Proposals for an Assyrian autonomy or state
Encyclopedia
Proposals for an Assyrian autonomy or state refers to the proposed establishment of an autonomy
or an independent state
for the Syriac
-speaking Christian
Assyrians
in northern Iraq
.
and Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council
) call for a creation of 19th governorate which will incorporate the following districts of Ninawa Governorate
:
This proposals 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 ethnic-religious makeup:
Support - The proposal has been backed by the majority of Shia Arabs and Kurdish
parties.
Oppose - It has been opposed by Sunni Arabs who make up the majority of the city of Mosul
.
Some foreign governments and political parties have also weighted in on the issue:
as their fourth governorate (after Dohuk, Erbil and Slemani.) Some Assyrians claim Masoud Barzani's KDP
is intimidating the population into demanding their region be annexed. This is a controversal issue and the population has different views on the matter as revieled by a Wikileaks
document released in 2011:
Ninawa Governorate
Dohuk Governorate
Autonomous area
An autonomous area or autonomous entity is an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or freedom from an external authority. Typically it is either geographically distinct from the rest of the country or populated by a national minority. Countries that include autonomous areas are often...
or an independent state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
for the Syriac
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
-speaking Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
in northern Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
Current proposals
19th governorate
Currently, two major Assyrian parties (Assyrian Democratic MovementAssyrian Democratic Movement
The Assyrian Democratic Movement also known as Zowaa is an ethnic Assyrian political party in Iraq, and is currently the only Assyrian-based political party to be voting in the Iraqi parliament....
and Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council
Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council
Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council is a political party in Iraq that was founded by Sarkis Aghajan, a high ranking KDP, in 2007. The Party runs Ishtar TV and publishes several different monthly magazines....
) call for a creation of 19th governorate which will incorporate the following districts of Ninawa Governorate
Ninawa Governorate
Ninawa is a governorate in northern Iraq, and the Arabic name for the biblical city of Nineveh in Assyria. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people in 2003. Its chief city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of ancient...
:
- ShekhanShekhan DistrictThe Shekhan District is a district in the Ninewa Governorate of Iraq.It is bordered by the Amadiya and Dahuk Districts of the Dahuk Governorate to the north, the Akre district to the east, Al-Hamdaniya District to the south, and the Tel Kaif District to the west.After 1991 the Kurds controlled the...
- Al-HamdaniyaAl-Hamdaniya DistrictAl-Hamdaniya District is one of ten districts that make up the Ninawa Governorate, Iraq.Towns and villages include:*Bakhdida*Bartella*Bashiqa*Karamles...
- Tel KeppeTel Keppe DistrictTel Keppe District is one of ten districts that make up the Ninewa Governorate. It has a large Assyrian/Chaldean population....
This proposals 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 ethnic-religious makeup:
| Ethnic groups | Religion | Language | % (estimation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assyrians | Syriac Christianity Syriac Christianity Syriac or Syrian Christianity , the Syriac-speaking Christians of Mesopotamia, comprises multiple Christian traditions of Eastern Christianity. With a history going back to the 1st Century AD, in modern times it is represented by denominations primarily in the Middle East and in Kerala, India.... |
Syriac Syriac language Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from... |
40-45 |
| Shabaks Shabak people Shabak people are an ethnic and religious minority group living in northern Iraq, who live mainly in the villages of Ali Rash, Khazna, Yangidja, and Tallara in Sinjar district in the province of Ninawa in northern Iraq. Their language, Shabaki, is a Northwestern Iranian language very close to... |
Shia Islam | Shabaki | 25-30 |
| Yazidi Yazidi The Yazidi are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-Iranian roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s – their members emigrating to... |
Yazdânism Yazdânism Yazdânism is a neologism introduced by Mehrdad Izady in 1992 to denote a group of native Kurdish monotheistic religions: Alevism, Yarsan and Yazidism.... |
Kurdish Kurdish language Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages.... |
20-25 |
| Others (Kurds, Arabs) | up to 15 | ||
Support - The proposal has been backed by the majority of Shia Arabs and Kurdish
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
parties.
- Jalal TalabaniJalal TalabaniJalal Talabani is the sixth and current President of Iraq, a leading Kurdish politician. He is the first non-Arab president of Iraq, although Abdul Kareem Qasim was half Kurdish....
