January 30, 2001

According to the Iraqi Health = Ministry, there=20 has been a fourfold increase in the incidence of leukemia in that = country=20 since1990. We are talking here about helpless children, not = Revolutionary=20 Guards.Declarations from Iraqi agencies are justifiably viewed with some = suspicion,and some of their posturing is quite laughable. But in this = case, it=20 is no laughing matter. There is support from an impartial source, namely = the=20 Baghdad office of the World Health Organization (WHO).

This = horrific=20 development is but one of many ironies which grow out of the ham-handed = Western=20 policy of isolating Iraq. While the draconian embargohas led to the = death of=20 thousands of innocent civilians, it has not slowedthe continued = enrichment of=20 Saddam Hussein and his privileged acolytes. In yet another irony, = while=20 the existing Iraqi regime continues taking giant strides to break out of = its=20 isolation with broad international support, the U.S. is handing over a = few=20 million dollars to the Iraqi National Congress, in its "efforts" to = topple the=20 existing Baghdad regime. The internal divisions within the I.N.C. = prevents it=20 from mounting any successful action against the Baghdad regime even in = the best=20 of times. Now, while a growing number of nations thumb their nose at the = embargo=20 (increased air traffic, expanded commercial contracts), the $12 million = which=20 the U.S. is finally releasing for I.N.C. use will likely end up wasted = or lining=20 up the pockets of a few anti-Saddam elites. In principle, it is U.S. = policy to=20 intervene in overseas crises only if there is consensus among other = nations.=20 However, for the past 5 decades, the inordinate influence of the Jewish = lobby in=20 Washington has consistently trumped that principle when Israeli = interests are at=20 stake. With a new administration taking the reins in Washington, the = question is=20 whether the United States will accept that Saddam Hussein is an issue = for that=20 region, and it is for that region to sort out its own problems. = Clinton's=20 policy-making entourage was virtually 100% Jewish and predictably it = tilted to=20 Israel. While G.W. Bush's entourage appears less Jewish in its make-up, = it is=20 too early to know whether it will be able to develop an even-handed = approach in=20 that part of the world.

As for the dreaded leukemia, today in the = West=20 this is a disease that is treated with success. But the leukemia ward in = Saddam=20 Central Hospital for Children is known as "the ward of death." This is a = place=20 where the mortality rate is 100%, for leukemia and for other cancers. = The=20 embargo may be aimed at Saddam, but it is preventing the Children's = Hospital=20 from getting the chemotherapy drugs it needs. The same embargo has also=20 prevented the installation of a specialist facility for carrying out = bone marrow=20 transplant operations, which is a medical procedure readily available to = leukemia patients anywhere abroad. In the past, even when there has been = the=20 means to acquire medical equipment, the American government has = interfered and=20 suspended the transaction, on the ground that "it could have a dual = use." This=20 means that it could also be employed for military purposes, which is an = argument=20 that has been effectively advanced to prevent even the importation of = tires=20 required for garbage trucks!

Among the consequences of the = Western=20 embargo, many Iraqi medical specialists (and certainly the best among = them) have=20 left the country, either to escape hardship, or to pursue opportunities = in a=20 more favorable environment. Scientific journals are unavailable. There = is no=20 equipment, either new or for replacement. Even though the population has = grown=20 by 6 million in the last ten years,not a single new hospital has been = built=20 during this period.

Western (and especially U.S.) complicity in = this=20 tragedy goes further. There is a broad assumption that the increase in = leukemia=20 has been caused by residues from munitions tipped with depleted uranium = which=20 was fired with abandonby American and British forces in the 1991 Gulf = war. It is=20 not surprisingtherefore that most leukemia cases are turning up in = southern Iraq=20 (Basra,Nasiriya, Kerbala, Najaf). Although the West would be loathe to = ever=20 admitsuch linkage, another irony may be in store for us. Increased cases = of=20 illnessamong British forces and American veterans of the 1991 conflict = (the=20 so-calledGulf War Syndrome), along with the U.S. Freedom of Information = Act, may=20 leadto findings in our own country to support the dreadful connection. = This=20 hasthe potential of a legacy of shame comparable to the maimed and = deformedwho=20 are still born in Japan two generations after we dropped A-bombs on = Nagasakiand=20 Hiroshima.

Washington and London argue the point that all of this = is=20 Saddam Hussein's fault, because he started the conflict, and for the = past ten=20 years he has refused to disarm. It is difficult to argue that = contention. But on=20 the other side (and this is voiced by international observers, not = simply by=20 Baghdad), it is noted that the West not only devastated the Iraqi = infrastructure=20 with its bombardments, but in the ensuing decade of sanctions the West = has made=20 it politically and financially impossible for the medical/hospital = system to=20 restore its capacity.

