‘Syriac Independent Unified Movement] (SIUM), Isoh Majeed Hedaya, was reportedly shot and killed in the Kurdish dominated region of the country.
In comments distributed by the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) Albert Jan Maat of the Dutch Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party urged an international investigation saying, "This murder is just one of many attempts to oppress the Assyrian minority in Iraq." He said, the international community "should interfere in this violation of human rights and freedom of self-rule".
AINA, said Hedaya, 52, was gunned down by masked gunmen November 23 after leaving his office in Baghdad. "Hedaya gave his life trying to unite the Assyrians and to protect this people in Iraq," said AINA, seen as one of key media voices of the Assyrian churches in the country. It was unclear how many gunmen, believed to be militants linked to an ongoing insurgency in Iraq, were involved in the shooting.
The attack happened after Hedaya demanded on October 31 that the government allows an autonomous region for the Assyrians in the four districts of the Nineveh plain. Assyrians are Aramaic-speaking Christians, the original language of Jesus, who consider themselves to be indigenous inhabitants of Mesopotamia, a region now comprised of modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran.
NINEVEH PLAIN
Supporters of autonomy point out that demographically the Nineveh Plain in Iraq is dominated by the Assyrians and say that according to the Iraqi constitution they are entitled to be granted self-rule. Kurdish parties reportedly oppose this move and Assyrians have accused them of trying to "annex these districts to the Kurdish autonomous region."
The assassination of Hedaya comes amid concerns over what church officials have described as a wave of violence against Christians in Iraq, including reports of beheadings, crucifixions, and church bombings. Jan Maat has said he wants to know what the position of the European Commission is towards the demand of Assyrians for an autonomous region and how the Iraqi government should deal with this request.
While there has been international concern about the attacks against Christians, Western diplomats are divided over whether a further fragmentation of Iraq is the best way forward, amid fears of more civil unrest. Hundreds of thousands of Christians are believed to have fled Iraq during the last years of Saddam Husein’s rule and the US-led war there/ There are up to 750,000 Christians still living in Iraq, but many have been displaced, church sources say.
