Saturday, August 06, 2005

The democratic Assyrian movement is having objections to that clause of the constitution draft that deals with the issue of nationality and states the requirements needed in those who want to claim their nationality back if they have lost it for one reason or another in the past.

The main requirement mentioned in this clause was that only those who were forced to lose their Iraqi nationality after 1963 would have the right to get the Iraqi nationality again and this excludes thousands of Iraqis who left Iraq against their will before that time.

Head of the movement and CDC member Yonadim Kanna expressed the Assyrians' concerns saying:

More than 20,000 Iraqi Assyrians were deported from Iraq and left to Syria and other countries before 1963 and these are Iraqi citizens and their right to get their nationality back must be protected and I think it's a big mistake to set conditions that might deny them their rights.

Mr. Kanna added:

Those who suggested this condition were aiming at preventing Iraqi Jews from being Iraqi citizens again but they didn't realize that the effects will not be limited to the Jews alone.

He also confirmed that Assyrian churches have evidence and documents that prove the rights of the deported citizens.

From Al-Sharqya News.

Frankly speaking, I think this clause in the draft is totally needless (if not harmful).
It was obviously designed by religious parties and their representatives in the CDC because they don't want to see Jews back in Baghdad but this is actually stupid (let alone that it's against basic human rights) because I don't think any sane person would leave a prosperous country like Israel and come to live in a place like Iraq!

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