Most diaspora Assyrians have a = vital=20 concern for the fate of the Iraqi population.Hundreds of thousands of = our people=20 are experiencing the same daily hardships,and facing the same life and = death=20 events visited upon the country. The well-beingof millions of innocent = civilians=20 surely deserves a higher priority thanthe fate of a dictator, no matter = how=20 ruthless or deserving of punishmenthe may be. It is time to admit that = the=20 embargo -- well-intentioned whenfirst imposed -- has long since proven = its=20 inadequacy as a weapon of internationalpolicy. In fact, the present=20 rationalization recalls the memorable catch phrase born of the Vietnam = War that=20 "we had to destroy the village in orderto save it."

An American=20 organization (Voices in the Wilderness) recently visited Iraq. The = delegation=20 delivered some badly needed medical supplies (approximately $150,000 in = value).=20 This is a wonderful gesture, but just a drop in the bucket. The need is = massive,=20 and Assyrians should be stirred by it. If for no other reason than to = relieve=20 one's conscience, each concerned Assyrian should at least object to this = policy=20 in writing to his/her representative in Congress. =

Francis = Sarguis,=20 J.D.
Santa Barbara, California

Mr.=20 Sarguis the Book Review Editor for the Journal of Assyrian Academic=20 Studies.
Select Zinda articles by Mr. Sarguis: In=20 Patient Search of Assyrian Education, Urmia,=20 Iran = Diary, Iran=20 Today

POPE = JOHN PAUL NAMES=20 PATRIARCH DAOUD A CARDINAL

Courtesy of Vatican News = Agency -=20 Zenit

Last week, John Paul II named 37 new members = to the=20 College of Cardinals, among them Patriarch Ignace Moussa I Daoud. =20 Patriarch Daoud is theSyriac Patriarch of Antioch, a position he has = held since=20 1998. The new cardinals will be created at a consistory = Feb. 21,=20 the eighth of John Paul II's pontificate. With the new = nominations, John=20 Paul II has now appointed all but 10 of the cardinals eligible to vote = in a=20 secret conclave to elect a pope, the Associated Press said. He = also=20 exceeded the limit of 120 voting-age cardinals fixed by Paul VI. In an = eventual=20 conclave, 128 cardinals will elect a new Pontiff. His Beatitude = Mar Ignace=20 Moussa I Daoud is also the prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental=20 Churches. His Beatitude lives in Syria. Patriarch Stephanos = II=20 Ghattas, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts, was also created a = cardinal on=20 this day.

The College of Cardinals was established in its present = form in=20 1150. The red hats worn by the Cardinals signify that they must be = prepared to shed their blood for the faith and the Church. The Pope = freely=20 decides on the creation of cardinals. The College of Cardinals = will elect=20 the new Pope (or the Bishop of Rome) in the event of Pope John Paul's = passing=20 away. Cardinals are addresses as = "eminences".

The=20 Christian Churches in Syria, where the constitution guarantees freedom = of=20 worship, have between 1 million and 1.5 million members, or 10% to 15% = of the=20 population. Damascus is the See of the Syrian-Orthodox, Melkite and=20 Greek-Orthodox Patriarchate, but all Oriental Churches are present in = the=20 country except the Copts. Pope John Paul plans to visit Syria = thisyear,=20 Damascus in particular where according to the New Testament the = conversion of=20 Paul of Tarsus took place.

POPE=20 JOHN PAUL ASKS FOR GREATER FREEDOM FOR IRAN'S=20 CHRISTIANS

(ZNDA: Vatican) On 22 January, John Paul = II received=20 Mostafa Borujerdi, Iran's ambassador to Vatican and asked that = Christians in=20 Iran be given freedom to practice their faith. Iran and the = Vatican enjoy=20 stable diplomatic relations. Iran, a country of 60 million = inhabitants,=20 has a small minority of 210,000 non-Muslims. According to the = constitution, of=20 the total of 290 seats in Parliament, five belong to the religious = minorities,=20 including three for Christians- two for Armenians and one for=20 Assyrians. The Pope asked that the Catholic = faithful of=20 Iran -- present in that region of the world since the first centuries of = Christianity -- will enjoy the freedom to profess their faith and to = continue to=20 be a part of the rich cultural life of the=20 nation.

"Report 2000 on Religious Liberty," = published by Aid to the Churchin Need, states that apostasy from Islam = is=20 punishable by death in the country, both for the one inducing it, as = well as the=20 one rejecting Islam. The same report reveals that Christians are = leaving=20 the country "because they can no longer open restaurants, small kiosks, = be=20 hairdressers or dentists. The life of a non-Muslim is worth much less in = case of=20 an accident, the monetary sanction for running someone over is more than = 100=20 times less."

