The announcement, delivered during a press conference on Tuesday, 30 December, at the Iraqi parliament, saw Emad Youkhanna, Kaldo Ramzi and Sami Oshana stand together to announce the formation of the Suyana parliamentary bloc. Suyana, more commonly pronounced ṣebyānā (ܨܒܝܢܐ), is Assyrian for “will”.
The new bloc, likely the smallest parliamentary bloc in Iraq, promised to be a “true and firm voice” for Assyrians, pledging that their representation will “no longer be symbolic or merely formal, but a real partner in national decision-making.”
The spokesperson of the group, Kaldo Ramzi, began the announcement by saying: “Today, through this platform, we announce the formation of the Christian Suyana bloc, which includes three elected deputies from three different provinces, to become the largest parliamentary grouping representing the Christian component in the Iraqi Council of Representatives in its sixth term, and to seek to serve this component within a framework of joint action that transcends regionalism and narrow alignments.”
He went on to explain that the parliamentary formation comes in response to the suffering of Assyrians over past decades, stating: “This necessitates a unified and effective parliamentary effort that contributes to preserving existence, safeguarding rights, and addressing the structural causes of all of the above.”
Preventing demographic change
The bloc also affirmed its commitment to defending the specificity of Assyrian areas, saying it will work to prevent any forced demographic changes and to: “Protect their rights to land, will, administration, services, fair representation, and ensure their effective participation in local and national decision-making in a way that respects their will, preserves their dignity, enhances their stability, and safeguards their authentic presence in their homeland.”
To achieve this, the group says it will seek “special legislation” based on Article 125 of the Constitution, including a law for the protection of the rights of minoritized groups, “ensuring the preservation of the historical presence of the component and preventing any practices or policies that lead to demographic change in their areas.”
Article 125 is one of the key constitutional protections for minoritized populations in Iraq. It establishes that non-majority groups have administrative, political, cultural, and educational rights. Its implementation has largely been lacking, especially with regard to Assyrians.
Christian status law
The bloc further stated that it wants to legislate a personal status law specific to Christians to guarantee their rights and safeguard their particularities. “We affirm our rejection of the usurpation of these rights or the imposition of legislation that contradicts our religious beliefs and social particularities,” the group proclaimed.
The Iraqi constitution states that no law may contradict the established provisions of Islam, a provision that negatively affects non-Muslims in many areas of life, such as inheritance laws and other social matters. Critics of Sharia-based legislation argue that each religious community should have its own personal status law.
Amendment of voting law and diaspora voting
The bloc also said it intends to work to change two key laws that stifle Assyrian political representation: the election law and the right to vote for citizens in the diaspora.
“We affirm the necessity of amending the election law in a manner that ensures genuine representation and free will through a special register for the [Assyrian] component, preserving the essence of the quota system while affirming the right to vote.”
The wider context
The move by the three MPs to form a bloc should be seen more as a symbolic act than one with the potential to change the situation. Given the sectarian nature of Iraqi politics, the chances for a three-man bloc to play any meaningful role are minuscule, if not non-existent. However, had the three sought to create a broader bloc together with other non-Muslim quota-seat representatives, such as Yazidi MP Murad Ismael, the outlook might have appeared somewhat better.
The fact that no such minority bloc has emerged is a testament to the external patronage that makes it nearly impossible for minoritized groups to elect their own representatives. Since 2003, MPs representing Iraqi minorities have on a few occasions announced parliamentary blocs or coordination frameworks, but none have endured as stable, influential blocs comparable to Arab, Kurdish, or Islamist groupings. They have often fractured along lines of party affiliation or external patronage.
Amid the many promises of the three-man bloc, the elephant in the room at the press conference was the Kurdish KDP party. It is an open secret that all three Assyrian MPs won their seats with the help of votes from the Barzani-controlled party. The fact that all three recently published photos of their separate meetings with KDP patriarch Masoud Barzani reinforced the perception that they are tied to the KDP agenda. While Ramzi, Youkhanna and Oshana do not hesitate to articulate their demands regarding Assyrian rights in Iraq, the behind-the-scenes bargaining with the KDP remains unknown, but if history is any guide, Assyrians are likely to be the ones drawing the shortest straw.
