An explosion in an Assyrian home in Midyat

An explosion in an Assyrian home in Midyat
ANA-Translation and Media desk
Tor Abdin - Turkey
September 01st, 2006

On August 30th, 2006 an unknown man threw a grenade on the house of Mr. Gabro Shiven in Midyat, south-eastern Turkey, fortunately the family wasn’t home at the time.
In a letter sent by Mr. Simon Barmano President of the Assyrian Clubs Federation in Sweden and according to reliable sources a police officer named Etac Tivik is behind what happened and that Tivik has been responsible for other such operations and pressure tactics aimed at forcing the Assyrians in the area to leave. Mr. Barmano mentioned in his letter another incident which had taken place two days earlier, when Mr. Yusuf Aye and Issa Dugan were assaulted and beaten up by some Muslim extremists in the centre of Midyat, when an individual from the Jamo family tried to blackmail Mr. Dugan from Australia into giving him $7000 dollars and when he refused, 15-20 people surrounded the two men and started to beat them up in front of some by standers who didn’t dare to save them.

In 2002 the Paulos and Afram Hidari family members were severely beaten up near the city hall of Midyat when they tried to submit a complaint against the Jamo family who had occupied their property and lands, the Hidari family were given the choice of either leaving or being killed.

On July 23rd, 2005, Mr. Zaki Oun a Swedish Assyrian and his son David were shot in the legs by Kehraman Yildiz a senior member in the ruling Turkish party AKP.

The president of the Assyrian Clubs Federation in Sweden adds in his letter that no one was neither arrested nor subjected to any legal procedures, which gives the green light to the aggressors to commit more horrible actions enabling them to reach their goals of controlling the Assyrian lands and properties in the region.
There are already other villages in Tor Abdin which have been confiscated by the Turkish authorities and Muslim extremists who tend to use violence against those who try to return the properties to their rightful owners

Mr. Barmano concludes his letter by reminding the European States that while Turkey is trying to negotiate its way into the European Union, the conditions of the Assyrians and other Christians in Turkey haven’t improved, and that Turkey’s empty promises throughout its history make every one aware of the danger that Turkey is following its old path.

It is worth noting that many of the Assyrians who had fled Turkey to Europe during the 1960’s and 1970’s because of persecution have begun to return to their towns and villages but they are faced with many dangers specially in what concerns security.

Arabic source: Ankawa.com
Iskandar Biqasha

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