By

Abdulmesih BarAbraham

The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI) recently hosted a three-day international conference titled “A Century of Armenian Genocide Studies: Legacy, Challenges, and Future”, held from May 29 to 31, 2025. Organized in Yerevan as part of the commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the event aimed to reflect on the evolution of genocide studies over the past century, assess current achievements and challenges, and envision future directions for the field. The conference convened 51 scholars representing leading research institutions and universities worldwide.

At the conclusion of the conference, three distinguished scholars were awarded the AGMI’s James Bryce Memorial Medal in recognition of their significant contributions to the study of the Armenian Genocide and broader genocidal policies targeting the Christian populations of the Ottoman Empire. The awardees were:

• Professor Emeritus Dr. David Gaunt, Södertörn University, Sweden;
• Professor Dr. Raymond Kévorkian, French-Armenian historian and Chairman of the AGMI Board of Trustees (Université de la Sorbonne, Paris);
• Dr. Mehmet Polatel, Turkish historian and current Academy Coordinator at the Hrant Dink Foundation.

Professor David Gaunt

Professor David Gaunt’s Scholarly Contributions

David Gaunt, Professor of History at Södertörn University’s Centre for Baltic and East European Studies, is widely recognized as a leading scholar of the Assyrian Genocide—commonly referred to as Seyfo. His academic contributions include numerous books, peer-reviewed articles, edited volumes, and archive-based research. His seminal monograph, Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim–Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War I (2006), is particularly influential. Drawing upon primary sources from Turkish, Russian, and Western archives, as well as oral testimonies collected by his assistant Jan Bet-Sawoce, the book documents the persecution of Assyrian (also known as Syriac and/or Chaldean) Christians in the Urmia, Hakkari, and Tur Abdin regions during World War I.

This work significantly contributed to the breakthrough in academic research and international recognition of Seyfo. Gaunt’s scholarship also encompasses the Armenian case, noting that Assyrians and Armenians not only lived in close proximity in the eastern Ottoman Empire but also shared a common fate during the genocide.

Lord James Bryce: A Pioneer of Genocide Awareness

Lord James Bryce was a prominent British jurist and historian, as well as a key figure in the early philo-Armenian movement. He was among the first public intellectuals to denounce the extermination of Armenians and Christians in general during World War I, using his influence to raise awareness in the British Parliament and beyond about the genocidal policies pursued by the Young Turk regime.

Bryce edited and introduced The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915–1916—commonly known as the “Blue Book”—compiled by Arnold Toynbee and published in 1916. This volume remains one of the most important primary sources for genocide studies. It includes numerous eyewitness testimonies, primarily from nationals of neutral countries and Germany, that document the deportations and massacres of Armenians and Assyrians.

According to German Orientalist Dr. Gabriele Yonan, the original title was “The Treatment of the Armenians and the Assyrian Christians in the Ottoman Empire.” However, the reference to Assyrians was omitted in the British Government’s 1916 edition. Furthermore, over one hundred pages of documentation regarding the massacres and expulsions of Assyrians were removed from the French edition presented at the Paris Peace Conference in 1920.

AGMI’s James Bryce Memorial Medal

Recognition from the Syriac Orthodox Church

In a message posted on Facebook, Mor Polycarpus Dr. Augin Aydin, Archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church in The Netherlands, extended his congratulations to Professor Gaunt upon receiving the James Bryce Award. He wrote:

“This is in recognition of your outstanding scholarship on the Seyfo of 1915. This well-deserved honor not only affirms the depth and integrity of your work but also gives voice to the memory of a long-silenced chapter of history.
With admiration and gratitude for your enduring contributions to truth and justice.
+Polycarpus”

To all who lead our secular and religious organizations in Europe and the United States. Not least to our Assyrian associations both in Sweden and the remaining EU countries

Since 1980, I have published more than 27 titles in the classical National language Assyrian (Syrian, Syriac) and aroused interest in the language among thousands of Assyrians/Syrians around Sweden and in other countries. Works that have been highly appreciated and highly praised. This commitment is primarily based on my enormous love for this language. We all consider how important it is to maintain and develop it, but this commitment requires both time and money. Apart from a few individuals and associations who have loyally stood up and contributed, not least St. Peter’s church in Hallonbergen in Stockholm, I have paid for all publications. I take this opportunity to thank everyone for their contributions. But to be able to continue the production, I turn to our associations, churches, and congregations mentioned above.

I am primarily addressing the associations and churches, where they constantly preach about the importance of preserving this language. This mantra is often heard, but far from being acted upon. I am convinced that the public is more positive than the boards of those who are sitting in our associations, organizations, and institutions. The church leaders who claim to be fighting for the preservation of this language should be a guide. They could at some point from the altar encourage the members of the congregations to at least buy the literature published in this language. Buying a book costs, no more than a visit to a restaurant today. Who will be poor or rich to do this? In other cases, we see how the church leaders use the altar and advertise less worthy issues every Sunday.

Quite often I receive praise from various people, priests, lay people, and board members of the associations about this commitment. But congratulations and thanks, which I often receive, hardly help anything in reality. These words cannot prolong the life or hope of the lighted candle.

It is regrettable that when an individual or organization buys a book, he or she makes me feel like he is asking me for eternal obedience and wants to remind me of this unforgettable favour or kindness he did to me. This is how most of the individuals, and our profane or religious institutions behave. Have you ever seen or heard that in this way a language can survive, or a people endure??

It is sad to point out, that not just millions, but billions of SK, (Swedish crowns) our people have wasted on building hundreds of churches in the Western world since we emigrated to Europe and the United States. We have left as many churches as possible behind in the Middle East, but for the preservation of the most significant component of our identity; we can’t afford it. Is this a sign of a healthy condition???

Recently I saw the pompous consecration of the new bishop in Södertälje, and asked myself the question; How much did this party cost??

I believe that the clergy, unfortunately with the help of the people, have drained the nation’s finances for centuries. A change is required. The change will never come through the priests but from the grassroots.

Unfortunately, you hear the rumble of the church mills, but you see no flour, and ”much chatter occurs in the premises of our associations, but little workshop” This is what happens in our profane and religious institutions. The good tree is recognized by its fruits.

Gabriel Afram

Nevertheless, I asked and found that one of them is Syriac, belonging to the Orthodox church, and the other one Chaldean, connected to the Vatican.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/iraq-christians-seeks-autonomy.html#ixzz4OtjY9dJL

High expectations to take care of a church in crisis have fallen on the shoulders of the newly elected Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Afrem II Karim. Many also hope that he will “sweep out” the groups that have infiltrated the church and use it for their political purposes. But the future will show us if he is willing to take the bull by the horns, Journalist Augin Kurt Haninke writes. In this review, he also summarizes Patriarch Karim’s conduct towards the Assyrian Orthodox Church during the time he was the Bishop of the Eastern United States.

In my last article about the schisms of the Syrian Orthodox Church, I showed how hostile regimes for decades have infiltrated various Assyrian churches in order to destroy the Assyrian national identity. I explained how three former patriarchs, who had been Assyrian patriots when they were bishops, turned and worked against the Assyrian heritage. As of this writing, it has been a few weeks after Patriarch Karim was elected to the Church’s highest office. Thus, as a patriarch, he is like a blank slate. We as members of the Church may have our expectations, but reality may be different in the end. However we can already summarize his actions as a bishop in the U.S. against two churches that continued to use the name Assyrian Orthodox Church. We can also point to some statements that he has made as the newly elected patriarch, which may be signs of things to come.

Before we continue I would like to answer my previous question whether the Syrian Orthodox Church will split after the election of a new patriarch? That did not occur since those who may have had thoughts about “breaking” with the church; appear to be happy with the choice of the new patriarch. Some analysts speculate that the Syrian Baathist regime has had Bishop Karim as its favourite for the last two years. This is because Aleppo’s Bishop Yuhanna Ibrahim had begun to criticize the regime in diplomatic terms. By that time, the opposition had a tailwind and the adaptable Bishop Ibrahim, whose fate is still unknown, began to make overtures in the opposite direction. On April 22, 2013, he was kidnapped on his way home to Aleppo from the Turkish border. What is of special interest in this matter is that the first checkpoint he passed, the Free Syrian Army guards saluted and allowed the bishop’s car to pass, This according to Fuad Elia, a passenger in the same car who escaped the kidnapping drama. Further along the way, Bishop Ibrahim’s car was stopped by a group belonging to a Caucasian psycho called Abu Banat who had instituted Sharia law with a Muslim court. This Islamic ”court” imposed the death penalty for ”infidels” or cut off the fingers of those who smoked. This is a long story which I need not go into further, because our topic is the new Patriarch.

