The Assyrian genocide monument, a memorial to the nearly 750,000 Assyrians murdered by Turkey’s Ottoman Government during World War I was vandalized over the weekend of August 29. The 1914-1918 genocide perpetrated against the Christian population of Anatolia which also claimed the lives of one and half million Armenians and thousands of Pontic Greeks is a shameful act committed by the Ottoman Empire in its final years.
Christian Faith and Freedom
Assyrian Martyrs' Day (August 7) was commemorated with great reverence at the unveiling ceremony of the impressive memorial to the 750,000 Assyrian victims of the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks during WW1. The moving ceremony at Bonnyrigg Park in Sydney was attended by nearly 2,000 people, supported by representatives of Federal, State and local government, all united in sorrow for the suffering of the past and in resolve to uphold human dignity and freedom in the future. The unveiling was followed by a seminar which included an address by Dr Sabri Atman of Sweden and Dr Diamadis, Director of the Australian lnstitute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
Australian, British and New Zealand soldiers, prisoners of the Turks during WW1, are known to have witnessed the suffering of the Christians of Asia Minor which has been described as 'bestial cruelty'. The inability of the international community to intervene or hold the perpetrators of the massacres is believed to account to have encouraged Hitler in the holocaust later unleashed by the Nazis. To Assyrian, Hellenic and Armenian Australians, acknowledging annihilation the systematic of their people is of paramount importance in preventing similar crimes against humanity. In a joint press release they acknowledged Australia's leadership human demonstrated in international rights issues; as a signatory to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment and as a generous of Genocide provider of humanitarian relief.
Greek Media -- It was a historic day for the Australian Assyrian community as over 2000 people assembled for the unveiling of the world’s first monument to the victims of the Assyrian Genocide to be erected in a public space. In a proud display of solidarity, the Australian Hellenic and Australian Armenian communities were both well-represented, joining members of Federal, state and local politics on an occasion of remembrance and celebration.
The Assyrian Genocide Monument at Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s south-western suburbs is an initiative of the Assyrian Universal Alliance – Australian Chapter, with Mr Hermiz Shahen as Secretary. It is dedicated to the victims of the Assyrian genocide (SEYFO) during and after World War One 1914-1918, committed by the Ottoman Turkish Empire as well as the victims of the 1933 Simele massacre in Iraq and all Assyrian martyrs since then.
One of the most powerful addresses of the day was delivered by the Hon. Amanda Fazio MLC, President of the Legislative Council of the Parliament of NSW. Focusing on efforts by opponents of the Monument, Ms Fazio stated that “in the way Jewish Holocaust deniers are reviled, so should deniers of the Assyrian, Armenian and Greek Genocides be reviled”.
The theme of the shared suffering of the Assyrian, Armenian and Hellenic peoples was echoed by all the speakers, both during the ceremony and during the seminar that followed. Messages of support were also delivered by His Beatitude Mar Meelis Zaia, Metropolitan of the Assyrian Church of the East Australia and New Zealand, Mr Nick Lalich (Member for Cabramatta and Mayor of the City of Fairfield), Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (Liberal Senator for New South Wales), the Hon. Ninos Khoshaba (Member for Smithfield), Mr Victor Dominello (Member for Ryde), and Rev. the Hon. Fred Nile MLC.
Sydney -- The Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA.) - Australian Chapter has determined that it must continue to do all that it can to make the Assyrian voice be heard by all democratic governments and international organizations. Since 2003, the AUA has managed to hold several meetings with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Immigration to raise the situation facing the Assyrians in post Saddam Iraq.
We are pleased to announce that on Monday August 9, 2010, a closed meeting was organised by Mr. Chris Hayes MP, Federal member for Werriwa for the AUA to meet with the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, The Hon. Senator Chris Evans at Mr Nick Lalich MP’s office in Cabramatta.
The delegation attending this meeting were:
1- His Beatitude Mar Meelis Zaia, Metropolitan of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East in Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon
2- Hermiz Shahen, Deputy Secretary General of the AUA and regional Secretary for Australia and New Zealand
3- David M. David, Vice President of the Assyrian Australian National Federation, Chairman of AUA Executive Committee in Sydney
By Raymond Elishapour
Over 250 people gathered in Edessa Hall on Sunday 27th of June for an Assyrian Genocide Seminar organised by a sub-committee of the Assyrian Universal Alliance. With both Academic and local presentations the Seminar explored the truth surrounding the Assyrian Genocide – in which over 700,000 Assyrians were reportedly massacred from 1915 in the Ottoman Empire, Turkey.
Dr Robert M Kaplan, and Dr Panayiotis Diamadis were among those that addressed the congregation, comprised of members of Assyrian, Armenian and Greek communities. Over the two hour period there was an exploration of various aspects of the reality of the Seyfo Genocide – where in total over 2 million Armenian, Assyrian and Greek people perished.
