The Athra Alliance (, ) is a

political alliance A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...

of five political parties in Iraq that represent the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people. The alliance comprises these five parties: *

Assyrian Democratic Movement The Assyrian Democratic Movement (, , ADM), popularly known as Zowaa (), is an Assyrian political party situated in Iraq, and one of the main Assyrian parties within the Iraqi parliament. The Assyrian Democratic Movement states its aims are to e ...

* Assyrian Patriotic Party *

Beth Nahrin Patriotic Union Beth Nahrin Patriotic Union (Arabic: الاتحاد الوطني بيت نهرين) is an Assyrian political party founded in 1996, in the Slemani area of Iraq, as part of the Dawronoye movement. Since the 2003 Iraq War The Iraq War () ...

* Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council * Sons of Mesopotamia The alliance was initially hailed as a major breakthrough for Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people in Iraq, believing that a uniting political force was needed to regain political representation. Patriarch of the

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christianity, Eastern Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian denomin ...

, Awa III, noted the necessity of unity amongst Assyrian political parties, citing the Athra Alliance as a step in the right direction.

History

The five parties that had joined the alliance originally convened to discuss the political situation of Assyrians in Iraq, and the need to prevent demographic changes in the

Nineveh Plains Nineveh Plains (, Modern ; ; ) is a region in Nineveh Governorate in Iraq. Located to the north and east of the city Mosul, it is the only Christian-majority region in Iraq and have been a gathering point for Iraqi Christians since 2003. Control o ...

. The alliance was formed around the same time that the Chaldean Patriarch

Louis Raphaël I Sako Louis Raphaël I Sako (; born 4 July 1948) is a Chaldean Catholic prelate who has served as Patriarch of Baghdad since 1 February 2013. Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 28 June 2018. Biography Early life Sako was born in the city of Z ...

moved the Patriarchal headquarters from

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Erbil Erbil (, ; , ), also called Hawler (, ), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is the capital of the Erbil Governorate. Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the 5th millennium BC. At the h ...

, in the

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

of Iraq, following political tension between the Patriarch and Iraqi government.

Abdul Latif Rashid Abdul Latif Rashid (; born 10 August 1944), also known as Letif Reshid (), is an Iraqi politician serving as the ninth president of Iraq. He was previously the Ministry of Water Resources (Iraq), Minister of Water Resources under the Government o ...

, then the Iraqi president, removed its official recognition of Louis Raphaël I Sako as the authority of the Chaldean Church, sparking protests amongst the Assyrian community in

Ankawa Ankawa (; , ) is a suburb of Erbil in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is located northwest of downtown Erbil. The suburb is predominantly populated by Christian Assyrian, most of whom adhere to the Chaldean Catholic Church. History Ankawa was ...

. Additionally, the

Babylon Brigade The Babylon Movement (, ) is a political party situated in Iraq. Founded in 2014, it is the political wing of the Babylon Brigades, a militia that was formed as part of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces. Rayan al-Kildani currently leads the p ...

under the leadership of

Rayan al-Kildani Rayan Salem Sadiq Al-Kildani (), better known as Rayan al-Kildani (, ), is an Iraqi Assyrian politician who serves as the general secretary of the Babylon Movement, as well as its military component, the Babylon Brigade. He rose to power after ...

had stolen the political seats designated for Assyrians and

Christians in Iraq The vast majority of Christianity, Christians in Iraq are indigenous Assyrian people, Assyrians who descend from ancient Assyria. They are considered to be one of the oldest and continuous Christians, Christian communities in the world. Iraqi ...

in the

2021 Iraqi parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 10 October 2021. The elections determined the 329 members of the Council of Representatives of Iraq, Council of Representatives who in turn elected the Iraqi President of Iraq, president and confirme ...

. In its message of founding the alliance, the

stressed the importance of gaining political representation in the

2023 Iraqi governorate elections Governorate or provincial elections were scheduled to be held in Iraq on 20 April 2020, to replace the provincial councils in the governorates of Iraq that were elected in the 2013 Iraqi governorate elections and, in Kurdistan Region, in the 20 ...

, as well combatting discrimination and allocating resources to rebuild the Nineveh Plains post-

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

. The party was registered under the

Independent High Electoral Commission The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) is Iraq's electoral commission. The electoral commission is headed by a nine-member board. Seven of those members are voting and must be Iraqi citizens. IHEC is currently headed by Judge Jalil Adn ...

on July 22, 2023.

Activity

The Athra Alliance was active in investigating the Bakhdida wedding fire, which occurred on September 26th, 2023. A public protest was organized demanding accountability and compensation, concerned with the Iraqi government's lack of credibility regarding investigations. The Athra Alliance's chosen candidates for the

were Walentina William Youssef (

Kirkuk Kirkuk (; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate. The city is home to a diverse population of Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, Iraqi Turkmens and Arabs. Kirkuk sits on the ruins of the original Kirkuk Cit ...

), Sharara Yusuf Ishaq (

), and Ma'rib Imad Elias Hanno (

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

). During the election, campaigning for Hanno was done with the collaboration of the Beth Nahrain Patriotic Union, visiting areas in the Nineveh Plains and encouraging voter participation. Following the elections, the party criticized the lack of Assyrian voter turnout, with additional criticism levied towards electoral laws regarding minorities in Iraq. Following changes to the

Kurdish region Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo-cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. Geogr ...

's minority seats in 2024, the Athra Alliance demanded the return of allocated minority seats in the parliament and boycotted the 2024 Kurdistan Region parliamentary election. In 2025, the alliance called for the recognition of Kha b'Nissan (Assyrian New Year) by the Iraqi parliament, stating that the celebration reaffirmed the Assyrian's enduring national identity.

References

{{Iraqi political parties 2020s establishments in Iraq 2023 establishments in Asia Assyrian political parties Political parties established in 2023 Political parties in Kurdistan Region Political party alliances in Iraq Political parties of minorities in Iraq

History

Activity

See also

References