As for the kidnapped Bishop Ibrahim of Aleppo, he had long been regarded as the foremost candidate for patriarch, but after his mild criticism of the Assad regime, he was apparently no longer the favourite. The same case is with the bishop of Gozarto [al-Jazeera] Matta Rohem, who also began to criticise the regime and left Syria for Austria. The choice seems to have fallen on the Bishop of the Eastern U.S, Afrem Karim, who harshly criticized President Obama in the American media last summer, when the U.S. threatened military action against Syria. The bishop pointed out that the government was the guarantor of the Christians in the country and added what has happened to the Christians in Iraq was a horrible scenario. He as a Christian from Syria did not want the United States to militarily attack the country. Here it is also important to point out that the bishop’s position is not unique in any way. The majority of the religious leaders from Syria are of the same opinion. Many others as well see the regime as a guarantee for the continued existence of Christians in Syria. At one point during a televised interview, the host asked if Bishop Karim himself comes from Syria to which the bishop replied that he is a Syrian citizen of Syriac-Aramaic origin. Much of the information on social media indicates that Bishop Karim had visited President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus about a month before the death of Patriach Zakka Iwas. If true, it was probably in preparation for taking over the patriarchal office.

On March 31, 2014, Bishop Karim was elected as patriarch by the Synod in Lebanon, just three days after the deceased Patriarch Zakka was buried in the Damascus suburb of Sednaya. All who had expected a “hard fight” for the post of patriarch were surprised that it went quickly and smoothly. According to the Assyrian activist Suleyman Yousuf in Syria, before the Synod convened, Bishop Samuel Aktaş of Turabdin, was asked if he thought that Bishop Karim would be selected. He replied: “Why not? Bishop Karim meets all the criteria. He is educated, speaks several languages and is very well aware of the conditions both in the Middle East and in the diaspora”. Yousuf and other analysts interpret this as meaning that the election was “rigged”.

It is not surprising that the Syrian regime would have its own candidate for patriarch. It has planned for it for several decades and may have succeeded now. Despite the great turmoil in the country, the Assad regime seems to maintain its strong influence over the Syrian Orthodox Church.  The Aramaic faction’s candidate was most likely Bishop Eugene Kaplan of California, but he received half as many votes as Bishop Karim. What role the Turkish security MIT played is less well known, but a colleague who was present at the mourning in Germany states that MIT was so active that many got the impression that Istanbul’s Bishop Yusuf Çetin would be the next patriarch.

Only two days after the Synod meeting, Patriarch Karim made his first visit to the presidential palace in Damascus to meet with President Assad. On this same day, he also made his first visit as patriarch to the patriarchal headquarters in Bab Tuma in Damascus’s Old City. He was welcomed by the usual chorus ”To bashlom, ro’yo shariro” (Welcome, true shepherd!). Seated upon the patriarch’s chair at the altar of the church, he held an impromptu speech in Arabic in which he thanked President Assad and wished him success in building ”the new and our beloved Syria”. Here there is no difference between him and his predecessor Patriarch Zakka who frequently praised the country’s president. When the Christian world celebrated the 2000th anniversary of Jesus’ birth, Patriarch Zakka preached that God had sent President Hafez al-Assad as a saviour to Syria and that Jesus himself was from Syria. He was referring to Palestine which was the Roman province of Syria at the time of Jesus’ birth.

Thus, Patriarch Karim continues in his predecessor’s footsteps by praising the country’s rulers from his first day. But this does not rule out that he could not repair the damage that Patriarch Zakka has done to the Church, for exemple by encouraging its rich cultural heritage, such as the language. All bishops and patriarchs tend to point out that our language is venerable and holy, but in reality, most have turned a blind eye to Arabization which has taken a stranglehold on the church’s liturgy. Patriarch Karim is said to be the first patriarch in more than 700 years who speaks the Assyrian language, Surayt, as his mother tongue. If we deduct 475 years because Turabdin had its own patriarchate and those patriarchs are not among the official patriarchal list, there still remains a couple of centuries in which the patriarchs in the Syrian Orthodox Church came mainly from Nineveh (Mosul) or other Assyrian cities, with greater educational level. Turabdin was, after all, a poor agricultural area isolated from the outside world. Nowadays, there are several bishops from Turabdin and therefore, Surayt speakers.

Patriarch Karim’s family name is Be-Sohdo, and they are originally from the village of Ehwo (Hbob) in the Izlo Mountain in Turabdin, Turkey. He was born in 1965 in the city of Qameshly in Syria and is the youngest child of the family. His given name is ”Sa’eed” but as a child, was often called ”Qasho” (priest) by his friends; one of his relatives informed me. He added that the patriarch was always in church during his childhood. At an early age, little Sa’eed lost his father Issa Karim in a car accident and the widow Khanime worked hard to give her seven children the best upbringing and education that was possible with her ​​meager resources. In 1977, he was admitted to the St. Afrem Seminary (where he got the name Afrem) in Atshaneh, Lebanon. Now he has been elected to the position of patriarch at the same church in Lebanon (the official installation takes place on Holy Cross Day, Sept. 14^th). He has studied in both Egypt and Ireland earning a Ph.D. from St. Patrick’s College. The subject matter of his thesis was the significance of the Cross as a symbol for the early Christians.

In 1996, he was ordained Bishop of the Eastern United States. The former diocese of North America and Canada was divided into three. Bishop Karim headed the eastern United States with headquarters in New Jersey, Bishop Kaplan was given responsibility for the western United States with headquarters in Los Angeles and Canada got its own bishop.

What is of interest to us is Bishop Karim’s actions in the case of the Assyrian Orthodox Church in Shrewsbury (the original church in Worcester had been sold by this time), Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest among the Assyrian churches in the United States. In 1923, the relatives of Ashur Yusef from Kharput began the construction of the church in Worcester. It was completed in the summer of 1925 and finally consecrated on April 22, 1928 by Bishop Afrem Barsom (Donabed: Remnants of Heroes, pp. 74-82, Chicago 2003).  In 1953, the then Bishop Yeshu Samuel of the United States and Canada (who visited to US in 1947 in order to sell the Dead Sea Scrolls, then refused to go back to his diocese in Jerusalem) initiated an intense battle to change the name of the churches from Assyrian to Syrian. He succeeded with the church in Rhode Island (Central Falls, consecrated September 25, 1927), but failed with two others. The one that continues to bear the name Assyrian is located in Paramus, New Jersey (originally West New York, consecrated on September 18, 1927). The order to change the churches name to Syrian Church had come from Patriarch Afrem Barsom who himself had consecrated all three churches during his visit to the United States in 1927-28 with their Assyrian name.

In the U.S., different Assyrian communities, both Nestorian and Jacobite and some Chaldean churches, were called Assyrian. The senior members of these churches had good relations across denominational boundaries. The Presbyterian minister and Assyrian patriot Joel E. Warda preached in St. Mary’s Assyrian Apostolic Church in Worcester during a mass held on August 1925. Five years earlier, he had been a member of the delegation that represented the Assyrians in the United States at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.

The reason that Naum Faiq and other Assyrians in the United States called their churches Assyrian was that Assyrian was their ethnicity and they were proud of their identity and heritage.  Another reason was that some of the Arab Christians of Syria, namely Melkites, used the name Syrian Orthodox Church in the United States at the time. The West Assyrian churches in the United States were initially called Assyrian Apostolic Church, but this was later changed to Assyrian Orthodox Church.  At the end of 1952, Patriarch Barsom decided that Assyrian would be replaced by Syrian and Bishop Samuel would enforce the decision. In a letter dated February 6, 1953 to the parishioners, Bishop Samuel informs them about the reason for the change. He uses the Assyrian name for the people, although the name of the church in the future would not be called Assyrian (Donabed, 79).