, President of Iraq - Democratic Patriotic Alliance of KurdistanDemocratic Patriotic Alliance of KurdistanThe Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan sometimes referred to simply as the Kurdistan Alliance is the name of the electoral coalition first presented as a united Kurdish list in the January 2005 election in Iraq. Elections were held simultaneously for the assembly of the Kurdistan Regional...
- Sadrist Members of Parliament block
- Islamic Dawa PartyIslamic Dawa PartyThe Islamic Dawa Party or Islamic Call Party is a political party in Iraq. Dawa and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council are two of the main parties in the religious-Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, which won a plurality of seats in both the provisional January 2005 Iraqi election and the longer-term...
block of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-MalikiNouri al-MalikiNouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...
Oppose - It has been opposed by Sunni Arabs who make up the majority of the city of Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
.
- Al-HadbaAl-HadbaThe al-Hadba party is an Arab nationalist political party formed to contest the Iraqi governorate elections, 2009 in Ninawa province. It is mostly made up of Sunni Arabs. Its leading member Atheel al-Najafi is brother of Usama al-Najafi who is part of the Iraqi National List led by former Iraqi...
- Justice and Reform Movement (Sunni Arab)
Some foreign governments and political parties have also weighted in on the issue:
- The Swedish political party Folkpartiet declared full support of an Assyrian administration by means of activating Article 125.
Incorporation With Kurdistan Region
Many Kurdish politicians have publicly come out in support of annexing the area to the Kurdistan Regional GovernmentKurdistan Regional Government
The Kurdistan Regional Government , , is the official ruling body of the predominantly Kurds-populated Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq...
as their fourth governorate (after Dohuk, Erbil and Slemani.) Some Assyrians claim Masoud Barzani's KDP
KDP
KDP may refer to:*Kurdistan Democratic Party of South Kurdistan*Kurdistan Democratic Party of East Kurdistan*Korea Democratic Party*Khmer Democratic Party*Communist Party of Germany *Kappa Delta Pi...
is intimidating the population into demanding their region be annexed. This is a controversal issue and the population has different views on the matter as revieled by a Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
document released in 2011:
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-HamdaniyaAl-Hamdaniya DistrictAl-Hamdaniya District is one of ten districts that make up the Ninawa Governorate, Iraq.Towns and villages include:*Bakhdida*Bartella*Bashiqa*Karamles...
- Al-ShekhanShekhan DistrictThe Shekhan District is a district in the Ninewa Governorate of Iraq.It is bordered by the Amadiya and Dahuk Districts of the Dahuk Governorate to the north, the Akre district to the east, Al-Hamdaniya District to the south, and the Tel Kaif District to the west.After 1991 the Kurds controlled the...
- SinjarSinjarSinjar is the name of a town and district in northwestern Iraq's Ninawa Governorate near the Syrian border. Its population at the time of the 2006 census was 39,875....
- Tall Afar
- Tel Kaif
Dohuk Governorate
- SemelSemel DistrictSimel District is one of four district that make up the Duhok Governorate in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.The district has three sub-districts:*Simel*Batel*Fayda...
See also
- Assyrian independenceAssyrian independenceThe Assyrian independence is a political movement and ideology that supports the creation of an Assyrian state or an autonomy for the Syriac-speaking Christian Assyrian people in northern Iraq....
- Assyrian nationalism
- Assyrian peopleAssyrian peopleThe Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
- Assyrian diasporaAssyrian diasporaThe Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac diaspora refers to the estimated population of Assyrian/Syriac Christians in the world that migrated outside of the Middle East or their original homeland. The worldwide diaspora of Syriac Christian communities begins during World War I, with the mass-killings of...
- Assyrian genocideAssyrian genocideThe Assyrian Genocide refers to the mass slaughter of the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac population of the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s, the First World War, and the period of 1922-1925...
- List of Assyrian tribes
- Minority politics in IraqMinority politics in IraqMinorities in Iraq include various ethnic and religious groups. The Kurds , Assyrians , and Iraqi Turkmen represent the three largest non-Arab minorities in the country. Other smaller ethnic groups include Armenians, Roma, Shabak, Yezidi, Mandeans, Mhallami, Circassians and Persians...
- Urmia Manifesto of the United Free AssyriaUrmia Manifesto of the United Free AssyriaUrmia Manifesto of the United Free Assyria was written by Assyrian nationalist Freydun Atturaya, in his struggle for Assyrian independence during and after World War I. It was written in Syriac and completed in April 1917. Its ideology was Marxism, and it supported self regional independence for...