European Parliament calls allies against ISIS to cooperate with Syriac Military Council

The European Syriac Union (ESU) and the Syriac National Council of Syria (SNCS) welcome the resolution of the European Parliament “on recent attacks and abductions by Da’esh in the Middle East, notably of Assyrians”. We warmly thank the European Parliament for its timely, alert and highly relevant action today with regard to our dire situation and the existential threat our Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people face in Syria and Iraq.

We thank the European Parliament for its courage to ask all allies against ISIS explicitly to co-operate with the Syriac Military Council and the YPG in their fight for humanity.

This resolution is the result of a joint motion from almost all Political Groups of the European Parliament. For our Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people this resolution is historically. Since the attacks on the Nineveh Plain in August, we are lobbying for a “safe haven” and with latest attacks on the Khabur region, we see how crucial it is that we can defend ourselves and are defended where needed. The violence and threat to our people and all minorities is real and the EP rightly stated today, that the measures against this threat need to be real as well (see p.7, point 8 of the resolution).

At this historical day, the defenders of the Syriac Military Council, YPG and others are fighting very hard to protect our peoples. ISIS is now attacking the Assyrian town of Tel Tamer and nearby villages.

Thus, the resolution of the European Parliament came just in time.

Tel Tamar and nearby villages are all part of the Khabur River Valley and the target of ISIS since 23rd February when ISIS abducted hundreds of Assyrian Christians.

The ultimate goal of ISIS is enforce a breakthrough towards Iraq, confirming that a defeat of ISIS in Iraq is insufficient if it is not defeated in Syria. Furthermore the ISIS policy of extermination of minorities is the same in Iraq and Syria. Again we call that the Democratic-Self-Administration can become a partner in the war against ISIS as it stands for the same human and democratic values as the EU and US by showing a concrete alternative to both ISIS and Assad. The European Parliament today called to co-operate with self-governing entities in the region, which have shown commitment to human rights and democracy and did so in the same passage as their call to support SMC and YPG. We hope that all partners in our war against ISIS will take note of this resolution of the EP.