Bishop Samuel began the process by taking the matter to court in order to take over the name Syrian Orthodox Church from the Syrian Arab Christians. He succeeded and made sure that his church was the only one in the Middle East who was allowed to bear the name Syrian Orthodox Church in the future. Turning his attention to the churches in the U.S. known as the Assyrian Orthodox Church, Bishop Samuel met unexpected resistance from patriotic Assyrians who originated from Omid (Diyarbekir) and Kharput in today’s Turkey. Patriotic enthusiasts like David Barsum Perley and Rose Dartley won a U.S. court decision that held that as long as there is a single member of the church in Paramus who calls himself Assyrian, nobody could change its name to Syrian. When Bishop Samuel saw that he could face a similar court ruling in Worcester, he persuaded the parish to withdraw its lawsuit. In return, he promised that the Church would retain its Assyrian name.

In 1958, the new Patriarch Yakub III made his first visit to the U.S. and South America. There he promised that the churches would retain the Assyrian name. Farid Nazha, the publisher of the Assyrian journal Hdonoyutho Suryoyto (in Spanish Asociacion Asirio) informed his readers of this decision in volume 24, May-June and July-August 1958 issue. He also added that by the time there were around 100.000 Assyrians living in South America. Nazha was a good friend of Patriarch Yakub and twice had invited him to dinner at his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In his discussions with the Patriarch, he called Bishop Yeshu Samuel “the bishop who lost his mind” (in Arabic: Matran al-Makhlu’) who did not understand the meaning of the term Assyrian. Because Patriarch Yakub was new to the post, he wanted peace in his church and decided to ignore the decision of the Synod which a few years earlier (during the previous Patriarch’s leadership) demanded a change in the name of the church to Syrian. The Assyrians in the United States were thus allowed to keep the name Assyrian Church for the remaining two churches. On October 26, 1960, Patriarch Yakub wrote a letter to the Assyrians in Worcester confirming his promise that the church would be given a dispensation to retain its Assyrian name. He also urged the congregation to cooperate with Bishop Samuel on the same terms as the congregation in Paramus (Donabed, 80). In 1980, Patriarch Yakub passed away and was succeeded by Patriarch Zakka Iwas.

In 1995, Bishop Yeshu Samuel passed away. The following year the monk Afrem Karim, the current patriarch, was ordained a bishop and stationed in New Jersey as patriarchal deputy. He resumed his predecessor’s old struggle against the Assyrian Church. Parishes rebelled again. In Paramus it became more difficult to change the name of the church because there was a 50-year old court order. When the bishop wanted to proceed, Father John Khouri, (originally from the village of Miden in Turabdin) protested. He promised that he would testify in court that he is Assyrian. Thus the church in Paramus would retain its Assyrian name as long as Father John was alive. He brought the bishop to his senses by arguing that the church has in no way been hurt by calling itself the Assyrian Church in English and Suryoyo in our own language.

Bishop Karim “backed off” in the case of Paramus but directed his attention toward the church in Shrewsbury. The congregation had previously planned construction of a new church, because the old one in Worcester from 1923 had become too small. They sold the old building in Worcester  and built a new one in Shrewsbury that opened in 1994 under its old name St. Mary’s Assyrian Orthodox Church. This was before Bishop Karim had come to the United States. But now that he had taken up the fight against the name Assyrian Church, there was no court decision to lean on for the congregation. Many of the patriotic Kharput Assyrians who had built the church were no longer alive. Their grandchildren had now been joined by Assyrians from other areas who lacked the Assyrian national ideology. This was the reason Bishop Karim managed to replace the name of the church to Syrian Orthodox in 1998. (Donabed, 82).

In 1999, prior to the U.S Census 2000, the Synod, at the request of the bishops of the United States, decided that the church would now be called Syriac Orthodox Church. The Church in Shrewsbury is now called St. Mary’s Syriac Orthodox Church.  But most other Syriac Orthodox churches in the United States still retain their old signs, i.e Syrian Orthodox Church. A large number of members left the Shrewsbury church. Prior to that time, they had written to Patriarch Zakka or sent representatives to Damascus to ask him to intervene. They also proposed a direct connection to the patriarchate or to another diocese in Europe. But Patriarch Zakka was unable to do anything, because Bishop Karim accused him of interfering in the internal affairs of the diocese. Members who left the church, initially formed the Assyrian National Church but lacked a priest.  Since 2007, they are connected to the secessionist Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in India with Mushe Gürgün as their Bishop in the United States. He had also left the church because of internal conflicts with its management and joined the Malankara Church in India. Bishop Gürgün permitted the Assyrians living in the Worcester area to use the name St. Mary’s Assyrian Orthodox Church.  Furthermore, 350 families, led by Father Joseph Tarzi, who were all banned by Bishop Kaplan in Los Angeles, also connected to Bishop Mushe Gürgün.

This is what the new Patriarch Afrem Karim has accomplished in the United States. When it came to the Aramaic faction’s attempt to introduce their flag in the church, Karim had stated earlier as a bishop and in his first speech as patriarch that all factions are welcome in the church, but the only symbol the church accepts is the cross. Though he claims his identity as Syriac-Aramaic many receive his commitment to the cross as a sign of hope. But we don’t know if he will demand that all foreign flags be taken down from church buildings. Time will tell. The only thing we can do now is to wish him good luck and hope he does not forget his Turabdinian roots. If I were in his place, my first statement would read as follows: ”As the supreme leader of the Syrian Orthodox Church, I hereby disavow my predecessor’s statements that Arab blood flows in our veins”.

Augin Kurt Haninke

Journalist

On January 26, 2014 and at the age of 77 the well-known Assyrian priest Bedros Shushe passed away in Germany.  Father Bedros was  a remarkable priest of the Syrian Orthodox Church. He was interested neither in power nor in wealth. Instead, he was a patriotic rebel who encouraged  the Assyrian people to stand up against the mismanagement of the church leadership and abuse of power, writes journalist Augin Kurt Haninke.

Commonly known as Qasho Bedros, this brave man stood upright during his entire life, while facing constant attacks from church leaders and various civilian actors for his outspokenness and reformist zeal that is very rare among our clergy. His goal was to unite the church and the nation in the struggle for survival of the vulnerable Assyrian nation. But the opposition was overwhelming and forced him to escape his unjustly acting church leadership and join the Catholic Church from 1991 until 2005. The resistance was carried out by reactionary forces, mostly mighty clans from his birthplace Midyat. Those clans cooperated with the Church’s leadership in fighting the progressive ideas of the Assyrian national movement in the European diaspora. In the Syrian Orthodox Church, this struggle began with the late patriarch Afrem Barsom (p.1933-1957) and continues until today under the guise of so-called ’name conflict’.

Who was this upright priest?

Bedros Shushe was born in Midyat in 1937; his poor Assyrian parents were traumatized as all the survivors who tried to recover from the genocide (Seyfo) of 1915. A new era begun in Turkey’s history with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s new republic in 1923 characterized by the state effort to assimilate ethnic minorities to become Turks. An important step in this policy of assimilation was to ban all teaching outside the Turkish education system. The official Assyrian schools were closed in 1928. In Midyat there were previously four schools in the churches directed by teachers exempt from military service and paid by the state. In 1934 Turkey issued a new edict of assimilation when the law on Turkish surnames came into force. All citizens were forced to adopt a Turkish surname and all Assyrian towns and villages got Turkish names too. The project was launched during a period of two years and the family of Shushe got the Turkish surname Öğünç.

The Assyrians in Turabdin continued to provide their children with education in their own language, but under the guise of ”Bible study”. When the young Bedros was about 6 years, he began to learn his native language in these schools, while he was visiting the Turkish elementary school. At the age of 16, he was appointed teacher to the Assyrian village of Hah, from where his family had moved to Midyat about 250 years earlier. A year later, he was assigned as a teacher in St. Shmuni Church in Midyat, where he remained for 15 years. His assignment was in 1955, few years after Afrem Bilgiç from the village Bote became the new bishop (1952) of Turabdin. Malfono[1] Bedros distinguished himself from his predecessors by his reformist push with respect to his church’s traditions. For example, he was the first in Turabdin’s history who formed a girls’ choir  participating in regular Sunday Masses. According to chorepiscopos Kerim Asmar, a pupil of Bedros residing in Switzerland,  the girls were even allowed to read Paul’s epistels to the congregation. According to Abdulmesih BarAbraham, another pupil of Malfono Bedros, he taught hundreds of children of all ages, including some 30 girls. He structured the classes according to levels; advanced students taught the entry classes. Another ”novelty” by him was to let students play theatre at New Year and other holidays, which was about the seasons or the biblical story of Joseph in Egypt. To do that, he had all the time support of his mentor bishop Afrem in Midyat says BarAbraham.

