(AINA) -- Further political deliberations addressing specific points are likely to occur at this year's upcoming Assyrian American National Federation (AANF) convention in Los Angeles, California to be held between September 2-6 1999. Mr. Sargon Lewie, the President of the AANF, has invited leaders of several political organizations and noted Assyrians to the convention in order to continue their discussions. The representatives of the political organizations are expected to address several key points related to the Assyrian position. Among various points discussed within the Assyrian community, several particularly pressing issues include:

1. Recognition of Assyrians by the Iraqi government, the Iraqi opposition and the international community as an indigenous people within Iraq and other Near Eastern countries. As a precedent, the AUA successfully lobbied for such recognition from the Iranian government in 1998.
2. Delineation of an Assyrian Safe Haven. With recent persecution of Assyrians in Iraq, such a Safe Haven would entail local autonomy with respect for the territorial integrity of Iraq within the framework of a democratic and pluralistic nation. The basis for discussion of the historically Assyrian areas is the 1957 Iraqi census as well as other demographic maps from that time which detailed Assyrian villages in northern Iraq prior to the destruction of over 200 villages by the government of Iraq in the 1970's and the additional expropriation of over 50 villages by some Kurdish groups following the Gulf War. The general outline of this "Assyrian Triangle" is centered on the environs of Mosul (adjacent to the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh) extending north towards the Turkish border, north and west to the Syrian border, and northeast to the Zab River.
3. Local cultural and administrative autonomy within an Assyrian Safe Haven. Such local autonomy would enable the Assyrian community to preserve Assyrian culture via the unrestricted continuation of Assyrian language schools, churches, institutions, and media.
4. The return of previously Assyrian lands, villages, and Churches. The villages and churches destroyed by the government and expropriated by some Kurds need to be returned to their rightful owners of just compensation paid.
5. International investigation of the policies of ethnic cleansing of Assyrians from northern Iraq. Both the Iraqi government and some elements within the Iraqi opposition have participated in the systematic destruction of Assyrian villages and Churches and have till now continued intimidation of Assyrians residing in historically Assyrian lands in a campaign to displace Assyrians and permanently alter the demography of the region.
6. An Assyrian right of return. Displaced Assyrians within Iraq and abroad ought to be able to return to their ancestral homes and participate in the rebuilding and development of the region.
7. The lifting of United Nations sanctions against the civilian population of Iraq.
8. International investigation into the plundering of ancient Assyrian archeological sites and artifacts. The illegal excavation and subsequent international trade of ancient Assyrian artifacts has been devastating to numerous historically significant sites in northern Iraq. The sites directly link today's Assyrians with the land spanning several millennia. The destruction and plundering of these sites has the consequence of diminishing the Assyrian historical heritage in the region.

Recognition of Assyrians as an indigenous people coupled with the designation of an Assyrian Safe Haven will lead to greater stabilization in the region as a whole. With the ability to administer and regulate their schools, churches, institutions, and media, Assyrian culture will again thrive. Inter-communal harmony now seriously frayed in the current period of wanton lawlessness will be restored as signs of ethnic cleansing yield to mutual legally sanctioned and recognized respect. The return of highly educated and skilled Assyrians from the Diaspora will allow the country in particular and the region as a whole to leapfrog into the next millennium as Western trained medical, computer, scientific, bio-technical, literary, and media professionals contribute their experience. The developmental stagnation of the last decade will be reversed as institutions are revitalized and the country's high tech infrastructure modernized. For Iraq, satisfying the legitimate needs of all of the country's communities will help the country to reenter the community of nations and legitimately regain authority over the northern Safe Haven. Finally, for Iraq, the Iraqi opposition and the international community addressing these Assyrian concerns will be the ultimate litmus test as these groups are challenged to translate stale political rhetoric regarding human rights into a reality with genuine pluralism and democracy.