Posted by andreas from p3EE3C5CB.dip.t-dialin.net (62.227.197.203) on Friday, December 06, 2002 at 1:10AM :
Can Zinda be taken as an indicator of the general Assyrian mindset? Must it be feared that Zinda is representative of the Assyrian psyche?
Their articles are often so stuffed with oddities of unintended comedy and is constantly creeping on the brink on self-ridiculing either in style or contents or both - that I hope it is not representative of the collective Assyrian mind.
Without any further notes so far but one:
First I thought the English dictionaries had been rewritten over night, or it might be due to any British - American difference in language use or abuse still unknown to me(Why not? Could be: English is not my mother tongue).
But after a check I couldn't detect any major earthquakes in the semantic universe of the English language.
So it may be left to you to explain or explain away (as the case may be) that strange phenomenon in the last paragraph crowning the intellectual and literary efforts of Zinda's latest comments:
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"One week before the conference in London, for the sake of a free and democratic Iraq, it is our solemn hope that the other 300 delegates will HALLUCINATE the same dream as the nine Assyrian representatives do today."
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hal·lu·ci·nate ( P ) Pronunciation Key (h-ls-nt)
v. intr.
To undergo hallucination.
v. tr.
To cause to have hallucinations.
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[Latin hallcinr, hallcint-, to dream, be deceived, variant of lcinr.]
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hal·luci·nator n.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
hallucinate
\Hal*lu"ci*nate\, v. i. [L. hallucinatus, alucinatus, p. p. of hallucinari, alucinari, to wander in mind, talk idly, dream.] To wander; to go astray; to err; to blunder; -- used of mental processes. [R.] --Byron.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
hallucinate
v : perceive what is not there; have illusions
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Zinda Says
N I N E
On December 13 in London, nine men will represent the dreams and aspirations of a people who, for the past eighty years, have been denied their basic freedoms and identity in Iraq. These men, with a firm resolve to bring about the greatest political transformation in the modern history of Iraq and a determined will to build a free and democratic society after Saddam Hussein, will present the message of unity to more than 300 Kurdish, Arab, and Turkomen delegates from 50 different political parties. They are members of different Christian denominations, Iraqi citizens and American citizens, soldiers and politicians, believers and dreamers. Above all, they are Assyrian.
The Assyrian people of Iraq have given up so much to be where they are today. They, along with every single Assyrian in Diaspora, are united as one people and look toward a better future for the free citizens of a country born seven thousand years ago. Iraq is the spiritual nucleus of their beloved Bet-Nahrain - the heart of the holy grounds of their Assyro-Babylonian kingdoms.
Our representatives in London do not have the political savvy of the statesmen produced by world’s prestigious schools of government, neither do they have the experience of the polished and sophisticated diplomats devising a future for a new Iraq. They are simple everyday businessmen, teachers, engineers, and freedom fighters. Yet they are fully aware of the weight of the burden placed upon them in these difficult days. Yes, their moral toughness will be tested as three million Assyrians will be closely monitoring them; but surely they will rise to the occasion, eyeball to eyeball, and will not blink. For such an error will surely cost the people they represent eternal damnation.
If the Kurds propose a Kurdish region, then why not propose an Assyria? These fanciful supplications of a wistful minded people whose roots are anchored beyond the borders of Mesopotamia do not astonish the children of Sennacherib. Today, only the Assyrians, the legitimate heirs of the land stretching from Ur to Zakho, do not want to see Iraq carved into regions, disfigured beyond recognition.
The Assyrian delegation will not be attending the London Conference empty-handed and shall not assume a passive posture. They come with their demands written in blood and affirmed by history. They demand:
1. The full recognition of the Assyrian national identity, inseparable from its Chaldean, Syriac, and Aramaic attributes.
2. The full constitutional and legal protection of every Assyrian citizen living within the borders of Iraq as its only indigenous people. There shall be no discrimination against the Assyrian based on their ethnic, religious, or linguistic differences and political opinion.
3. The legalization of the use of and publication of printed material in the Syriac (neo-Aramaic) language
4. The right to establish schools for the instruction of Assyrian students in Syriac (neo-Aramaic) language.
5. The commitment of the Iraqi central government to provide humanitarian aid and protection to displaced Assyrian families wishing to return from areas to which they have been forcibly removed.
6. Assistance in the return of all Assyrian expatriates and refugees in Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Pakistan, and elsewhere to Iraq with full government support for resettlement in their original residence.
7. The return of the land and properties previously owned by Assyrians and forcibly taken from them in North Iraq.
8. Monetary and other forms of compensation to victims of the Baath regime.
9. The use of the United Nations peacekeeping forces to protect Assyrian villages and communities concentrated in North Iraq and Baghdad from possible harm imposed by fundamental Islamic groups.
10. The re-building and/or new construction of the Assyrian villages, public buildings, churches, and schools throughout Iraq.
11. Representation of the Assyrian people in the Interim government that shall come to power immediately after the demise of the Baath Regime and Saddam Hussein.
12. The full constitutional representation of the Assyrian population of Iraq in the new Iraqi Parliament and other regional legislative bodies, based on the percentage of their population.
13. The provision of full legal and constitutional rights to all Assyrian political parties.
14. A general amnesty for all political prisoners.
15. Establish an International Tribunal for the prosecution of the Baath Party members and other persons responsible for violations against the Assyrians.
Assyrians in Iraq and in Diaspora are crying out for responsible leadership with a clear vision for a new Iraq. Now is the time they must share with the Kurds and Arabs what was always rightfully, historically, and undeniably theirs. This allocation of entitlement entails compromise on issues concerning the use of the limited resources in North Iraq or power-sharing in a new Iraqi parliament. But there can be no compromise on the historic identity of the Assyrians and their rights as Christians or a non-Arab or non-Kurdish population. Our nine delegates have already begun the process of negotiation and compromise toward unity and improved relations.
A few days ago, two of the nine representatives began lengthy discussions on resolving their differences and working toward a common political objective, possibly leading to the formation of a singular political entity. Mr. Shimun Khamo of the Bet-Nahrian Democratic Party in the U.S. has been in talks with the BNDP in Iraq and exchanging ideas with Mr. Romeo Hakkari, chairman of the latter group. In the meantime, the Kurdish Ansar al-Islam forces were attacking Talabani’s Patriotic Union pishmerga’s.
On June 13, the Assyrian people will demand a stronger central Iraqi government, rather than a divided nation; a stable country, rather than a volatile economy dependent on foreign loans and the munificence of the World Bank. The ground beneath their feet is rich with a natural resource that can bring prosperity for every Assyrian, Arab, Kurdish and Turkoman family inhabiting all eighteen provinces of Iraq.
One week before the conference in London, for the sake of a free and democratic Iraq, it is our solemn hope that the other 300 delegates will hallucinate the same dream as the nine Assyrian representatives do today.
-- andreas
-- signature .