Eventually, he also learned English spontaneously and began teaching it. Even Muslim pupils from the district of  Estel used to be taught by him English. He received five Turkish lira per pupil and month – a welcome addition to a modest teacher’s salary that was not even enough for an apartment of his own, says father Bedros in a long interview with Jan Beth-Sawoce from 2001. He further tells, that he got some help from a woman named Bahija in Midyat who knew English well. But for the major part he learned as autodidact  through the study of  Turkish-English books.

At this time, in the 1950s  and 1960s, Malfono Bedros knew not much about his Assyrian roots, although many church songs were glorifying Beth-Nahrin (Mesopotamia). Almost no one else in Turabdin was aware of his ethnic origin or his Assyrian ancestors prior Christianity, because the church had since long time considered its ancient history as pagan and distanced itself from the pre-Christian heritage. But in 1967-68, Malfono Bedros says, that he  received a unique book sent to him by mail. The author was living in Brazil and was the late Malfono Abrohom Gabriel Sawme. Gabriel Sawme was a former student of Yuhanon Dolabani (the later Bishop of Mardin) at the famous Assyrian school in Adana in the early 1920s. The book was called Kthobo d mardutho d Suryoye (published in 1967) and described in details the Assyrian history, such as how Christianity is based on our Assyrian ancestral faith and what great things they had done in the service of humanity. This laid the foundation for the patriotism Malfono Bedros wanted to transfer to a lost church which rejected its honorable ancestors.

Beside many years of teaching, Malfono Bedros has also made ​​an important contribution to the language. With his beautiful handwriting he has copied a few hundred ecclesiastical books that have been used in many churches and monasteries in Turabdin or elsewhere. Ancient scripts that were used in the liturgy were torn hard and it was not always easy to repair those. In the absence of printing Malfono Bedros sat down and wrote them page by page, day in and day out. Even the ink was scarce. According to BarAbraham, he produced even his own ink based on toasted wheat and other natural ingredients. I have seen some books with my own father’s handwriting, written in wheat-based ink. It has a beautiful dark brown color and does not fade so easily. Malfono Bedros not only copied the texts of the old books. He also took care of the binding of the  new books before handing them over to the clients. Even after he arrived in Germany, he has continued copying books using the old Syrian script. Overall, and according to BarAbraham, Mafono Bedros produced more than 300 books and booklets in his own handwriting.

In 1969 Bedros Shushe came to Germany as guest worker. But one of his old friends from his time in Midyat, the orientalist Helga Anschütz, felt that his knowledge and expertise would be better put to use if he was both a priest and a kind of social advisor to the new Assyrian guest workers. Her contacts within the Catholic Church in Bavaria led to the local bishop and other potentates who suggested this to the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Yakub III in Damascus. The Patriarch accepted the proposal and in 1971 Malfono Bedros was ordained as priest by Bishop Afrem in Midyat. The Catholic aid organization Caritas began to employ Father Bedros, who became the only Assyrian priest for the whole Central Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Austria etc). For nearly a decade, he came to spend a large part of his life in rail and car travel between different locations. At that time there were no telephones in most guest worker’s homes. As Malfono Aziz Hawsho, another pupil of his living in Germany in the early 1970s tells, Father Bedros used to write letters or postcards and announce his arrival. The same did the scattered parishioners when they had a child to baptize or another religious service.

As the immigration of Assyrians to the European countries increased towards the end of the 1970s, other Assyrian priests were stationed in Germany and other countries. Many of our priests are known for their desire for power and money. In Turabdin both priests and parishes were poor. Assyrian priests had no salary, but lived on contributions from the congregation. But in Germany and Switzerland church members were well-off compared to their brethren in the homeland. Thus, it was very attractive for a priest to be stationed in Germany or other European countries. This meant that some priests and monks in their rivalry began to intrigue against Father Bedros, even though he had helped many of them when they were newcomers. Monk Isa Çiçek, who was a cousin of Father Bedros’ wife, spent in the early 1970s long periods as guest in their home in Dasing, just 10 miles away from the city of Augsburg. When he eventually became Bishop of Central Europe in 1979 and a fanatical opponent in the fight against the Assyrian national movement, he suspended Father Bedros several times from the priesthood.

Another priest from Midyat, which Father Bedros mentions by name in an interview from 2001, Yahqo dbe Settike, accused Father Bedros along with an Austrian Catholic monk in Istanbul to the Turkish security for allegedly conducting subversive activities. The monk was Brother Joseph, and the director of the Catholic German school in Istanbul. Priest Yahqo had asked Father Bedros to ensure that his son Sabri would get admission to the Catholic school, but Sabri did not pass the entrance exam. Then the priest took revenge on his colleagues by falsely reporting them to Turks. Brother Joseph was expelled from Turkey and Father Bedros could not visit his beloved homeland for almost three decades. Several other Assyrians – both clergy who were agents of the Turkish secret services – and their accomplices among the guest workers had also reported Father Bedros to the Turkish authorities. They accused him of  ”Assyrian separatism” and other subversive activities against the Turkish state. In fact, Assyrian separatism has never existed in modern times. Father Bedros was sentenced in absentia by a high security court in Diyarbakir, the same court that in 2001 held Father Yusuf Akbulut accountable for his statement that “not only Armenians had become victims of the 1915 genocide”.

But in 1995 a general amnesty was issued  in Turkey and Father Bedros was summoned to the Turkish General Consulate in Munich, where he received the decision and the entire act of the canceled judgment. There the names of all those who falsely had reported him to the Turkish authorities can be found. Much later, Father Bedros (according to his interview in 2001) also received a written apology from his colleague Aziz Günel in Turkey for his false reporting of Father Bedros to Turkey. In my upcoming book I am going to show that Günel was on the payroll of the Turkish security service, and a key figure who organized the resistance against the Assyrian national movement in Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and other countries of immigration.

Father Bedros was thus an enthusiast to help his vulnerable Assyrian nation, whose most powerful organization – the church – had been infiltrated by hostile forces who acquired church leaders to create conflict among the Assyrians. This conflict has been labeled as the ”name dispute” but is basically a political tool to divide and rule, Father Bedros says in the interview from 2001. He reproduces a clear example of church leadership duplicity when he talks about the Patriarch Yakub’s visit to Germany in 1977. Already in 1971, the Patriarch and the accompanying bishops – including the current Patriarch Zakka Iwas – have been guests in Father Bedros home in Germany. They baptized his newborn son Ashur without protesting against the choice of this name, which they later fought eagerly. Interesting enough, the current Patriach Zakka Iwas himself was given the name Sanharib (King of Assyria 705-681BC), which he still is keeping in his ID-card.

But in 1977 the Assyrian movement gained ground among the Assyrian immigrants in the West and Assyrian associations began to emerge rapidly. Regimes in the Middle East, including Turkey, saw this as a threat. At the same time the leadership of the church felt its mundane power threatened by the secular nationalist movement. For this reason various Assyrian church leaders collaborated willingly with and got recruited by these regimes while the struggle took an organized form in the church’s auspices. The church encouraged thereafter different Assyrian tribes to resist the Assyrian movement. When Patriarch Yakub came to Sweden and Germany on his visit in 1977, he was prepared to banish the leaders of the Assyrian side in the so-called name conflict. Father Bedros says in the interview that he was present when both Assyrian representatives and their opponents, among them clan leaders, met with the Patriarch. They conversed with Patriarch separately and Father Bedros witnessed firsthand how the patriarch threw fuel on the fire by playing a false game. To the Assyrians, he said that they were educated and enlightened. They should not care about ignorant clan leaders. When he met with clan leaders, the Patriarch said that the Assyrians were parasites who were out to divide the people and harm the church. Following these meetings, Father Bedros asked a reasonable question to his patriarch: “Which side do you want me to follow? The patriarch responded with silence”, he says.