Dr Kaplan explored issues including the involvement of medical professionals in institution-endorsed murder, also emphasising how international apathy in fact condoned the Genocide and ensures the cycle of Genocide is not complete. Dr Kaplan, with a background in psychiatry, was quite vocal about the importance of recognition and recompense to the survivors and descendants of those that have suffered such atrocities – highlighting that the acceptance and acknowledgement of the truth is central to closure and reconciliation.
The Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) – Australia Chapter is pleased to announce the commencement of the third phase of its plan to erect the genocide memorial at Fairfield, Australia, honouring the memory of the victims of the Assyrian Genocide committed by the Ottoman government during WWI (1914-1918). The construction of the Assyrian monument started on 23 May 2010, and the unveiling will be on the Assyrian Martyrs Day, 7 August 2010.
The foundation work of the monument was completed on Saturday, 12 June, and the 1.2 meter-high base was completed on Tuesday, 15 June 2010. The Assyrian Universal Alliance started preparing for the construction of the Assyrian Genocide Monument as soon as the official agreement was made between the AUA and the city of Fairfield. We expect the project to be completed by the end of July and be ready for the official opening ceremony on the 7th of August.
A play between the families Conservatism and Modernism in God’s Theatre. The recent incident of a priest in the Syriac Orthodox church encouraging two parents not to baptize their new born child with an ancient Assyrian name can either be interpreted as an isolated phenomenon, or, which I will stress here, a form of religious conservatism positioning itself against modernism. In order to do demonstrate my thesis, I will first start with describing the role of religion in the Swedish societal context and the practice of religiosity among Assyrians, continuing with the process of modernisation, and end with how religious conservatism reacts to modernisation through specific strategies.
ACSAT.com
Religion in a societal context
We cannot scientifically understand religiosity without considering the specific societal context in which it takes place. Thus, we need to describe the societal context in which the Assyrians in the diaspora live today, as this context has influence on Assyrian values and practices. In this case our analysis will be limited to the Swedish society.
Dedicated to the noble Prof. Simo Parpola, whose contribution to the Assyrians is not any less than King Ashurbanipal. May Ashur Bless him always.
By Benjamin Daniali
admin@assyriatimes.com
Everything started on January 17th, 2009, when Shamiram, my sister showed me the article, “The Mesopotamian Soul of Western Culture by Prof. Simo Parpola”. The nine years of waiting to see the Assyrian numbers were suddenly over. I had come across the Jewish numbers in the year 2000 but never had a chance to find the Assyrian numbers. Finally, the numbers associated with the ilāni rabûti (great gods) of the Sacred Assyrian Tree of Life were in front of my very own eyes, shown on the Figure 4 of the mentioned masterpiece article.
Looking at those numbers, I noticed some patterns, so the pre-planned long calculation journey commenced. Deeper calculations led into more amazement, and the moment results displayed real patterns, it was time to inform Prof. Simo Parpola of the possible findings. The very next day, Prof. Parpola responded and wrote the following encouraging words:
“Dear Benjamin,
Many thanks for your message. I think you may have discovered something significant. Your numerological calculations resemble those found in the second-millennium BC esoteric work I.nam.giš.hur.an.ki.a edited and discussed by Alasdair Livingstone (a.livingstone@bham.ac.uk) in his Mystical and Mythological Explanatory Works of Assyrian and Babylonian Scholars (https://www.eisenbrauns.com/ECOM/_2KA0D7D1V.HTM), pp. 17-52, so it is entirely possible that they were already inherent in ancient numerology of the Tree. Perhaps you could have a look at this text and publish your findings in the form of a short article, either on the Internet or in a scholarly journal (JAAS? SAAB?).
Best wishes,
Simo Parpola”
By Tiglath Yamo
www.acsatv.com
A family belonging to the Syrian Orthodox Church in Örebro chose the name Marduk for their newborn son. In accordance with the tradition, the family asked their priest Jacob Kasselia to register (rshomo) the child's name before the baptism. But the priest refused to register the boy's name with the plea that the name Marduk is not a Christian name. The family was forced to spontaneously decide upon a different name. It got to be Lucas.
Returning from a recent trip to Lebanon, Helen Talia, traveling with her friend Laurice Somo, both from Chicago, approached the security gates at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport, carrying a host of religious (Christian) gifts ~ crosses, rosaries in her carry-on handbag.
“No sooner did I approach the first security attendant, says Talia, my bag was turned upside down and ridded of all the religious gifts I had brought back from places of worship I had traveled thousands of miles in pilgrimage to Lebanon ~ Mar Charbel and Haresa. Needless to say, the manner in which the procedure was carried out was very vicious and without any regard to the value that another human places on his or her spiritual practices.
