Proposals For Assyrian Autonomy In Iraq
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Since the early 20th century several proposals have been made for the establishment of an
autonomous area An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, zone, entity, unit, region, subdivision, province, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or territory, internal territory of a sovereign state that has ...
or an
independent state Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a ...
for the Syriac-speaking modern
Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...
in northern
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
.


Historical proposals

* Urmia Manifesto of the United Free Assyria, 1917 *
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
proposed settlement for Assyrians, 1935 *
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
Assyrian National Petition, 1945. * Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party case for Assyrian autonomy.


Current proposals


19th governorate

Currently, two major Assyrian 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 ...
and Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council) call for a creation of a 19th governorate which will incorporate Shekhan, Al-Hamdaniya and Tel Keppe districts of Ninawa Governorate. This proposal is pushed by two above mentioned parties as a new governorate for all minorities living there. Various estimates say that new province population will have the following ethno-religious makeup: During June, 2017, a conference was held in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
dubbed, ''The Future for Christians in Iraq''. The conference was organised by the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
and had participants extending from Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac organizations, including representatives from the Iraqi government and the KRG. The conference was boycotted by the
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 ...
, Sons of Mesopotamia, Assyrian Patriotic Party,
Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...
and
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 ...
. A position paper was signed by the remaining political organizations involved. Support – The proposal has been backed by the majority of
Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
Arabs Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
and Kurdish parties. * Jalal Talabani, President of Iraq * Sadrist Members of Parliament blockMultiple Arab Parties Support Nineveh Plains Self-Rule Project
/ref> * Islamic Dawa Party block of Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki (; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is an Iraqi politician and leader of the Islamic Dawa Party since 2007. He served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and as Vice President ...
* The three main Syriac Christian Bishops in the area, One Syriac Catholic, and two Syriac Orthodox, in 2017, came out in support of the idea of a protected area for Syriac Christians. Though the Patriarch has stated the priority should be other concerns. Some foreign governments and political parties have also weighed in on the issue: * The Swedish political party Folkpartiet declared full support of an Assyrian administration by means of activating Article 125. * The Australian Federal Government through the
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
, Liberal & Christian Democratic Party support an autonomous Assyrian state in Iraq. Oppose – It has been opposed by Sunni Arabs who make up the majority of the city of
Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...
. * Al-Hadba * Justice and Reform Movement (Sunni Arab)


Assyrian Administrative Region

Some Assyrian organizations also call for a creation of an Assyrian Administrative Region in Northern Iraq, which would include the following districts: ;Ninawa Governorate * Al-Hamdaniya * Al-Shekhan * Tel Keppe ;Dohuk Governorate * Simele * Nahla Valley * Peshkhabur * Sapna Valley Several Assyrian political parties convened to sign a position paper on 6 March 2017 relating to the future of the Nineveh Plains. The position paper called for the creation of a Nineveh Plains province that is self-governed by the Assyrian population of the Nineveh Plain.


Incorporation with Kurdistan region

Many Kurdish politicians have publicly come out in support of annexing the area to the
Kurdistan Regional Government The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is the official executive body of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. The cabinet is selected by the majority party or list who also select the prime minister of the Iraqi Kurdish poli ...
as their fifth governorate (after Dohuk,
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 ...
and Slemani, and Halabja). Some Assyrians claim Masoud Barzani's KDP is intimidating the population into demanding their region be annexed. Some Assyrian political parties have called for the establishment of an Assyrian-governed Nineveh Plains province as part of the KRG. The province would include the districts of Tel Keppe District, Al-Hamdaniya and Shekhan, and would be governed by the local Assyrian population of the region. Parts of the Nineveh Plain have been illegally annexed and been under the jurisdiction of the KRG and Peshmerga, leading to the inclusion of sections of the Nineveh Plain as a "disputed area" and thus the KRG referendum, 2017 will take place in this occupied territory.


Al-Rafidain Autonomous Region

On March 5, 2017, three bodies representing
Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...
,
Yazidis Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The major ...
and Turkmen issued a joint statement calling for a semi-autonomous region in Northern Iraq. The idea was pushed forward by the Turkmen Rescue Foundation, Yazidi Independent Supreme Council and the Al-Rafidain Organization. The project was proposed in line with Iraq's 2005 Constitution, which gives minorities the right to autonomy or self-administration in sub-units of territory (Chapter 1; Sections 5, 112, 115 and 116). “The proposal of a region for the minorities is in line with the Iraqi Constitution and doesn’t contradict the general move to share powers and or let minorities manage their own affairs”, said Ali Akram Al-Bayati of the Turkmen Rescue Foundation. The canton would comprise three continuous regions: Sinjar,
Tal Afar Tal Afar (, ; ) is a city in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, located west of Mosul, east of SinjarNineveh Plain.


See also

* Assyrian independence movement *
Assyrian nationalism Assyrian nationalism is a movement of the Assyrian people that advocates for Assyrian independence movement, independence or autonomy within the regions they inhabit in northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, northwestern Iran, and southeastern Turkey. ...
*
Assyrian people Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group Indigenous peoples, indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians Assyrian continuity, share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesop ...
*
Assyrian homeland The Assyrian homeland is Assyria ( or ), the homeland of the Assyrian people within which Assyrian civilisation developed, located in their indigenous Upper Mesopotamia. The territory that forms the Assyrian homeland is, similarly to the rest ...
* Assyrian Policy Institute * Beth Nahrain *
Assyrian diaspora The Assyrian diaspora ( Syriac: ܓܠܘܬܐ, ''Galuta'', "exile") refers to ethnic Assyrians living in communities outside their ancestral homeland. The Eastern Aramaic-speaking Assyrians claim descent from the ancient Assyrians and are one of t ...
* Assyrian genocide *
List of Assyrian tribes A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* Urmia Manifesto of the United Free Assyria


References

{{Syriac Christianity footer Assyrian nationalism Independence movements Assyrian irredentism
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
Separatism in Iraq Public policy proposals