This is only one concrete example of the great duplicity of church leadership that has deepened divisions within the orthodox community. Current Patriarch Zakka has continued its predecessor’s tracks but went one step further. During Patriarch Yakub’s time the church was an intact organization. Now even the church has been torn by internal splits. The Patriarch himself has done his best to facilitate the split in the Syrian Orthodox Church by consecrating new bishops at the assembly line and establish new dioceses in the existing ones, both in Europe and in other parts of the Western world, where Assyrians of Syrian Orthodox Church affiliation live.

In the early 1980s, Father Bedros became the only priest in Central Europe who refused to accept bishop Isa Çiçek’s unchristian treatment of the Assyrian side. Bishop Çiçek made ​​common cause with his episcopal colleague in Sweden Aphram Abboudi. The two decided to interpret the General Synod’s decree of November 1981 arbitrary and decided to abandon all who were members of an Assyrian association from any ecclesiastical services such as baptism, marriage or burial. Even elderly parents were refused holy communion at festivals like Easter.

The Bishops demanded that everyone should sign a paper where he renounced membership in an Assyrian association[2]. The Assyrian side refused of course to sign such a document and thus risked being left without spiritual services. It was then that Father Bedros in Germany and two other brave priests in Sweden stood up and defied their superior bishops. The others were Father Mounir Barbar in Stockholm and Father Issa Naaman in Västerås. The latter passed away in 2003. These three priests argued that the treatment of the Assyrian faction was against Jesus’ true teachings and made sure that the Assyrian side was not without ecclesiastical services.

Upon successful opposition from the united Assyrian front the leadership of the church backed down and the Synod decided in 1983 that all members were welcome to enjoy the church services. The only condition was that those who profess to the Assyrian or Aramean ethnicity were not allowed to become members of a  church board. But in practice, only the Assyrian church members were held outside local boards. Members of the Aramean associations could freely operate in the church domains, since they felt the support of influential bishops, led by Bishop Yuanna Brahim in Aleppo[3]. Curiously, the decree of the General Synod from November 1981decided to accept only the term Syrian for the church, the people and the language. But over the past decades, several churches openly hung up the Aramean organisation’s flag in their premises, without any reaction by either the Patriarch Zakka Iwas or the Synods.

The Assyrian community is still fragmented into various factions fighting one another. Since centuries they are also divided into different churches. Father Bedros was very aware and resentful of this division. As an answer to Jan Beth-Sawoce’s question, whether he thought that the Assyrians in the future would be able to establish their own state in order to survive as a nation, Father Bedros answered that the various Assyrian churches must unite first. Otherwise it will be difficult. He therefore called for unity within the seven churches of the Middle East that has Assyrian roots, known as Syriac-speaking Churches: the Syrian Orthodox Church, The Assyrian Church of the East, The Old Church of the East, The Chaldean Church of Babylon, The Syrian Catholic Church, The Melkite Church (Greek Orthodox) and Maronite Catholic Church along with the various Protestant Assyrian Churches.

But the church leaders in these churches will not seek Assyrian unity voluntarily, unless a strong demand comes from parishioners, says Father Bedros in a voice to posterity that will forever jingle in our ears, although he himself has left the worldly life. May his soul rest in peace!

Augin Kurt Haninke

Journalist

For an AssyriaTV Assyrian language interview I conducted with three early pupils of Malfono Bedros; Aziz Hawsho, Abdulmesih Barabraham and Jan Beth-Sawoce, visit here.

This article is mainly based on the investigations made by the investigative journalist Erkan Metin and the two TV interviews made with him by Assyria TV about the two Orthodox bishops Yuhanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazici, which have been kidnapped outside of Aleppo, Syria.

Background

On April 22^nd, 2013 the two bishops Yuhanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazici where kidnapped. During the kidnapping their driver was murdered, but there was a fourth person in the car with the bishops who was released, Fuad Eliya. Since then the bishops’ fate is unknown. Bishop Yuhanna Ibrahim belongs to the Syriac Orthodox Church and was considered as the strongest candidate to take over the patriarchal duties for the Syriac Othodox church, after the present patriarch. Bishop Paul Yazici belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church and is the brother of the patriarch of the same church.

On April 22^nd the bishops Paul Yazici and Yuhanna Ibrahim left the Turkish border, heading towards Aleppo. In the silver coloured car of model Kia Sorrento was also Fuad Eliya and bishop Yuhanna Ibrahim´s driver Fathallah Kabud. Bishop Paul Yazici was on his way home to Aleppo after an overseas trip. To get home safe to Syria he asked Bishop Yuhanna Ibrahim to pick him up by the border post Bab El-Hawa to Turkey. After 20 kilometres of driving the car was stopped by a roadblock that was controlled by the FSA, Free Syrian Army. The bishops car passed the roadblock without any problem. But a couple of kilometres away from the roadblock at 3:45 pm, the car was stopped by eight heavily armed men.

According to Fuad Eliya, who was the only survivor from the kidnapping, the perpetrators were not Syrians, but seemed to be people who came from Caucasus, Chechens. Their clothes were similar to the Talibans. One of the kidnappers forced the driver out of the car and put himself behind the wheel, another armed man sat in the backseat of the car and they drove behind the kidnappers’ blue truck. The cars changed direction and drove back to Bab El- Hawa. This is where all the traces of the bishops end.

The chaos in Syria and Turkey’s role in the conflict

Since the war broke out in Syria, Turkey has played an active role in the conflict. The Syrian opposition´s headquarters are in Istanbul. The Free Syrian Army, FSA, runs its operations virtually from refugee camps in Turkey that are placed along the Syrian border. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have since the conflict started been standing by the Syrian opposition’s side. The countries have helped the opposition with logistics and weapons. But Turkey has played an ever more active role and has successively increased the weapon deliveries to the opposition. Even the more radical groups, such as Al-Nusra and many more which are associated with Al Qaeda, have received weapons from Turkey. The chaos in Syria has attracted jihadist groups from a lot of countries in the region. The 900 kilometre long border between Turkey and Syria has been a hallway for the jihadist groups, where they have been able to get into Syria. Turkey has deliberately closed it’s eyes and harboured these jihadists.

In the Syrian civil war, Russia has supported the regime. Russia´s support has brought reactions from the Muslims in the Caucasus region, which have been drawn to the Jihad in Syria. The jihadists from Caucasus have two reasons to engage in the “holy war” in Syria; to help their Sunni co-religionists and to revenge on Russia, which according to these jihadists has been oppressing them in the Caucasus. But these jihadist groups have rarely participated in any real battles, instead they prefer to amuse themselves by plundering and murdering innocent civilians. Often they commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. This propaganda video is only one of many examples showing how brutally these terrorists act. Those who watch the video can see that these terrorists are from the Russian Caucasus. The “holy war”, Jihad, has united many extremists from Chechnya, Dagestan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the Balkans and many other Muslim groups. These have unhindered been able to move inside Turkey, along the Syrian border.

It has been generally known that Turkey has helped these extremists with weapon and logistics. But these last few months Turkey has been caught red-handed several times. Local media that eluded the Turkish state censorship first noticed the following events. Otherwise Turkey does everything to stop news of this kind:

• A truck loaded with armour-piercing rockets was stopped outside Adana close to the Syrian border. It was heading to the rebels in Syria but was caught at the police control.
• As recently as the first days of 2014 another truck was stopped in Hatay, also headed to Syria. A roadblock stopped the truck which was controlled by the police, which wanted to search thru the cargo. The searching was stopped by the Turkish secret service, MIT, which escorted the truck. According to the Turkish ministry of interior, the load consisted of clothes, medicine and other emergency care for Turkmens in Syria. But the question is why a load of “emergency care” is being escorted by Turkish secret agents, which are directly subordinated to Prime Minister Erdogan, remains unanswered. A couple of days later the Turkmens organizations denied that they had received any emergency care from Turkey. The scandal is a fact.

After having been revealed several times with similar events, there is no doubt that Turkey is sending weapons to radical groups in Syria.

As a result of Turkey´s involvement and to the active support for the extremist groups, eleven Syrian civil opposition organizations decided to take Turkey to the court for Human Rights in Europe.

