عشتارتيفي كوم- لجنة الثقافة والإعلام/
شارك الدكتور سرود سليم عضو برلمان إقليم كوردستان عن قائمة النهرين في جلسة الاستماع في البرلمان الهولندي والتي أقيمت يوم الأربعاء 10 أيلول 2014.
وجاءت هذه المشاركة ضمن وفد من برلمان الإقليم برئاسة الدكتور يوسف محمد رئيس البرلمان وعضوية السادة آيدن معروف ممثلا عن التركمان وشامو شيخ نامو ممثلا عن الإيزيدين، وسوران عمر رئيس لجنة حقوق الإنسان في برلمان الإقليم.
وألقى الدكتور سرود كلمة في الجلسة تطرق فيها إلى واقع المكونات العراقية وخصوصا واقع شعبنا الكلداني السرياني الآشوري في الوطن بعد التطورات الأخيرة التي شهدها على الصعيد الأمني، حيث أكد على ضرورة التصدي للمجاميع الإرهابية المسلحة (داعش) وتمكين النازحين من العودة إلى مدنهم ومناطقهم.. مطالبا المجتمع الدولي بتوفير منطقة آمنة للمكونات في سهل نينوى وتحت إشراف القوات الدولية لتتمكن هذه المكونات من العيش بأمان وسلام. بالإضافة إلى تمكين أبناء شعبنا من المشاركة في قوات عسكرية نظامية لحماية مناطقهم.
كما تضمنت كلمته طرح جملة أخرى من القضايا في إقليم كوردستان كونه عضو برلمان الإقليم.. والخاصة بشعبنا ومنها ضرورة معالجة مشاكل التجاوزات على أراضيه ومحاولات التغيير الديمغرافي فيها.. وأهمية تشريع القرارات والقوانين التي تعالج تلك المشاكل وتحمي وجود المكونات.
وأكد البرلماني الدكتور سرود سليم في كلمته على رغبة أبناء شعبنا في البقاء في وطنهم والعيش على أرض الآباء والأجداد للحفاظ على هويتهم وتاريخهم ولغتهم وباقي مقومات وجودهم.
وعقب اختتام كلمات أعضاء الوفد البرلماني شهدت الجلسة مداخلات وأسئلة أعضاء البرلمان الهولندي الذين حضروا الجلسة، ولا سيما حول المنطقة الآمنة وآليات تحقيقها ومطلب استحداث المحافظة في سهل سهل نينوى.
هذا وكان للوفد البرلماني مجموعة أخرى من اللقاءات مع مسؤولين هولنديين ومنها اللقاء مع زير الخارجية الهولندي السيد فرانس تيمرمانس لمناقشة جملة من قضايا شعبنا لا سيما في ظل المعاناة الحالية.
وأدناه نص الكلمة التي ألقاها الدكتور سرود سليم في هذه الجلسة وباللغة الإنكليزية:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
شلاما الوخن
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share with you the issues and
worries of our Christian community that concern you too.
My homeland Iraq,
that has witnessed decades of dictatorship and violation of human rights of all
the components of its citizens and caused instability in the whole area, was
supposed to be a different country in the aftermath of the last regime change
in 2003.
In return for such unstable conditions, Iraq has been paying a dear price
at a time when ethnic, religious, and small linguistic groups and small
minorities representing various components of the Iraqi people such as the
Chaldo - Assyrian Christian community, the Yezidis, Shabeks, Turkomen,
Armenians, and the Kakai experienced tremendous tragedies because they are the
most vulnerable group within the Iraqi society, and because they lack in
various means of self defense compared with the majority.
The Chaldo-Assyrian Christians, for example, who are the oldest indigenous
people in the area, had a population of more than 1.5 millions until 2003. This
figure dropped dramatically and in an alarming way to just less than 500
thousand people, a figure which continues to drop, particularly following the
events of the 10th of last June causing this and other small components to face
a serious challenge that threatens their existence in their ancestral land.