"Although the Christian community is but = a tiny=20 minority in the overall population, it sees itself as truly Iranian," = the Pope=20 concluded, "and after centuries of living alongside its Muslim brothers = and=20 sisters, it is in a unique position to contribute to ever greater mutual = understanding and respect between Christian believers and the followers = of Islam=20 everywhere."

The following is the full text of the = Pope';s=20 address to Mostafa Borujerdi, the new Iranian ambassador to the Vatican, = given=20 last Monday:

Your Excellency, I = am very=20 pleased to welcome you to the Vatican and to accept the Letters of = Credence by=20 which you are appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of = the=20 Islamic Republic of Iran to the Holy See. The kind greetings which you = bring=20 from His Excellency President Seyed Mohammad Khatami evoke the memory of = our=20 cordial meetingwithin these very walls just three years ago: in the = spirit of=20 the friendshipand respect which marked the President's visit to the = Vatican I=20 askyou to convey to him my own good wishes and assure him of my prayers = bothfor=20 his person and for the nation.

Your Excellency has remarked upon = the=20 importance of a true dialogue between cultures if the efforts of men and = women=20 of good will throughoutthe world are to succeed in bringing about a = lasting era=20 of peace and fraternity for all peoples and nations. In fact, it was at = the=20 suggestion of President Khatami that the General Assembly of the United = Nations=20 declared this year of 2001 as the "International Year of Dialogue among=20 Civilizations." Thus, this eminent international body representing the = family of=20 nations has called attention to the urgent need for people to = acknowledge that=20 dialogue is the necessary path to reconciliation, harmony and = cooperation=20 between different cultures and religious traditions. This is the = approach that=20 will ensurethat all can look to the future with serenity and = hope.

Our=20 world is made up of an amazing complexity and diversity of human = cultures. Each=20 of these cultures is distinct by virtue of its particular historical = development=20 and the resulting characteristics which make it an original and organic = whole.=20 Culture, in fact, is a form of man's self-expression as he travels = through=20 history; it is, in synthesis, "the cultivation of natural goods and = values"=20 (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church = in the=20 Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 53). It is largely through culture that = people=20 acquire a sense of national identity and develop a love of their = country: these=20 are values to be fostered, not with narrow-mindedness, but with respect = and=20 compassion for the whole human family. As I had occasion to remark in my = Message=20 for the 2001 World Day of Peace, efforts must bemade "to avoid those=20 pathological manifestations which occur when the senseof belonging turns = into=20 self-exaltation, the rejection of diversity, andforms of nationalism, = racism and=20 xenophobia" (No. 6).

Hence, appreciation for the values present = in one's=20 own culture must properly be accompanied by the recognition that every=20 culture,as a typically human and historically conditioned reality, = necessarily=20 haslimitations. Such an understanding helps to prevent pride in one's = own=20 culture from becoming isolation or from turning into prejudice and = persecution=20 against other cultures. The attentive study of other cultures will = revealthat=20 beneath seemingly divergent traits there are significant internal = elementsheld=20 in common. Cultural diversity can then be understood within the = broadercontext=20 of the unity of the entire human race. Thus, it becomes less likely for = cultural=20 differences to be a source of misunderstanding between peoplesand the = cause of=20 conflicts and wars; it becomes easier to attenuate the sometimes = exaggerated=20 claims of one culture against another. In the dialogue of cultures, = people of=20 good will come to see that there are values which are common toall = cultures=20 because they are rooted in the very nature of the human person.These are = values=20 which express humanity's most authentic and distinctive features: the = value of=20 solidarity and peace; the value of education; the value of forgiveness = and=20 reconciliation; the value of life itself.

I am pleased to note = that the=20 Holy See and Iranian authorities have worked together to provide = opportunities=20 for such dialogue, not only as promoters of various meetings but also as = active=20 participants in them. I am thinking in particular of the Colloquium = sponsored=20 jointly by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the=20 Secretariat for Interreligious Dialogue of the Organization for Islamic = Culture=20 and Communication, which took place in Rome last year on the theme of = religious=20 pluralism in Christianity and Islam. A further Colloquium, once again = jointly=20 sponsored by the Organization of Islamic Culture and Communication and = the=20 Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, is scheduled to take = place in=20 Tehran later this year on the theme of the religious identity and = education of=20 young people.

