Washington, DC - At the invitation of U.S. Senator Sam Brownback, Chairman of the Subcommittee of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs and the Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom, leaders of Christian Middle Eastern organizations met at a conference at the US Capital on June 28th, 2000.

The daylong talks included representatives from organizations belonging to the Assyrian (including the Chaldean and Syriac communities), Maronite, Coptic, Sudanese communities, as well as groups from Middle Eastern Evangelical and Baptist churches. Also attending was a representative of the Maronite Patriarch. Participating organizations belong to US communities comprising over 2 million people from such countries as Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey who comprise the vast majority of Americans of Middle Eastern descent.

In addition to Senator Brownback, the leadership meeting was addressed by Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA), Congressman Joseph Pitts (R-PA), and Elliott Abrams, Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Also present at the discussion were representatives of Senator Jesse Helms (Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee), Senator Richard Lugar (Member of the Intelligence Committee), House Majority Leader Richard Armey, and Congressman Robert Clement. Non-governmental organizations addressing the meeting included Freedom House representatives Nina Shea, Director of the Center for Religious Freedom, Dr. Paul Marshall, Senior Fellow at the Center, and Joseph Assad, Mideast Research Director at the Center.

The delegation representing the Assyrian community (including members of the Chaldean Catholic church, Assyrian Church of the East, and the Syriac Orthodox Church) included Former Senator John Nimrod, Secretary General of the Assyrian Universal Alliance, Mr. Joseph Kassab, president of Beth-Nahrain National Organization, Mr. John McKay, Spokesperson of Beth-Nahrain National Organization, and Mr. Firas Jatou representing the Assyrian Academic Society as well as Prof. Walid Phares, President of the World Lebanese Organization.

Topics discussed by the representatives included the continued presence of Syrian occupation troops in Lebanon, the injustices against Assyrians throughout Iraq both at the hands of the government as well as by Sorani-Behdanani Kurds in the so-called Safe Haven in northern Iraq, as well as the concern for the future of Assyrians in Syria. The Assyrian delegation also emphasized that the persecution against Assyrians transcends the religious persecution inherent in many Middle Eastern countries and extends to oppression of the language and culture. As indigenous peoples of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, and Turkey, Assyrians are persecuted as a result of their claims to the land as well as their Christian faith. The delegation also urged the US officials in attendance to consider the lifting of the sanctions on Iraq due to devastating effects on the Iraqi people in general, but more harshly on the Assyrians of Iraq. The sanctions especially affect Assyrians/Chaldeans of Iraq due to the perception by common Iraqis that the Western countries responsible for the sanctions are Christian nations.

The meeting concluded by a call to establish a coalition to represent the over 2 million Christian Mideast-American communities. A committee was appointed to organize the next meeting, planned to take place in Washington in September. The appointed committee members are John Mackay, former Senator John Nimrod, Firas Jatou, Michael Meunier, Dr. Raef Marcus, Tom Harb, Nagi Kheir, Dr. Monir Dawoud, Edward Brice Manzoor Alam, Jimmy Mulla, and Professor Walid Phares, who was elected coordinator.

The participants hope that the formation of this new alliance will produce enhanced cooperation with the US administration in order to put a stop to the discriminatory and restrictive policies of some Middle Eastern leaders who habitually practice violence against their own indigenous Christian citizens.