The abduction and torture of an Assyrian from the Chaldean community of northern Iraq, Mr. Youkhana Yalda Khaie, (AINA 7-30-2001) has prompted the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) to officially inquire into the matter. In a personal communication to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) strongman Mr. Masoud Barzani dated July 19, 2001, Secretary General of the AUA, Mr. John Nimrod wrote that Youkhana Khaie has "been at Fermanday Prison in Duhok and has been apparently tortured, mistreated and was hidden from the Red Cross when they visited the prison." Mr. Nimrod added that Mr. Khaie "has been in isolation, blindfolded with hands tied and bruises on his face". Still more, Mr. Khaie "has not been formally charged or given due process in the courts."

The Youkhana Khaie torture case has generated a great emotional outrage in the Assyrian community in Iraq as well as in the Diaspora. The abduction and torture of Youkhana remains without official cause as Youkhana remains till now not charged with any wrongdoing. The entire gruesome savagery inflicted on Youkhana is believed by the Khaie family to be motivated by KDP desire to expropriate still more Assyrian land. Even now, Youkhana is not allowed legal representation, a formal hearing or regular visitations.

In his letter to the Behdanani chieftain, former Illinois State Senator John Nimrod added that "this kind of situation, predicament and accusations without immediate justice and access to the courts can become very dangerous situation." [sic] Alluding to the potential for still further deterioration of relations between Assyrians and the KDP, Mr. Nimrod further stated "when these matters come to our attention we must make sure they do not destroy our longstanding record of mutual respect."

The KDP is currently nervous about an ongoing reassessment of US policy that may very well downgrade US commitment to the failed Kurdish self-governing experiment. Having demonstrated continued brutalization and victimization of the indigenous Assyrian population, the various Behdanani and Sorani paramilitary bands have steadily lost international sympathy they previously enjoyed as the self-described victims of Saddam Hussein. As far as the international community is concerned, the Behdanani-Sorani hierarchies have failed to show an ability to govern in accordance with even the most basic international standards.

In a clear attempt to add pressure from an Assyrian-American perspective, Mr. Nimrod added that "I have a few friends in the Cabinet and in Congress some of the international committees under the Chairmanship of some former colleagues." [sic] Although he diplomatically asked "If in any way these contacts can be of assistance please let me know," Mr. Nimrod's underlying implication seems to have been a not so subtle reminder to the KDP of the potential for still greater Assyrian American lobbying in Washington against the KDP if the need arises.

Other Assyrian organizations in Europe are less diplomatically inclined and have dispensed with conventional diplomatic pleasantries. A growing grassroots public awareness campaign spearheaded by Ozcan Kaldoyo and Olle Wiberg of the Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac Association (ACSA), an Assyrian-Chaldean organization in Sweden, has prompted two Swedish Members of Parliament from the Left Party, Mr. Murad Artin and Lars Ohly, to declare that "The Assyrian minority in Iraqi Kurdistan has been declining for years because of persecution." Moreover, "We, the Left Party, strongly protest against the persecution of Assyrian and Chaldean minority..."

The Declaration by the Swedish Parliamentarians specifically demanded that the " KDP immediately release Youkhana Yalda Khaie" as well as "pay respect to the human rights of the Assyrian and Chaldean minority." The declaration further added that "National struggle and feelings must not be perverted in such a way that you think that your own nation, your own culture or your own religion has a greater human value than others."

The Swedish party's condemnation of the KDP is especially poignant since as the Swedes themselves noted "For many years, our own party, the Left Party of Sweden, has supported the Kurdish people in their struggle for cultural identity and national rights in different countries in the Middle East." This latest diplomatic reprimand of the KDP underscores the erosion of international support for the continued paramilitary occupation of northern Iraq. Still more, alluding to the possibility of losing international aid in addition to sympathy, the Left Party reminded the KDP that in the past "We have worked for foreign aid and economic support to the Kurdish people."

As far as the KDP is concerned, the continued occupation and consolidation of portions of northern Iraq rest fundamentally on two mutually exclusive currents. First, the KDP believes that it must continue to show the world that they are the democratic alternative to Saddam Hussein and the victims of his regime in order to continue to garner sympathy, support, and protection. Secondly, they have long ago decided that to consolidate their version of a homogeneous "Kurdistan," they must ethnically cleanse the indigenous and rightful heirs of northern Iraq, the Assyrians. With growing international awareness of KDP brutality coupled with a galvanized international Assyrian resistance, it will become considerably more problematic for the KDP to succeed.