The Caucasians “holy war” in Syria

The extremist group which consists of many different ethnicities from Caucasus was founded in 2006 under the name “Caucasus Emirate” during the Chechen war against Russia. This Caucasian mobilization is now in Syria also. The warriors/terrorists from Caucasus excel in their brutality. Abu Omar the Chechen, who founded the Hattab brigade made himself a name in a short time. Several small groups that came from Caucasus announced their allegiance to Abu Omar the Chechen. In Syria these groups were called “the Turkish brothers”. The Caucasus Emirate has under periods of times been allied with the Free Syrian Army, and sometimes also with Al Qaeda. Lately the group has joined ISIS, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Jihadist groups which are terrorising the population of Syria along the Turkish border are well known by Turkey. These jihadists are provided with weapons and communications equipment such as walky-talkies by the Turkish secret service MIT.

Suspected murderer Abu Banat

One of these jihadist groups is being lead by Abu Ömer el-Kuwaiti who controls his operations in the Aleppo area from the Turkish border city of Antakya. Abu Ömer el-Kuwaiti is being assisted by a person from Dagestan by the name of Magomed Abdurrakhmanov who uses the code name “Abu Banat” (in Turkish; Ebu Benat). It is this person who is suspected to have kidnapped the bishops Paul Yazici and Yuhanna Ibrahim. According to the latest information about this matter, everything points to the fact that it is Abu Banat who has kidnapped the bishops, but we will return to that.

During the summer of 2013 a video clip appeared on YouTube were a person cuts off the heads of three people in a brutal way. Several persons in the video and he who performs the decapitation speak Russian. You can also hear a Turkish voice that says “sit down, sit down” so that they have a clearer view of the slaughter. The person who is performing the decapitation in the video is Magomed Abdulrakhmanov with the codename “Abu Banat”. The brutal slaughter upsets the public in many different places all over the world. Everyone wants to know who this inconsiderate barbarian is. When these horrible pictures appear in the media there are speculations about whom this man is. On several Russian websites and forums, here and here the information about Abu Banats real identity appears. When his identity is disclosed the information about his background spreads. The information says that he was a police officer in Dagestan who later on found his way to Jihad in Syria.

In the beginning of 2013 Abu Banat’s group establishes itself close to the village El-Meshed which is only five kilometres away from the border post Bab El-Hawa. It is at this border post where the bishops passed. He marries a women from the village El-Meshed. Abu Banat wants to show his authority through brutality. He terrorises the villagers and murders a villager to set an example. Those who smoke will lose a finger and those who drink alcohol will be punished according to the Sharia Laws. The rumour about Abu Banats brutality spreads to the surroundings. The group engages in raids and terrorising the surrounding. The group’s camp is being noticed more and more and the rumours start to flourish about a “fantasy camp” with lots of weapons, money, valuables and jihadists that are playing PlayStation. The rumour about the group’s raids and brutality reaches the Free Syrian Army, which sends a group of soldiers to control this information. The FSA claims that the group did not participate in the war against the Syrian regime but exclusively dedicates to looting. A conflict occurs between the FSA and Abu Banat’s group which results in the group being dissolved.

Abu Banat is detained in Istanbul.

April 23^rd 2013, by a routine control, the police stopped a car outside the city of Konya. In the car they found a Syrian woman and three other persons with Chechen origin. All were missing valid ID documents. The magazine Radikal wrote about this event with the headlines: Orthodox bishops murderer arrested in Konya. The magazine also wrote that because these persons did not have any valid ID document they were deported to their respective countries.

But the truth is totally different. The police released everyone after they received a residential address in a suburb of Istanbul where the group lives. With the fresh memory of the brutal decapitation video one of the police officers recognizes one of the persons that is in the car. He reports to the police in Istanbul about the suspicions against the group. When the event intercepts from a police report by the local magazine in Konya the news spreads in Turkey. Several magazines write that the bishops’ murderer was arrested in Konya. When the police made a foray into the indicated address they found weapons and grenades. The group was arrested for violation of the Arms Act and preparation for terrorist attacks. Since the summer of 2013, the group is in police custody in the Maltepe prison in Istanbul.

But when the news about the group that were suspected for the kidnapping of the bishops spread, the authorities stated that the group had been deported. Why was this stated when in reality the persons where in police custody in Istanbul? We found the answer to this after we got access to the police investigation in the end of December 2013. According to the police investigation Abu Banat is known by the Turkish secret service MIT and has been given equipment from them.

Turkish government’s handling of the events

When the news about the arrest of the suspected bishop murderer spreads in Turkey, the Syriac Orthodox Church’s representatives such as bishop Yusuf Cetin in Istanbul, contacts the Turkish government. Secretary of State Ahmet Davutoglu has earlier commented this event at several occasions. On a meeting with the Syriac Orthodox Church´s bishops, Davutoglu said that he had received intelligence information that the bishops were still alive and that Turkey is doing everything to save the bishops Yazici and Ibrahim. Secretary of State Davutoglu has given the impression that they have a clue about who the kidnappers are. The Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan also gave similar statements when he visited Stockholm and met the Assyrians’ representatives at Grand Hotel in the beginning of November 2013. As late as last Christmas the Turkish former attorney general Sadullah Ergin said to the Greek Orthodox Church in Hatay that the government is working on saving the bishops. These and many more statements have been given by Turkish officials in spite of the fact that the bishops suspected murderer was in police custody in Istanbul. All indications point to the fact that Turkey had a hand in the bishops’ kidnapping and has therefore done everything to hide the truth about the suspected murderer. Why would Turkish government officials lie otherwise?

Erkan Metin, Assyrian investigative journalist revealing Turkey’s lies

On September 29^th the investigative journalist Erkan Metin published a long article on www.suryaniler.com. During three intensive weeks Erkan Metin was investigating the disappearing of the bishops to find clues that would lead him to the truth. The elaborate investigative article with it’s declaration of sources explains the truth about the bishops’ kidnapping. For his investigation he gets in contact with affected persons in Syria and he goes through websites in English, Turkish, Arabic, French and Russian.

While investigating, Erkan Metin finds Abu Banats real identity, which is Magomed Abdurkhmanov with his origin in Dagestan. He continues to investigate during the arrest of Abu Banats group. He comes to a clue that indicates that the suspected group might be in custody. Erkan Metin follows this lead and when he controls if there is anyone by the name Magomed Abdurakhmanov in the police custody it turns out to be true. Opposite to all the news magazines and the authorities statements that the group had been deported, Abu Banats group was in police custody at the Meltepe prison in Istanbul. The revealing of the Turkish authorities’ recurring and systematic lies was now a fact.

 “Abu Banat” tied to the bishops’ kidnapping

Erkan Metin continues the search for information that can cast some light on the bishops’ kidnapping. Finally he finds unique information that ties Abu Banats group to the kidnapping of the bishops. www.kavakazcenter.com, a website that belongs to the “Caucasus Emirate” writes on July 3^rd 2013 with the headlines “Russian footsteps in Syria” that it is the group that is being led by Abu Banat that is behind the kidnapping of the bishops. The website also states that Abu Banat is really a Russian agent. The magazine further writes that according to Kavkazcenter’s sources in Syria, the bishops have been murdered with an explosive belt on their back. (This method is often used by the Talibans in Afghanistan).

But how come that Abu Banat who belongs to the Caucasus Emirate is being repelled and blamed for being a Russian agent?

According to Erkan Metin and his investigation everything indicates that the published video of the decapitation on YouTube is the breaking point. The Caucasus Emirate wants to get rid of and distance themselves from a group that has been noticed in the media. As long as these brutal murders did not show in the media it was fine. This is also confirmed when the Turkish police interrogates Abu Banat about the decapitation. According to the records in the transcript of the hearing, that was published officialy in December 2013, Abu Banat says the following:

–        It is me who has decapitated these three persons. It was the first time I decapitated a human. But I don’t understand why these came up on the Internet. It was something we did every Friday after we had sentenced these persons in the Sharia court. And later on I executed the punishment by decapitation.