From the first days of this last change this component was subject to
continuous direct targeting of their individuals, religious leaders and
churches, in addition to various forms of demographic change in their
historical lands affecting their direct characteristics and changing
their cultural, civilization, and religious identity in the absence of any
development projects, and a deterioration in the basic services in most of
those areas as well as lack of job opportunities. This was accompanied by
absence of any effective political, social, legal, and security solutions by
the central government.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In my capacity as a member of Parliament in Iraqi Kurdistan Region and one of
the five members of the Quota representing the Chaldo-Assyrian Christian
community in Iraq,
I find myself obliged to speak about the prevailing conditions in Kurdistan
Region independently of what has been going on in the country as a whole.
The recent events, however, especially in the aftermath of the control by ISI S
of large areas of many Iraqi provinces since 10 June 2014, including the
province of Nineveh and the area of the Plain of Nineveh, the historical home
of the Christian Chaldo-Assyrian people, Yezidis, Shabeks, and Turkomen, the
area that represents a model for a mini-Iraq in all its rich culture,
civilization, and religion, have led to heinous acts of terrorism by ISIS and
caused the displacement of more than one million minority groups. And
following acts of ethnic and religious cleansing, and crimes that amount
to crimes against humanity and genocide, especially the killing of thousands of
Yezidis and abduction of hundreds of Yezidis women in Sinjar,
All the areas in the Plain of Nineveh became empty of their indigenous
people for the first time in history for more than 1700 years. The church bells
of nineveh went silent and no more heard, For the first time and across 7,000
years of nineveh emptied of its indigenous population, the chaldo-assyrian were
they build their Assyrian Babylonian civilization.
The area of Nineveh plain has witnessed some very serious developments after
being under control of ISIS, these events has made the minorities living in the
area lose confidence in the political process in the country. They now think it
difficult to go back to their original places even when they are liberated from
the grip of the armed militants. It also raised voices calling for providing
safe haven for these minorities under international supervision for a certain
transitional period until improvement in the security situation,
Otherwise, they will have no other choice than the bitter immigration, which
threatens to empty the whole area of its indigenous people leaving a negative
impact on the neighboring countries and Europe.
It remains important for KRG and the federal government to have a real
political will. They have to overlook their disputes, and take effective steps
and measures for addressing the general conditions of all Iraqis and the
vulnerable minorities in particular in terms of preserving their existence and
protecting them from all acts of violence, killing, cleansing and displacement
as well as guarantee their inclusion in the political, economic, and public
life through real and effective partnership. They have to address the bad
conditions that prevail in the historical areas of these minorities in terms
building, reconstruction and the provision of services and job opportunities.
Laws and regulations have to be passed to guarantee the rights of those
communities against discrimination. The legislation for example that concerned
with preserving rights of minorities, that the KR parliament is to pass during
the coming period , it is hoped that the law will address essential rather than
superficial issues directly relevant to the conditions of those
minorities including political and administrative rights, especially with
reference to the right of these minorities in administering their own affairs
in their historical and areas and lands in a manner that would preserve their
special character, cultural, civilization and identity.
It also remains important to pass laws and take measures that would secure the
addressing of the consequences of policies and decisions made by the last
regime and afterwards which still continue to date in terms of violations and
demographic changes made in many areas of the Chaldo-Assyrian Christian.
If it were important for the international community to support the
federal government in general and particularly the KRG in their fighting
against the border-crossing terrorist groups that threaten not only the KR and
Iraq alone, but also the regional and international peace and security, then
what is also of more importance for those states is to support and push the
federal and regional governments to protect the existence of the Christians in
all the Middle East, and the Yezidi, and Mandai communities that represent the
oldest ethnicities and religions in the area.
And among the factors for the survival of these minorities and defending
them is for them to have self- defense forces on the ground in their areas.
They have to be provided with the necessary means of self defense in terms of
equipment, rehabilitation, and training, especially as they already possess the
technical, security, and military potentials, as well as the potential for
building and reconstruction. This is going to make an effective contribution in
the reconstruction of the whole area as well as Iraq.
Finally my message which is the message of my people is that we want to
continue living in our homeland, to preserve our habits, culture, identity and
the most important is to preserve our holy language, the language spoken by
Jesus Christ and for achieving these goals we need your support and the factor
of time is important and immediate steps are necessary.
هاويتون بسيمي
Thank you for listening.