Moreover, I wish to express appreciation for the = regular=20 bilateral Conferences which the Iranian authorities sponsor with other = Christian=20 Churches and Communities, the most recent one being held last year in = Tehran on=20 the theme "Islam and Orthodox Christianity". Such dialogue will surely = help=20 Governments and legislators in safeguarding the civil and social rights = of=20 individuals and peoples, especially the fundamental right to religious = freedom.=20 It is this right which is a point of reference of all other rights and = in=20 someway becomes a measure of them, because it involves the most intimate = realmof=20 our personal identity and dignity as human beings. Accordingly, even = incases=20 where the State grants a special juridical position to a = particularreligion,=20 there is a duty to ensure that the right to freedom of conscienceis = legally=20 recognized and effectively respected for all citizens and forforeigners = residing=20 in the country (cf. Message for the 1998 World Day ofPeace, 1). Should = problems=20 arise, the effective way of preserving harmony is through dialogue. The = leaders=20 of nations have a special duty to be clear-sighted, honest and = courageous in=20 recognizing that all people have the same God-given rights and = inalienable=20 dignity, and in working with dedication for the common good of = all.

In=20 this regard, the Holy See counts on the support of the Iranian = authorities in=20 ensuring that the Catholic faithful of Iran - present in that region of = the=20 world since the first centuries of Christianity - will enjoy the freedom = to=20 profess their faith and to continue to be a part of the rich cultural = life of=20 the nation. Although the Christian community is but a tiny minority in = the=20 overall population, it sees itself as truly Iranian; andafter centuries = of=20 living alongside its Muslim brothers and sisters it is in a unique = position to=20 contribute to ever greater mutual understanding and respect between = Christian=20 believers and the followers of Islam everywhere.

Mr. Ambassador, = I have=20 touched here upon some of the common ideals and aspirations which are = the basis=20 of the growing relationship of respect and cooperation between the Holy = See and=20 the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iam confident that your tenure as your=20 Government's representative will serve to strengthen the bonds which = already=20 unite us. Assuring you of every help and assistance as you seek to = fulfill your=20 lofty responsibilities, I pray that Your Excellency, and the Iranian = Government=20 and People whom you represent, will enjoy the abundant blessings of = Almighty=20 God.

The following is a reply letter from Minister = for=20 Foreign Affairs and Trade in regards to Father Yusuf's arrest and trial. = This is=20 a follow upfor what we published in Zinda Magazine's Volume VI, Issue 32 = (December 11,2000):
Thank you

Hermiz Shahen
Assyrian = Universal=20 Alliance-Australia

-------------------------------------------= ---
FOREIGN=20 AFFAIRS AND=20 TRADE
----------------------------------------------<= /FONT>

10 January = 2001

Mr.
Hermiz Shahen
Assyrian Universal=20 Alliance
PO Box 34
Fairfield NSW 1860

Dear Mr.=20 Shahen,

Thank you for your letter dated 11 December = 2000=20 concerning the arrest in Turkey of Reverend ( or Father) Yusuf Akbulut = on=20 October 2000. I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Minister = for=20 Foreign Affairs, Mr. Alexander Downer.

I was concerned = to hear=20 about the case of father Akbulut and have sought further details from = the=20 Australian Embassy in Ankara.The Embassy has advised that Father Akbulut = was=20 charged underArticle 312 of the Turkish Penal Code for "inciting ethnic=20 andreligious hatred." I am advised that this article of the TurkishPenal = Code is=20 commonly used to prosecute persons who make statementssuch as those = allegedly=20 made by Father Akbulut.

I am advised that Father = Akbulut's=20 trial is continuing and that observers from a number of diplomatic = missions in=20 Ankara havebeen attending in order to signal to the Turkish authorities=20 theinterest of the broader international community in the conductof this = trial.=20 I have asked the Embassy in Ankara to continueto follow the case and to = advise=20 me of its outcome.

I can assure you that the Australian = Government is=20 fully committed to the universal observance of internationally-accepted=20 standards of human rights.

Thank you for bringing your views to = the=20 attention of the Government.

Yours = sincerely

Sue Tanner
Assistant Secretary, Europe=20 Branch

Last week Zinda Magazine was informed = that the=20 "Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac Union" (ACSU) members in Europe were assured = by the=20 Dutch Embassy in Diyarbakir, Turkey that government representatives will = be=20 present at the February 22nd trial of Father Yusuf Abkulut. The = government=20 in Holland has so far taken the matter of Father Abkulut's trial under = serious=20 consideration. The ACSU has also actively kept contact with = Holland's=20 Jubilee Campanje (The Jubilee Campaign), a human rights = organization. =20 Several evangelical churches in Holland are members of this organization = and=20 will also support the letter campaign effort initiated in November 2000 = to aide=20 in the release of Father Abkulut. The ACSU was established as a = result of=20 the hungerstrikes organized by the Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac = demonstrators in=20 March of 2000. Among the important projects undertaken by the ACSU = are the=20 human rightsissues concerning the Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac communities = in the=20 MiddleEast and the recognition of their 1915-23 Genocide. The = Genocide=20 issuewill be on the March 2001 agenda of the Parliament in Sweden, = thanks to=20 theefforts of such active organizations as ACSU.

