Today marks the six-year anniversary of the 31 October 2010 massacre of 58 Catholic Assyrians in Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic church in Baghdad.

Today as well, and at exact time the killings took place, a miracle happened when leaders of the Assyrian community in Iraq came together to sign a historic document of cooperation for the future of Nineveh Plain and its people. The signing of the document took place in the Syriac Catholic Church in Erbil Ankara at the time of the afternoon prayer when the massacres of 2010 occurred.

More to come!

In the past the State Department and members of Congress would use the lack of unity among Assyrians in Iraq as an excuse for refusing to support them. What is their excuse for refusing support now that this historical document has been signed? Assyrian community leaders have done their part to empower Assyrians in the West. Now it is time for State Department appointees and Congressional leaders to do their part — or to be exposed for their bias in supporting other regional polities over the larger and unified Assyrian community.

NEC-SE asks the Assyrian people to ensure that the elected officials and State Department apppointees do not run from their responsibility prior to the 8 NOV 16 election results. Put them on the record and let them know that they have no choice and no more excuses in not supporting the needs of the unified Assyrian Christian peoples and their forces operating in the Assyria Nineveh Plain.

The translation of the document states:

Declaration

Continuity of the previous meeting held on October 21, 2016 the political organizations Chaldean Syriac Assyrian held a meeting on October 29, 2016 hosted by the Bishop Saint Youhana Petros Moshe and the presence of the representative of His Holiness Patriarch Mar Gewargis Slewa the third at the headquarters of the Syrian Catholic Diocese.

The meeting discussed ways to unify security efforts and military coordination in the Nineveh plain areas in order to enable the people of the region to secure the administration file, where it was agreed that the military forces of the formations of our people, is the foundation to protect cities and villages of the Nineveh Plain and to coordinate the military effort and seeking to unify security leaders to have joint meetings between the stakeholders (signaturials) for this purpose.

The participants also stressed the dimensions of Nineveh plain areas for any future political conflicts especially that the region and its inhabitants suffered greatly as a result of these conflicts, which are not legitimate between the dominant political forces. The meeting also called for the formation of political delegations supported by the clergy to go to the international community to urgently convene a conference for the reconstruction of the Nineveh plain areas.

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