(AINA) -- February 2, 2005 RE: The exclusion of 150,000 eligible ChaldoAssyrian, Yezidi, and Shabak voters from the Nineveh plains in northern Iraq

To: Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq;

I have recently been informed by a number of contacts and sources from both within and outside Iraq that one hundred and fifty thousand (150,000) people in northern Iraq, many of whom are indigenous ChaldoAssyrian Christians, were not given a chance to vote in the historic Iraqi elections of January 30, 2005 because elections workers, ballots, and ballot boxes were apparently withheld from them on the day of the vote. This is totally unacceptable.

As an Assyrian-Iraqi who enthusiastically participated in the Iraqi elections through the Iraq Out-of-Country voting program in Canada, I was greatly distressed when I heard news of this affair. I am submitting this e-mail to you, the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI), as a formal complaint on behalf of the Council for Assyrian Research and Development (CARD). I decided to wait a few days until after I was made aware of this violation of democracy in order to allow the IECI ample time to respond to the situation. To my regret, I have failed to see the IECI correct or even publicly address this injustice and it has now been a full three days since the polls have closed in Iraq. What makes this formal complaint even more urgent is that I have been made aware that this unfortunate event was no mere "mistake".

Reports from the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) assert that the exclusion of 150,000 members of the ChaldoAssyrian, Yezidi, and Shabak nations has occurred deliberately in strategic towns and districts of the Nineveh plains surrounding the city of Mosul. These affected areas include: 1. Al-Hamdaniya (Qaraqosh-Baghdeda) 2. Karamlesh 3. Bartilla 4. Bashiqa 5. Bahzani 6. Al-Shikhan (Ain-Safni)

What all the 6 above mention locations have in common is that they are well-known for being the last remaining region in Iraq which has a strong presence of indigenous ChaldoAssyrian Christians. Furthermore, reports from AINA assert that the exclusion of these 150,000 eligible voters was done deliberately and through involvement by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in an attempt to undermine representation of non-Kurdish minorities in these elections. This is completely unacceptable and is a direct violation of everything the IECI has claimed it would uphold during the course of Iraq's first "free" elections in half a century.

I am sending this formal complaint in the hopes of having the following questions answered by you, the IECI:

1) Why did these ChaldoAssyrian and other non-Kurdish minorities not have the necessary, elections officials, ballots, and ballot boxes made available to them on the day of elections in the affected towns and districts?

2) Can the IECI confirm what various news media have already documented in regards to the KDP having direct involvement in this affair?

3) Has the IECI initiated a formal and impartial investigation into this matter? If so, will the results of such an investigation be made available to the international community in an open and transparent manner?

4) What is being done or shall be done specifically by you, the IECI, to compensate those ChaldoAssyrians and other historically-oppressed minorities who were unjustly excluded from these recent elections?

5) Finally, is the IECI willing to take full responsibility for this elections mishap in northern Iraq? If not, who does the IECI feel is responsible?

These are the questions that CARD and the entire civilized world expects you, the IECI, to answer if it is your aim to confidently label these elections as "legitimate". I urge you to use this rather unfortunate event as an opportunity to show a new generation of Iraqis and the entire civilized world that you are committed to providing all Iraqis, regardless of their ethnic or religious identity, the foundation to express themselves in free and democratic elections.

You may be aware that the number of indigenous ChaldoAssyrians actually residing in Iraq has been steadily decreasing since Iraq gained sovereignty in 1932. This trend is due to decades of documented ethnic cleansing, intimidation, murder and cultural genocide by certain Kurdish and Arab governments in Iraq. To exclude a sizeable portion of the Iraqi-ChaldoAssyrian population from exercising their democratic rights will only result in them being further under-represented in any future Iraqi government. The results of this dreary scenario can have irreparable effects on this most-threatened Iraqi minority.

The exclusion of these ChaldoAssyrians from the vote also calls into question the validity of these elections as it has disenfranchised an entire ethnic minority who has been historically marginalized and oppressed throughout much of Iraq's modern history. If this situation is not swiftly addressed by the IECI, rational Iraqis and advocates of democracy across the world may begin to question whether Iraq is truly heading on a path towards a sustainable democratic government, or simply returning to a system where certain groups vie for total consolidation of state power.

Rest assured that there is nothing more I want than to have the Iraqi elections and the work of the IECI deemed "legitimate and credible" as I feel that it will only reinforce Iraq's transition towards a sustainable democracy. However, because indigenous ChaldoAssyrian Christians and other historically-oppressed minorities were largely discriminated against on 30 January 2005: the day of elections, I feel that the argument for these elections being deemed "illegitimate" will only be bolstered. Please prove me wrong by handling this situation in a timely and just manner. I earnestly look forward to your response.

Regards,
Ashour Rehana,
Analyst Council for Assyrian Research and Development (CARD)
www.cardonline.org
Cc: Amnesty International, Cultural Survival, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Without Frontiers