WHY DOES = MELIK KAYLAN=20 HATE THOSE PESKY ARMENIANS?

Rarely in the annals of recent journalism has such an=20 intellectually dishonest and historically bogus article appeared as = Melik=20 Kaylans thinly veiled invective against Armenians, "Whose Genocide?" = ("Takis Top=20 Drawer," 12/27). Kaylan announces his loathsome views in a rebuttal of = sorts to=20 Charles Glass article on the Armenian genocide that ran two weeks = earlier in the=20 pages of "Top Drawer." Kaylan first admits the reality of the Armenian=20 massacres, which he describes as so gruesome that he has trouble reading = about=20 them, yet he then spends the better of 1000 words telling readers why=20 commemoration of the Armenian genocide is unimportant and historically=20 biased.

Perhaps the most remarkable part of Kaylans denialist = gestalt is=20 that he seems to want to portray himself as part of a misunderstood, = oppressed=20 group, one that is unjustly attacked and perpetually misunderstood: the = Turks.=20 Yes, the Turks. If one listens to Kaylan, the Turks are a defenseless=20 civilization unable to bear the unjustified attacks they must endure = from=20 everyone: Orientalizing Europeans, Armenians, Arabs, even usually = "courageous"=20 journalists such as Glass.

Kaylans main strategy, as a denier, is = to turn=20 the oppressor into the oppressed, no mean feat in the case of Turkey - a = country=20 with a huge military presence that in 1974 invaded Cyprus and regularly=20 threatens its neighbors Greece, Syria and Armenia. No mean feat either = for a=20 country that shares the worlds worst human rights record with China, and = whose=20 prisons just several weeks ago saw some of the worst police violence in = recent=20 history.

Beginning in 1915 Turkey committed not one but three = genocides.=20 >From 1915 to 1923, the Turkish government effectively planned and=20 systematically annihilated 90 percent of its Christian population: 1.5 = million=20 Armenians were slaughtered and forced on death marches, along with = three-fourths=20 of the worlds Assyrian community, as well as the Pontic Greek community = that=20 lived around the Black Sea for several thousand years. All told, 2.5 to = 3=20 million people were slaughtered in an orgy of killing the likes of which = the=20 modern world would not see again until the Nazi extermination camps. = Entire=20 villages were burned to the ground, Armenian women abducted and raped; = priests=20 flogged and flayed to death, the men horseshoed and bayoneted by the=20 thousands.With no gas chambers, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were = herded=20 intochurches and caves that were set on fire, or drowned on barges in = the Black=20 Sea. On April 24, 1915, the date on which the Armenian genocideis now=20 commemorated annually, the Armenian intellectual elite of Constantinople = was=20 rounded up, sent to Anatolia and executed. The heart-rending details are = documented in any library the world over.

Yet, as with most Turks = brought=20 up in or influenced by a repressive neo-fascist military regime and = subjected to=20 historical revisionism, the suffering of the Armenians makes little = difference=20 to Kaylan. As he states it, the Kurds actually killed the Armenians, not = the=20 Turks. This is technically true inmany cases: the Turkish government, to = absolve=20 itself of direct responsibility, goaded local Kurds to carry out the = actual=20 killing of Armenians. Kaylan also implies that Kurds should not complain = about=20 the continued policy of cultural and physical genocide that has been = unleashed=20 against them by the modern-day Turkish "democracy," because they, too,=20 participated in genocide in the past.

Kaylan further neglects to = tell his=20 readers that Turkeys campaign of genocide has continued unabated to this = day.=20 Slogans in post-WWI Turkey such as "Citizen, speak Turkish!" and = references in=20 all media to Kurds as "Mountain Turks" have all been attempts to forge = an=20 ethnically pure identity in Turkey, and more specifically in Anatolia, a = land=20 that according to the Turkish military/government must be Muslim and=20 monoethnically Turkish.

(Speaking of the Kurds, it is an = historical=20 fantasy of Kaylans that their rebellion is Russian-"sponsored." While = Russia -=20 like any good antagonist - may indeed aid Kurdish separatists, just as = Turks aid=20 Chinese separatists of Turkic origin as far off as the Northern Chinese=20 provinces, the Kurdish uprisings are as homegrown as the ones in Quebec, = Corsica=20 or the Basque region. Kaylan rationalizes the Kurdish uprisings like his = brethren in the Turkish government do, when they accuse everyone from = Syria to=20 Armenia, Russia and Iran of creating the PKK and the Kurdish "problem" - = anyone=20 but Turkey itself, a country that has killed more than 30,000 Kurds with = military equipment largely bought from the United States, and which has=20 prohibited the teaching and broadcasting of the Kurdish language, even = in=20 Diyarbakir and Southern Kurdistan.)

