(AINA) -- The 69th national convention of the Assyrian American National Federation (AANF) was held in one of the most heavily Assyrian populated cities outside the Middle East, Detroit, Michigan, from August 29th to September 3rd. Assyrians, including Chaldeans and Syriacs, from across the social and political spectrum attended and deliberated amongst growing speculation about the upcoming likely attacks on Iraq. Of greatest concern for all Assyrians remains fair political representation for Assyrians in any future Iraqi governmental reform as well as concern for the safety of Assyrians residing both within the government controlled areas of Iraq (AINA, 8-31-2002) as well as the northern UN administered region¹. The AANF was founded in 1933 in response to the massacre of 3000 Assyrians in the village of Simele and its surrounding area in north Iraq, a massacre orchestarted by a year old Iraq and conducted by its army led by a Kurd, Bakir Sidqi, with the help of Arab and Kurdish civilians.

On August 31st The Assyrian Coalition of political organizations addressed the Assyrian Convention through brief presentations and a panel discussion. Speakers included Mr. Abgar Maloul of the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), former Illinois State Senator John Nimrod of the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA), Mr. Shimon Khamo of the Bet Nahrain Democratric Party (BNDP), and Mr. Eshia Esho of the Assyrian National Organization (ANO). Also addressing the gathering was Mr. Yacoub Kanna, Secretary General of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), who had traveled from ADM headquarters in northern Iraq. All speakers universally addressed Assyrian concerns regarding inadequate Assyrian political representation in Iraqi opposition meetings. Mr. Kanna added an in depth analysis of the political situation in Iraq and the looming conflict with the international community. Mr. Kanna emphasized the need to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein and placed the blame for Iraq's international isolation squarely on the Iraqi regime.

Concluding the political forum were Dr. Ronald Michael and former Congressman Michael Flanagan of the Assyrian American League (AAL). Dr. Michael summarized the current lobbying efforts by the AAL aimed at raising the Assyrian political profile within Washington D.C. and increasing Assyrian political participation in opposition venues. Congressman Flanagan outlined the AAL's networking activities within Congress and the State Department and expressed optimism that Assyrian participation in upcoming opposition meetings would be realized in the near future. The forum was also addressed by Mr. Atour Golani, the President of the AANF who expressed the solid support of the AANF. Mr. Saad Marouf, President of the Chaldean Federation of America likewise expressed support of the Chaldean community for what he described as the "impressive" outlook and achievements of the Assyrian Coalition and the AAL. Mr. Habib Afram of the Syriac Universal Alliance echoed his support and, like Mr. Golani and Mr. Marouf, reaffirmed that the communities of Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Syriacs comprise one nation.

Underscoring the increasing importance of Assyrian political participation, Mr. Nate Jenson of the U.S. State Department attended the Convention on September 1st at the invitation of the AAL. Mr. Jenson's newly formed position and responsibilities at the State Department primarily involve Assyrian issues. Reflecting the growing concern over the Assyrian case, Mr. Jenson is sometimes referred to as the "Assyrian Desk Officer" at the State Department.

On the educational front, the Convention hosted a Diaspora symposium, which included four speakers, each speaking on their representative Assyrian community in the Diaspora. The prominent communities addressed were those of the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Australia. Some of the most recent research presented showed that the first settlers of some of these communities, such as that of the U.S., started as early as the 17th century. However, the significant accumulation occurring after WWI, 1981, and 1990 in all four communities suggested the impact of war on the native Assyrian population of the middle east was greater than that of the majority Arab popualtion.

Another well attended symposium was the Assyrian identity conference, which included speakers from very diverse academic fields including sociology, Syriac studies, Assyriology, and anthropology. The papers presented were The Assyrian cultural heritage, from Survival to Revival, by Professor Abdilmasih Saadi; Maintenance and Transformation of Ethnic Identity: the Assyrian/Syria case, by Dr. Fuat Deniz; Chaldeans and the National Designation, by Mr. Habib Hanoona.

The presentations provided a clear conclusion that the Assyrian nation, including all its religious sects (Chaldean, Church of the East, Syriac orthodox, and others), has a common history, language and culture that is indigenous to its land of northern Mesopotamia and therefore is entitled to self-determination, a right which, as Dr. Fuat Deniz stated, is expressed in the UN's declaration on the right of indigenous people: "All indigenous nations and peoples have the right to self-determination, by virtue of which they have the right to whatever degree of autonomy or self-government they choose. This includes the right to freely determine their political status, freely pursue their own economic , social, religious and cultural development, and determine their membership and/or citizenship, without external interference"