New records after the police interrogation with “Abu Banat”

When the investigation about Abu Banats group was released publicly the authenticity in Erkan Metins investigation was confirmed. The group ties to the kidnapping of the bishops. The following is a couple of important records and the confession by Abu Banat:

• The police make a superficial hearing and avoids going deeper into the events. No questions are being asked about the kidnapping of the bishops.
• Abu Banat confesses that is was he who decapitated the persons the YouTube video. This link shows the same video from a better angle. Abu Banat’s group may have recorded it. NOTE! Warning for very strong pictures.
• He says that he has received walkie-talkies from a person by the name Abu-Cahfer from the Turkish secret service.
• Abu Banat and his companion are injured. This can indicate that these have been injured in a battle with the FSA and fled from Syria.
• Secret documents which were published publicly during the investigation show that on April 26^th 2013, four days after the kidnapping of the bishops Ibrahim and Yazici, the Turkish secret service MIT writes a report to the state department in Ankara. In this report it is in details described how the bishops have been taken and moved between different locations before they ended up in the village Mashad Ruhin (also called el-Meshad) outside Aleppo. This information ties Abu Banat to the kidnapping of the bishops. Since the group is carrying Turkish walkie-talkies, the frequency can be checked by the Turkish secret service MIT, which are mapping their activities and movements carefully.
• Abu Banat who confesses the decapitation also acknowledges that he has committed both war crimes and crimes against humanity. To be able to press charges against Abu Banat for these crimes, the prosecutor needs to apply for leave to appeal at the ministry of justice. But it is being rejected with the motivation that it is a Syrian inner matter and that Turkey has not taken any damage from this crime.

What happens now?

After the revealing that Erkan Metin came out with and after the investigation against Abu Banats group was made public, several media publications have picked up the news about how Turkey is closing it’s eyes for a extremist that demonstrably decapitated numerous people in Syria. Magazines have written about the scandal with headlines such as “To slaughter humans is not a crime” and “Turkey has not taken any damage by the decapitations in Syria”.

The Syriac Orthodox Church’s action after the revealing

When the truth about the suspected kidnapper is revealed, that he was in police custody, the Syriac Orthodox Church has chosen not to comment the matter. The bishop in Istanbul, Yusuf Cetin, and the church board have also chosen not to comment the revealings. This could be the classic fear of retaliation by those in power. The Syriac Orthodox Church´s representatives are afraid of the Turkish authorities.

Written questions to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan

The Assyrian parliamentarian Erol Dora from BDP has submitted a written question to the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan about Turkeys interference in the kidnapping of the bishops and the country’s relationship to the suspected killer. Continually Erol Dora questions justice minister Bekir Bozdag about how it is that the ministry does not grant the possibility to convict a person who has admitted that he has decapitated people in Syria?  Erol Dora, who is also a lawyer, indicates the sections in the Turkish constitution, which state that such crimes do not necessarily have had to occur in Turkey for the perpetrator to be brought to court.

Conclusion

It is obvious that Turkey is playing a very dirty game in Syria. It does not shy away from delivering weapons and closing their eyes for Muslim extremists passage to Syria through the Turkish border. Turkey knew about a jihadist group that was led by Abu Banat that had kidnapped the bishops Yuhanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazici. This group also had contact with people from the Turkish secret services MIT and received equipment. According to the Turkish ministry of justice it is totally fine to slaughter humans in Syria as long as it does not affect Turkey. It is this country with this approach to humanity which is talking about bringing democracy to Syria. It is this country with this uncivilised approach to human rights which wants to enter the EU.

Dikran Ego

Freelance journalist

Editor of Assyria TV

We want to warn you about the very disturbing images in the video links referred to in this text.

See the interviews on Assyria TV with investigative journalist Erkan Metin in the below links:

http://www.assyriatv.org/2013/12/forsvunna-biskopars-misstankta-mordare-sitter-i-turkiskt-hakte-turkiska/

http://www.assyriatv.org/2013/12/turkiet-doljer-sanningen-om-kidnappade-biskopar/

När Turkiets President Abdullah Gül och EU-minister Egemen Bagis kom till Sverige i början av mars 2013, arrangerade Turkiska ambassaden en pressträff på Grand Hotell som var Turkiska delegationens högkvarter under statsbesöket.  

Trotts att vi hade presskort och var ackrediterade av UDs pressrum nekades vi inträde till pressträffen med President Abdullah Gül. Anledningen till avvisningen var för att vi representerade oppositionell media, Assyria Tv och dagstidningen Evrensel.

En månad senare arrangerade samma ambassad som nekade oss inträde en resa för 14 svenska journalister till Turkiet. Resekostnaderna, hotell, flyg och andra omkostnader för dessa 14 journalister betalades av turkiska staten.

Journalisterna besökte även Turkiets EU-minister Egemen Bagis. Inte nog med det, man hade även samlat pengar för att köpa en present till minister Egemen Bagis. Detta gjorde man med vetskapen om den pågående stora rättsprocessen mot 46 journalister varav 26 av dessa satt i häkte.

För ett år sedan uttalade sig Egemen Bagis till BBC om häktade journalister och kallade dessa för rånare och våldtäktsmän. I januari månad gick samma minister, Egemen Bagis som har till uppgift att förhandla om Turikets EU-medlemskap, till verbal attack mot Riksdagsledamoten Yilmaz Kerimo och andra assyriska representanter under ett möte på Turkiska Ambassaden och sa följande:

”Vad har ni assyrier vunnit med att använda Seyfo-frågan som masturbation och basunera ut det i medier och Sveriges Riksdag? Varför har ni blandat Pontus-greker i frågan?”   

Detta var inte minister Egemen Bagis första övertramp och hån mot alla som föll offer för folkmordet 1915. När Schweiz för ett år sedan kriminaliserade förnekandet av Folkmordet 1915 reste Egemen Bagis demonstrativt till Zürich, Schweiz för att offentligt förneka Seyfo – Folkmordet 1915 och därmed trotsa denna lag i skydd av sin diplomatiska immunitet.

Minister Bagis fortsatte visa sitt förakt mot åsikts- och yttrandefriheten även inför de 14 svenska journalisterna. En Turkisk domstol dömde den världskända pianisten Fazil Say för att denne retweetade några rader ur en dikt av en känd poet. Minister Bagis försvarade detta beslut med motiveringen: ”man måste visa respekt för andras heligheter”.

Ingen av journalistkollegorna från Sverige bemötte detta angrepp på yttrandefriheten. Tvärtom legitimerade man detta påhopp med sin tystnad. Och inte nog med det köpte man en present till minister Bagis.

Följande frågor vill vi ställa till journalistkollegorna som ställde upp på bjudresan till Turkiet:

Är ni omedvetna om att Turkiet innehar en föga smickrande första plats i världen med att fängsla journalister?

Är ni omedvetna om rapporten från journalister utan gränser som visar att Turkiet ligger på 154:e plats bland 179 länder vad gäller yttrande- och åsiktsfrihet?

Vet ni inte att Svenska Journalistförbundet och Europeiska Journalistförbundet har implementerat ett fadderskap för de fängslade journalisterna (där varje fängslad journalist får en journalist från förbundet som fadder) och startat kampanjer för att protestera mot bristen på pressfriheten i Turkiet.

Visste ni inte att världens största rättsprocess mot 46 journalister varav 26 sitter häktade pågick när ni besökte och lämnade över en present till Egemen Bagis?

Har ni inte läst etiska nämndens regler om att journalister inte bör ta emot bjudresor?

Till Turkiska ambassaden vill vi ställa följande frågor:

Varför har ni nekat oss inträde till pressträffen med presidenten Abdullah Gül och EU-minister Egemen Bagis på Grand Hotel den 13 mars?

Vad var anledningen till att bjuda in 14 journalister?

Måste vi också som de svenska journalistkollegorna köpa en present till Egemen Bagis för att släppas in på pressträff?

Murat Kuseyri, dagstidningen Evrensel
Dikran Ego, frilansjournalist för Assyria TV

Källa: Journalisten

Mart ayında Turkiye Cumhurbaşkanı Abdullah Gül ve AB Bakanı Egemen Bağış İsveç ziyaretleri dolayısıyla Türk Büyükelçiliği Stockholm’de Grand Otel’de Türk basınına yönelik bir basın toplantısı düzenledi. Basın kartımız olmasına ve Dışişleri Bakanlığı tarafından akredite olmamıza rağmen bizler Süryanice yayın yapan televizyonda çalıştığımız ve muhalif medyada yazdığımız için basın toplantısına alınmadık.

Bizlerin basın toplantısına katılmamıza izin vermeyen Büyükelçilik bir ay sonra İsveç’ten 14 gazetecinin katıldığı bir Türkiye gezisi düzenledi.