As for today's few remaining=20 Armenians and Assyrians in Turkey, the message that the Turkish = government=20 continues to send is clear: shutup or we will repeat what happened in = 1915. If=20 Mr. Kaylan needs any convincing of this, he need only look at the recent = pressure put on Istanbuls small remaining Armenian community after = Armenian=20 genocide resolutions were passed in Franceand Italy, or at the = unfortunate fate=20 of Assyrian priest Yusuf Akbulut, who stood trial last month in Turkey = for=20 simply mentioning the Armenian genocide in public.

Or he may want = to=20 screen the recent film Salkim Hanims Necklace, which depicts the Varlik = Vergisi=20 (wealth taxes) imposed on Armenians, Greeks and Jews in Turkey as early = as the=20 1930s, which subjected non-Muslims to exorbitant rates. These laws = effectively=20 drove many Armenian, Greek and Jewish businessmen into poverty or = emigration;=20 and, when they were unable to pay such onerousdebts, they were sent to = work=20 camps in Anatolia, where they toiled in stonequarries. In the process, a = whole=20 class of ethnic Turks exploited the fate of these minorities and became = many of=20 today's wealthy Turkish families, whom you can read about in the Forbes=20 400.

And although Turks like to portray their relations with Jews = as=20 being all but perfect since Turkeys recent alliance with Israel, they = seem to=20 have selective amnesia when it comes to the massacre and expulsion of = 50,000=20 Jews in the Rumeli region earlier this century, or the constant outflow = of Jews=20 from Turkey until the past decade, when relations between the two = communities=20 eased somewhat. To this day, the remaining Armenian community, reduced = to70,000,=20 is not free to renovate its own properties or to buy new real estate = without=20 special approvals from the Turkish government - approvals that often,=20 mysteriously, never arrive. As for history, Kaylan first creates a new=20 historical category, the "Christian supremacist...Armenians, Georgians,=20 Russians" whoswept down into Anatolia, displacing Turks. Even if Kaylan = has been=20 educated in Turkey, he must know that by the 10th century, it was in = fact the=20 Turks, or more exactly Turkic and Mongolian/Tatar tribes, who swept = through=20 Anatolia, quite literally on horseback, raping and pillaging everything = in=20 sight. From Tamerlane and Genghis Khan to the Seljuks and others, one = wave after=20 another conquered, raped and killed Armenians, Russians and a host of = native=20 peoples. In the 12th century the Armenians fled to the Mediterranean, = where they=20 founded the wealthy Kingdom of Cilicia, eventually succumbing to Turkish = dominion there as well.

Kaylans acceptance of the Turkish = propaganda that=20 Armenians have unconditionally supported Russia at Turkeys expense is = laughable.=20 In fact, the Armenians were known in the Ottoman Empire as the "sadik = milleti,"=20 or "faithful community." If Kaylan knew anything about Armenian history, = he=20 would know that Armenians have suffered tremendously at the hands of = Russian and=20 Soviet domination as well. As for the Russians themselves, for centuries = they=20 fought defensive wars against the Mongols and Tatars, who among other = things=20 ransacked and burned Moscow to the ground several times, once in 1237 = (Batu=20 Khan) and later in 1382 (Khan Togtamitch). Later on, it is true that = Russia=20 fought an expansionist war with Turkey, Britain and others, known as the = GreatGame, for control over the Caspian Sea. These may not have been = innocent=20 pastimes,but they were par for the course in an age of conquest. = The=20 Armenian genocide, Melik Kaylan to the contrary, was not. Kaylan misuses = historical facts on yet another level when he confuses the terms = "Turkish "and=20 "Muslim" and asks,"Where are the monuments to the Turks and Muslims = murdered?"=20 Is he speakingof Muslims in Indonesia or Egypt? Or how about the = thousands of=20 Arabs slaughteredby the Ottoman Turks over several centuries of Turkish=20 domination? Are thosethe Muslims he refers to?

Had Kaylan visited = his=20 homeland lately, he would know that the Turks have in fact erected = several=20 obscene monuments to their own imagined dead. In Van, an historically = Armenian=20 city defended until the very end in 1915, the Turkish government has = built a=20 museum commemorating the "Turkish Genocide" that goes so far as to = desecrate=20 history by showing skulls of dead Armenians and claiming that they are = in fact=20 ethnic Turks killed by Armenians. Farther north, near the Armenian = border, in=20 the city of Igdir, the Turkish government has erected a tall monument to = the=20 supposed 80,000 Turks killed, once again, in a fictive Turkish genocide = that=20 even Turkish scholars find risible.

