Appointment of Special WCA Representative to the Middle East
The World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) (“WCA”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Antoine Tony Elkhoury from Sweden as the WCA Special Representative to the Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East, particularly Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
Aramean People Stand in Solidarity with Sweden Midfielder Jimmy Durmaz After Racial Abuse
Sweden’s Jimmy Durmaz was racially abused on social media for conceding the free-kick that led to Germany’s last minute winner in the World Cup in Sochi on Saturday 23 June 2018. The World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) (“WCA”) strongly condemns racism and supports the midfielder, who stated that he was born to Aramean parents from Turkey and Lebanon.
WCA President speaks at 3rd International Conference on Victims of Religious and Ethnic Violence in the Middle East
On Monday 14 May 2018, the Belgian and Lebanese Ministers for Foreign Affairs organised the 3rd International Ministerial Conference on the Victims of Religious and Ethnic Violence in the Middle East. The WCA was requested to speak on the situation of the native Aramean Christians in the Middle East.
PYD/YPG Proxy Failed Murder Attempt on Aramean Teacher in Qamishli, Syria
On Saturday morning, 22 September 2018, an innocent 60-year-old Aramean teacher was critically injured after two men attacked him with baseball bats in a failed murder attempt right in front of his house in Qamishli, Northeast Syria. Mr. Isa Rashid, who is the director of the Nsibin Institute responsible for the Arameans schools, is still treated in a local hospital.
WCA holds extra-ordinary meeting with Turkey's Foreign Minister
The World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) (“WCA”) had an extra-ordinary meeting with H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, on 29 May 2018 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The high-level delegation consisted of the WCA President Johny Messo, the WCA Vice-President Shleimun Ego, the WCA Director for UN Affairs Sarah Bakir and the Chairman of the Aramean Federation of Switzerland Melki Toprak.
Turkish Bill Sees Return of 55 Aramean Christian Properties in Mardin
The St. Gabriel Foundation, which manages a good deal of at least 110 confiscated Aramean Christian properties in 2017, received today 50 of the 55 returned title deeds from the Turkish Government. Recently, parliament voted in favor of a bill dealing with the return of these assets after the expansion of the municipality of Mardin, a city in Southeast Turkey.
Kurdish YPG Unlawfully Closes Aramean and Armenian Schools
On 28 August 2018, the YPG proxy Sutoro/Syriac Military Council closed four schools in Qamishli, Derik and Darbasiyah (Al-Malikiyah). This comes after the YPG had announced the closure of minority schools earlier this month. However, the people are marching the streets of Qamishli to raise up against the unrecognized YPG government and its cronies.
Kurdish YPG/Asayish Forces Once Again Kidnap Christians in Northeast Syria
In the last two weeks, the Kurdish YPG and security (Asayesh) forces kidnapped several young Arameans in Northeast Syria. The armed forces of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) continue to conscript them against their will, sending them to battle fields to fight and risk their lives in the frontline in Syria – not for peace, but for an envisioned ‘West Kurdistan’.
WCA Meets with UNESCO to Preserve the Endangered Aramaic Language
Following a recent request, WCA met with UNESCO at its headquarters in Paris on 26 April 2018 to discuss the endangered Aramean cultural heritage, especially the Aramaic language.
