Mesopotamia National Council
Mesopotamia National Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Mihayel Naim Hadodo[1] |
| First Secretary | Numan Ogur[2] |
| Preceded by | Mesopotamia Freedom Party |
| Ideology | |
The Mesopotamia National Council (Syriac: ܡܘܬܒܐ ܐܘܡܬܝܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ, translit. Mawtbo Umthoyo d'Bethnahrin, MUB), formerly the Mesopotamia Freedom Party (Syriac: ܓܒܐ ܕܚܐܪܘܬܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ, translit. Gabo d'Ḥirutho d'Bethnahrin, GHB) and the Patriotic Revolutionary Organization of Bethnahrin (PROB) or Bethnahrin Patriotic Revolution Organization is a militant Assyrian/Syriac party, whose stated aim is to create an independent or autonomous Assyrian state in a territory called Beth Nahrain, a reference to the Assyrian homeland.
Background and history as the GHB
The Mesopotamia Freedom Party was an ethnic secessionist organization that uses force and the threat of force against military targets for the purpose of achieving its political goal. It was an ethnic secessionist organization that used force and the threat of force against military targets for the purpose of achieving its political goal. The group has a youth wing dubbed "Free Youth of Bethnahrin".
The group carried out its first attack against a KDP military compound in the town of Kasre on 17 July 1999, where 39 Peshmerga fighters were killed and 20 injured.[3] Three days later a second attack was carried out by the group in which several of Massoud Barzani's fighters were killed when an army truck driving on a bridge between Kasre and Haci Umran was blown up by the PROB. The group claimed both attacks were to avenge the death of Assyrian Helen A. Sawa, who was killed by the Peshmerga.[3]
Between 1993 and 2000, the GHB closely cooperated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). In 2001, the GHB was listed as a terrorist organization by the Turkish government. After the capture of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in 1999, the GHB was weakened and internal tensions arose. According to the Wladimir van Wilgenburg, the GHB's founder, Numan Ogur, was kidnapped after an attempt to try to leave the organization.[2] Wladimir also added that there are still Assyrian nationalists who work with the PKK.
Civil resistance
On 24 July 2000, approximately a hundred members of the PROB forced entry in a governmental building in Lausanne, Switzerland.[4] The occupiers aimed to attract the attention of the media and the Swiss government as talks between Turkey and the EU began. The group demanded three points:
- In 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne denied the Assyrian people in Turkey their national rights. This treaty has been the cause for the denial of their existence as a people, hence today the Turkish government does not consider Assyrians as an ethnic minority.
- The continuing oppression and injustice on the Assyrian people in Turkey.
- The international recognition of the Assyrian people.
Reorganization as the MUB
In 2005, the Mesopotamia Freedom Party changed its name to the Mesopotamia National Council. The council stated that it may resume military operations in Iraq, Syria, or Lebanon. Its affiliate in Syria is the Syriac Union Party. During the Syrian Civil War, the latter has established two military organizations in 2013, Sutoro and the Syriac Military Council. The group began to cooperate with other parties in the Rojava region, the Syrian Democratic Council and its military wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces.[5]
From 25 to 27 May 2016, the 8th conference of the Mesopotamia National Council was held in Switzerland.[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 "BETHNAHRIN NATIONAL COUNCIL MUB FINISHED ITS ANNUAL 8TH CONFERENCE". Syriac International News Agency. 1 June 2016.
- 1 2 Wladimir van Wilgenburg (3 April 2009). "Assyrian Nationalists Cooperate with Kurdish PKK Insurgents". The Jamestown Foundation.
- 1 2 RFE/RL iraq Report
- ↑ PROB Occupies building in Lausanne, Switzerland
- ↑ "The revolutionaries of Bethnahrin: cooperation between Christians and Kurds". Carl Drott. 25 May 2015.