As for those Turks who = actually did=20 die during WWI, one would like to remind Kaylan that they perished = during a war=20 waged by Turkey, which allied itself with the Germans, against the rest = of=20 Europe. That is quite a different story from the state-sponsored = Armenian=20 genocide, whose victims were innocent civilians, many of whom had = actually=20 fought for the Ottoman Empire during several wars against their supposed = "allies," the Russians and Europeans.

Kaylan seems to revel in = historical=20 reversals, making the victim into the oppressor and vice versa. Since = for most=20 of history, with a few exceptions,the Armenians were a subject people = (to=20 Persians, Arabs, then Turks), he is hard-pressed to find overt examples = of=20 organized Armenian terror- not because,to be fair, Armenians are less = inclined=20 to violence than anyone else, butsimply because, like the Jews, theirs = has been=20 a history of oppression and survival. So, with no other alternative, = Kaylan=20 picks on the recent conflict in Nagorno-Karabagh, portraying the native=20 Armenians as the aggressors.

Since most Americans don't know the=20 difference between a Czech and a Slovak, and less so between an Armenian = and an=20 Azeri, Kaylan is perhaps hoping to play on public ignorance. In point of = fact,=20 Nagorno-Karabagh -partitioned to Azerbaijan after WWI by none other than = Josef=20 Stalin - voted for independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, after the wish = to be=20 reattached to Armenia had been ignored for decades by the Soviet = leadership. The=20 other region thus partitioned by Stalin, a sliver of land called = Nakhichevan,=20 located in between Armenia and Turkey - so that it has no physical = borders with=20 Azerbaijan itself - was,over the span of 75 years, ethnically cleansed = of its=20 entire Armenian population.Armenian monuments in Nachichevan were so = mistreated=20 that UNESCO intervened two years back to protect Armenian graveyards, = which were=20 still being desecrated and destroyed on a regular basis.

Back in = Turkey's=20 proclaimed "Turkic cousin" Azerbaijan, the government responded to=20 Nagorno-Karabaghs independence movement with pogroms of the Armenians in = Sumgait=20 and Baku. World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, an ethnic Armenian,was = airlifted=20 out of Baku in a helicopter to escape rioting described by observersas = similar=20 to that unleashed against Jews during Czarist Russia. Azerbaijan = then=20 proceeded to attack Nagorno-Karabagh militarily, causing the refugee = issues that=20 now plague both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Until then, no violence against = Azeris=20 by Armenians was ever recorded. The Armenians- who representedmore than = 75=20 percent of the population in Nagorno-Karabagh- fought back andwon. = Turkey,=20 instead of staying neutral out of diplomatic tact, or perhaps because of = its own=20 past debt to Armenians, instead imposed a blockade on the fledgling = Republic of=20 Armenia. One last fantasy of Kaylans: the happy OttomanArmenian. Kaylan = implies=20 that Armenians had nothing to complain about underthe Ottomans since, as = an=20 industrious and annoyingly persistent race, they were all prospering and = building "the lushest Ottoman sultans palaces." Kaylan seems as = resentful of=20 Armenian wealth as Germans were of Jewish wealth beforeWWII. It is an = historical=20 fact that Armenians were better educated and successful than Turks = during the=20 Ottoman Empire. The reasons for this are numerous and have to do = mainly=20 with Armenian culture and literacy, their position as a minority, and = the=20 Ottoman system of rule. The sultans, for example, excluded Muslims = from=20 serving as Janissaries, the elite, Christian corps of young boys and war = captives who were trained at court in various professions.

Yes, = the most=20 brilliant architects, bankers, doctors and writers in Constantinople and = other=20 urban areas were Armenians. But the vast majority of Armenians, still = living in=20 rural Anatolia, remained poor. They were subjected to overtaxation and = countless=20 pogroms by Kurdish overlords, encouraged by Ottoman governors. Starting = in 1894=20 Abdul Hamid, dubbed "The Bloody Sultan," massacred more than 200,000 = Armenians.=20 In 1909, in the heavily Armenian city of Adana, 30,000 more were = massacred with=20 the acquiescence of local governors. Throughout much of the 18th and = 19th=20 centuries, disease was rampant in Anatolian villages and life expectancy = poor.=20 Throughout the Empire, Armenians were being quickly assimilated. By 1915 = most=20 could no longer speak Armenian, and Armenian schools and newspapers were = subjected to constant raids and closings. In many areas, terror = reigned.=20 Are these the happy Armenians, I wonder, that Melik Kaylan = imagines?

Most=20 official Turkish deniers are more subtle. They blame the "events"of 1915 = on the=20 Young Turks and absolve themselves of responsibility." What does that = have to do=20 with us?" they ask indignantly. "We are not theTurks of 1915." Go ask a = Kurd=20 whose village the Turkish military just blewup, or an Armenian currently = suffering under the Turkish blockade.

