and a choice for every group and people to preserve their existence and to continue the development of their culture. The request of our people for an autonomous region in Iraq is not against any other people and it does not mean that they wish to be isolated from the society in general. Our people are of the opinion to develop a democratic system, together with all the other societies of Iraq and the Middle East, in a harmony and cooperation. Should our people have an autonomous formation and not face obstacles in their way towards development, as they have done in the past, they will continue to contribute with greater values to the richness of the region. This mentality that is not tolerating the enjoyment of any basic right to our people is causing a great loss upon the humane values of the region
too.

In Iraq, the hostility that is being promoted against our people by some fundamentalist groups, is not serving anything else, other than to drift the society in general into a dark/backward situation. Our people should be alert against such attacks and not fall into the traps set up for them. In a struggle for freedom, every stage has its own difficulties as well as its honourable sacrifices. It is with these sacrifices, that those who are defending the peace, friendship and cooperation among the nations may be distinguished from the rest. With this faith and devotion, in order to defend the ultimate rights and liberties of our people, we have to have a spirit that is capable to face the challenges in this struggle. Our people have learned to honour and respect their martyrs throughout the history; and despite all the atrocities they suffered, they have been able to stand on their feet. Our martyrs of 27th June 2007 have joined the extensive line of our other immortal martyrs and will be remembered with honour. Therefore, we as the Bethnahrin National Council, would like to pay our condolences to all our people in general, especially to our people in Iraq, to the family members of our martyrs and to all our friends in our struggle.

MUB (Bethnahrin National Council)
The Executive Board
28.06.2007