Türkiye’ye davet edilen gazetecilerin uçak, otel, yiyecek ve tüm masrafları Türk Hükümeti tarafından karşılandı. Gazeteciler AB Bakanı Egemen Bağış’ı da ziyaret edip kendi aralarında topladıkları paralarla satın aldıkları hediyeyi kendisine verdiler.

Hemde bunu Türkiye’nin en büyük toplu basın davası sürer, 26’sı tutuklu 46 gazetecinin mahkemeye çıkarıldığı günlerde yaptılar.

Egemen Bağış geçtiğimiz yıll BBC’de yaptığı bir söyleşide cezaevindeki gazetecileri katil, tecavüzcü ve soyguncu olarak suçladı. Ocak ayında aralarında Milletvekili Yılmaz Kerimo’nun da bulunduğu Süryanilerin temsilcilerini soykırımını kabul eden yasaya parlamentoda evet oyu verdiği için tehdit etti ve masturbasyon yapmakla suçladı.

Daha önce de Ben soykırımı inkar ediyorum. Gelsin beni İsviçre tutuklasın diyerek soykırımında yaşamını yitirenlere ve yakınlarına hakaretler yagdırdı.

Bağış ifade ve düşünce özgürlüğüne yönelik saldırılarını kabul ettiği 14 İsveçli gazetecinin önünde de sürdürdü. Bir Şairin yazdığı şiiri twitter’de yayımladığı için mahkemenin 10 ay hapis cezasına çarptırdığı Dünyaca ünlü Müzisyen Fazıl Say’a verilen cezayı “İnsanlar bir birlerinin kutsal degerlerine saygı göstersin” diyerek savundu.

Davetli meslekdaşlarımız basın özgürlüğüne yönelik bu saldırıyı izlemekle yetindiler. Karşı çıkma cesaretini gösteremediler. Üstelik kendisine hediye vererek ödüllendirdiler ve basın ve ifade özgürlüğüne yönelik saldırılarını meşrulaştırdılar.

Bizim daveti kabul edip Türkiye’de giden meslekdaşlarımıza sorularımız şunlardır.

Dünyada en fazla gazeteci hapseden ülkenin Türkiye olduğunu ve ifade özgürlüğün sıralamasında 179 ülke içinde Türkiye’nin 154. sırada olduğunu belirten Sınır Tanımayan Gazetecilerin rapordan haberiniz yok muydu?

Avrupa Gazeteciler Birliği ve İsveç Gazeteciler Birliği’nin Türkiye’de ifade özgürlüğü ihlallerini protesto edip cezaevindeki gazetecileri adopte kampanyası sürdürdüğünü bilmiyor muydunuz?

Sizler Egemen Bagış’a hediye verirken, Dünyanın en büyük gazeteci davasının başladığını 26’sı tutuklu 46 meslekdaşınızın mahkemeye çıkarıldığını bilmiyor muydunuz?

Meslek Etik Kurulunun gazetecilerin bu tür davetleri kabul etmemesini belirten kuralını okumamışmıydınız?

Türk Büyükelçiliğine sorumuz ise şunlardır.

Cumhurbaşkanı Abdullah Gül ve AB Bakanı Egemen Bağış’ın 14 Mart günü Grand Otelde yaptığı basın toplantısına girmemizi neden engellediniz?

Türkiye’ye 14 gazeteciyi neden ve hangi amaçla davet ettiniz?

Egemen Bağış’ın basın toplantısına katılabilmek için bizlerin de İsveçli meslekdaşlarımız gibi hediye almamız mı gerekiyordu?

Murat Kuseyri, Gazeteci, Evrensel gazetesi

Dikran Ego, Gazeteci, Assyria TV

Asuri-Süryani-Keldani Derneği Başkanı Özcan Kaldoyo iki din adamının Türkiye’nin işbirliği yaptığı İslamcı grupların etkin oldukları bölgede kaçırıldıklarına dikkat çekti ve tepkilerin yatıştırılması amacıyla din adamlarının serbest bırakıldığına ilişkin açıklamaların yapıldığını söyledi. Gerçekte ise din adamlarının serbest bırakılmadığını ve Türkiye ile ilişkisi bulunan İslamcı grupların ellerinde bulunduğunu ifade etti.

Hıristiyan Demokrat Parti Milletvekili Robert Halef’ten sonra dün de Çevre Partisi Yeşiller Milletvekili Mats Petroft yazılı bir soru önergesiyle iki Süryani din adamının kaçırılmasını Parlamentonun gündemine getirdi.

Din adamlarının Suriye’nin en tehlikeli bölgeleri arasında yer alan Kafer Dael ile Mansura arasında kaçırıldığı ve Türk devletinin bu bölgede çatışma yürüten gruplar hakkında ayrıntılı bilgisi olduğu belirtilen önergede, Türk Hükümetiyle iyi ilişkiler içinde olan İsveç Dışişleri Bakanı Carl Bildt’in din adamlarının durumlarının açığa çıkarılması için Türkiye nezdinde girişimde bulunması isteniyor.

KAYNAK: FIRATNEWS.COM

Hafta başında kaçırılan Mıtranlar Yohanna Brahim ve Boulus Yazıcı olayında Süryani halkı çok yoğun bilgi kirliliği ile karşı karşıya kaldı. Bilgi kirliliğinin kaynağı T.C. medyası. Bu bilgi kirliliğine ADO’da alet edildi. ADO’nun bunu bilinçli yaptığını tahmin etmiyorum. Aksi taktirde kendi kalelerine gol atmış olurlar.

Bu konuda kesin bilgilere sahip olduğunu iddia eden birisi ortaya çıkarsa, bence bu kişi veya kişiler mıtranların kaçırılması olayında işbirlikçidirler. Yoksa bu bilgiye sahip olmazlar. Bu yoğun bilgi kirliliğinde konu hakkında ayakları yere basacak bir yazı yazmak imkansız. Bu yüzden hiç yapmak istemediğim bir şey yaparak konu hakkında ortaya bir komplo teorisi atıyorum.

Mıtranlar T.C.’nin kontrolü altındaki bir bölgede kaçırıldılar. Bilgilere göre Çeçen gruplar tarafından kaçırılmışlar. Çeçen grupların dizginleri T.C.’nin elindedir. Buda bize olayda T.C.’nin parmağının olduğunu göstermeye yeter herhalde.

Mıtranların serbest bırakıldığı iddiasından sonra bazı çevreler Mıtranların serbest kaldığını ama bunların Esad rejiminin kontrolü altındaki bir bölgede kaybolduğunu iddia ettiler. Ben buna ihtimal vermiyorum. Mıtranlar halen, şoförü öldüren teröristlerin elinde bence.

Mıtranlar daha büyük bir siyasi tezgahta kullanımlak üzere kaçırıldılar. Eğer amaç Suriyedeki Süryanileri korkutup kaçırtmak olsaydı şimdiye kadar öldürülürlerdi ve Süryanilere hemen kaçın mesajı verilmiş olurdu.

Bugün Sabah gazetesindeki bu yazı http://www.sabah.com.tr/Gundem/2013/04/27/metropolitle-serbest-birakildi işi dahada bulanırdı ve komplo teorisini ortaya atmama sebep oldu.

Mıtranlar serbest değil. Neden Sabah gazetesi bu yalan haberi yazdı? Bu haber MİT’in bir dezinformasyonu gibi görünüyor. Süryani kamuoyuna yönelik bu bilgi kirliliği bence Süryani kamuoyunda T.C.’den konu hakkında çözüm getirme beklentilerini şişirmek amaçlı yapılıyor. T.C.’nin teröristlerinin kaçırdığı mıtranlar T.C. tarafından ‘‘kurtarılarak’’ Süryanilere minnet yüklenecek ve kiliselerimiz başta olmak üzere bazı çevreler kapılarını T.C. için ardına kadar açacak.

Birkaç yıldan beri Suryoyo Sat Midyat’ta bayram özel programı yapıyor ve canlı yayınlanıyor. Eğer Suryoyo Sat’ın Canlı yayını sırasında, Çeçen teröristlerden sorumlu Dışişleri bakanı Ahmet Davutoğlu seyircilere mıtranların serbest kaldığını ve güvende oldukları ‘‘müjdesini’’ verirse hiç şaşırmayın.

Tabii ilk başta yazdığım gibi bunların hepsi bir komplo teorisidir. Çünkü konu hakkında başka şekilde yorum yapmak imkansızdır.

Dikran Ego