Kaylan professes = to=20 being tired of hearing about the Armenian genocide, although it is one = of the=20 lesser-known episodes of 20th-century history. One wonders what Kaylan = would do=20 if he were German and had to watch the profusion of films on the Nazis = and the=20 Holocaust. Surely that injustice would drive him = insane.

The=20 modern Turkish Republic was founded by Kemal Ataturk in 1923on the ashes = of the=20 genocide - that is to say, the obliteration of the nativeAnatolian = Armenian=20 population that had lived there for more than 3000 years, long before = the first=20 Turk galloped through and pitched the first yurt onArmenian territory. = The=20 modern Turkish Republic has been referred to as "genesisin genocide," a = heavy=20 burden to bear for Turkey, and crucial to its understandingof itself and = its=20 modern culture. The day that Turkey, like Germany, faces its past = honestly,=20 apologizes, compensates and builds memorials to the Armenian dead, will = be the=20 day that Turks no longer carry the self-imposed burden of being viewed = as cruel=20 or backward. But the more denialist or exculpatory articles people like = Kaylan=20 write, the more uncivilized his treasured Turkish culture will appear to = the=20 world.

Christopher Atamian=20
The New York=20 Press
January 17, = 2001=20

Husband's Brother
Husband's = Brother's=20 Wife

Wife's Brother
Wife's = Brother's=20 Wife

Wife's Sister's Husband

yaay/sa (singular), yaay/se = (plural)=20

MODESTO
VALENTINE = DANCE=20 PARTY

The=20 Lighthouse	The U.S. vs Iraq Waging War By Other = Means
Good=20 Morning Bet-Nahrain	Interview: Syrian-Catholic Archbishop of Baghdad=20
News=20 Digest	Pope John Paul Names Patriarch Daoud a=20 Cardinal Pope John Paul Asks for Greater Freedom in Iran=20
Surfs=20 Up!	"We are proud of = you"
Surfers=20 Corner	Australia's Foreign Affairs & Trade Replies To AUA=20
Reflections=20 on Assyria	Assyrian Muslims vs Assyrian Christians
Literatus	Why Does Melik Kaylan Hate Those Pesky Armenians? =
Assyrian=20 Surfing Posts	Mar Gewargis Church of the East in Modesto Yonan = Club =20
Pump=20 Up the Volume	Words of Kinship = =20
Back=20 to the Future	Gungunum of Larsa & St. Nina of Georgia = =20
This=20 Week in History	General Agha Petros d'Baz =
Calendar=20 of Events	February=20 2001

ENGLISH	MODERN=20 ASSYRIAN	GENDER
Husband's Brother Husband's = Brother's=20 Wife	id/ma ee/dam/ta =
Wife's Brother Wife's = Brother's=20 Wife	ba/rikh/ma ba/rikh/me/ta
Wife's Sister's Husband	yaay/sa (singular), yaay/se = (plural)=20

Feb=20 10	MODESTO VALENTINE = DANCE=20 PARTY Presented by the Assyrian = American=20 Athletic Club of Modesto Entertainers: Albert Mansour = &=20 Ghassan Band; DJ by Johnny Boy Nissan St. Mary's = Hall 810 North 9th St at Carver Tickets: $12.00 = (adults) =20 $ 5.00 (under 12) For More Info: Samir=20 Zoudo.............209-551-0933 Martin=20 David.............209-577-6700 Edward=20 Shumoun.....209-574-0997 Wilson=20 Jacobe...........209-526-3014
Feb = 15	TORONTO=20 CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR SYRIAC STUDIES=20 LECTURE "Frescoes & Syriac Inscriptions in = MedievalChurches=20 in Lebanon" by Dr. Erica Dodd, Victoria=20 University 8:00 PM Auditorium, Earth Sciences Centre, Room 1050 = 5 Bancroft Avenue University = of Toronto,=20 St. George Campus
Mar = 29	TORONTO=20 CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR SYRIAC STUDIES=20 LECTURE "Syriac Heritage at the Northern Silk Road:=20 TheArchaological& Epigraphic Evidence of Christianity in=20 Kirghizia" by Dr. = Vassilios=20 Klein, Bonn University 8:00 = PM Auditorium, Earth Sciences Centre, Room 1050 = 5 Bancroft Avenue University = of Toronto,=20 St. George Campus
Jul = 2-6 =20	FINLAND=20 XLVIIe RENCONTRE ASSYRIOLOGIQUE=20 INTERNATIONALE International Congress of Assyriology and Near = Eastern=20 Archaeology "Sex and Gender in the = Ancient Near=20 East" University of Helsinki Registration Form: clickhere