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Syrian Christians Proclaim “Trump is right on Syria”

Oct 12, 2019 2:00 pm By Andrew Bostom

Johny Messo, President of the World Council of Arameans (WCA; indigenous Syriac speaking Middle Eastern Christians), has written thoughtfully and sympathetically about Zionism as a (belated) prototype for “Arameanism,” though he guardedly refrains from “championing” Zionism, outright, today. Mr. Messo, nonetheless, does not appear to have imbibed in any way the vitriolic Antisemitic persuasions one too frequently encounters, sadly, among Middle Eastern Christians (rooted in continued promotion of the Deicide allegation, and rejection of Vatican II’s ecumenism toward Jews and Judaism). Indeed, Mr. Messo expressed his sincere gratitude when Israel became the first nation to officially recognize Aramean during September, 2014, as a unique national identity within its population registry, and the  WCA invited the first registered Aramean from Israel to present a statement of recognition on behalf of the Arameans worldwide at the U.N. The WCA’s press release  a month later further included this remarkable statement about Israel’s indigenous Christian population, and their growing tendency to reject “Arabization”—consistent with Messo’s earlier sympathetic posture toward Zionism:

Mainly due to the interrelated processes of Arabicization and Arabization, most of the Christians started to perceive themselves as “Arabs.” Recently, however, an increasing number of them have started to rediscover their authentic roots and have chosen to reclaim their Aramean identity and to learn anew the Aramaic mother tongue of their forefathers.

Mr. Messo is also gimlet eyed and unapologetic about Muslim Turkey, including the Kemalist ethno-racist state, as can be gleaned from extracts of his November 2010 address on the failure of “Turkish democracy”:

…T]he Arameans were never granted formal recognition by Turkey as a “minority” such as formulated in this [1923 Lausanne] Convention. Consequently, they have never enjoyed their basic human rights which include, for example, the foundation of Aramean schools, hospitals and even new churches. On that account, one could boldly state that the religious freedom of the Arameans is even more restricted than that of the Christian Greek and Armenian nations who are recognized by Turkey. …I question why is Turkey interfering with Israel’s internal affairs while it has not solved its own domestic situation? And why, in fact, is Turkey able to readily invest 150 million dollars in Palestine and translate its words into action, whereas it continues to neglect its own citizens and society in its very own backyard?…Is Turkey ready to invest structurally in its south-eastern terrain, above all in improving the security, infrastructure and facilities for normal life circumstances there that may draw Aramean refugees back to the land of their ancestors? .. Turkey should embrace and integrate the native Arameans as an ambitious people who can enrich it culturally, intellectually, spiritually and economically. With their experience in the Western diaspora, the Arameans may even become beneficial to Turkey in assisting Turkish society in the ongoing process of democratization…

Free of the Middle East’s Antisemitic baggage, clear headed about Turkey, and experientially knowledgeable about the fanatical Marxist Kurdish militias of the Syria-Turkey border areas as well (here; here; here; here; here; here), Johny Messo and his indigenous Christian organization are ideally suited to weigh in on the Trump Administration decision to withdraw troops from the (70+-year ongoing) Syrian morass. Below is the WCA/Messo press release in its entirety, issued October 9, 2019:

“Syrian Christians Proclaim ‘Trump is right on Syria!’ YPG Kurds are responsible for escalation in Northeast Syria,” World Council of Arameans, October 9, 2019:

“President Trump is right on Syria!,” according to Johny Messo, the President of the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) (“WCA”). Withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria and halting financial and arms support to the YPG Kurds may help restore peace and security in Syria. Messo further argues that “the YPG Kurds are responsible for the current escalation in the northeast and that they hold the key for peace in this part of our ancestral homeland.”

1) President Trump made the right decision in withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria to end the “ridiculous endless wars,” fulfilling yet another campaign promise; he already ended the covert CIA program of 2013 to arm the “rebels” in Syria. America’s mission to destroy the Caliphate and military power of ISIS was achieved in March 2019. So there was no cogent reason to stay in Syria, let alone to keep arming the YPG Kurds. Staying rather than leaving would be a greater security threat and burden for America.

2) Trump’s edict may lead to peace, security and stability in Syria. Despite the powerful war narrative and war lobby, Trump shows the world that America chooses peace and jobs at home above wars abroad. If other countries follow suit, primarily those whose foreign policies largely follow America’s course, and stop arming their proxies, violence will soon end. Then one can finally focus on seeking a genuine political solution for Syria, beginning in a few weeks through the UN-facilitated Constitutional Committee.

3) The PKK and the PYD/YPG Kurds, who control the SDF, are two sides of the same coin. The communist ideology and violent nature of these nationalist organizations discredit democratic and liberal values. These ‘heroes’ have oppressed vulnerable Arameans, taken their innocent lives, Kurdified their lands and still use a tiny Christian group as their mouthpiece to represent Kurdish interests. The resentment against the YPG among the locals is prevalent, yet underreported. In due time, their authoritarian governance would likely lead to an ISIS 2.0 among the local Arabs, who outnumber the Kurds, mainly among Arab nationalists and among conservative Arab and Kurdish Muslims.

4) The YPG Kurds had ample time and opportunities to take away the security concerns of Damascus and/or Ankara. Inspired by North Iraq, the envisioned autonomous Kurdish region in North Syria would give a huge boost to the PKK Kurds in Southeast Turkey. Instead of striking a deal for their people, though, Western support made them haughty. The YPG did not calculate or care about the high risks involved in its determination to first craft an autonomous region in North Syria and then a statelet called “Kurdistan.”

5) By pursuing their own agenda, the nationalist PYD/YPG Kurds have acted irresponsibly, endangering the lives of their own people and those of Arameans and other minorities! Whenever a village, town or city fell in their hands, they proudly raised Kurdish flags and nationalist symbols on the buildings, and displayed images of the jailed PKK leader. It was only a matter of time until Damascus would reclaim control over Northeast Syria or until Ankara would unilaterally resolve its growing security concerns at its border. That day has come, and Aramean civilians now suffer due to the YPG’s irresponsibility.

6) Unlike the Aramean Christians and Yazidis, the YPG Kurds received protection and huge amounts of money, arms and airpower from America to defeat ISIS. The Kurds should always remain grateful to America, which never promised them an eternal partnership. The YPG Kurds should have used their privileged position to focus on Syria’s unity and strike a peace deal with Syria and/or Turkey. In particular because they should have known that America would never sacrifice its relations with a fellow state, huge trade partner and established NATO ally for a rather impulsive non-state actor whose mother organization after all is officially designated by the U.S.A. as a terrorist organization.

7) The PKK/PYD/YPG Kurds must give up the armed struggle for autonomy and the idea of a state called “Kurdistan” in the homeland of the Arameans and their Aramaic language! Our region has become weary of wars. They only destroy our common land and the lives of our loved ones and families, causing animosity toward one another. As the indigenous people of Southeast Turkey and Northeast Syria, we call upon the PKK/PYD/YPG to end its violent struggle for independence so that Arameans, Kurds, Arabs and Turks can work together on a mutually enriching co-existence between different ethnicities, religions and languages in Turkey and Syria. Whether in Southeast Turkey or Northeast Syria, the PKK/PYD/YPG Kurds hold the key in their hands to peace, security and prosperity for their own people and for other peoples in the lands which we need to be sharing today.

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Filed Under: Donald Trump, Featured, Syria, Turkey Tagged With: Johny Messo, World Council of Arameans


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Comments

  1. James says

    Oct 12, 2019 at 3:06 pm

    I guess I have been misled by all the talk of Kurds as our friends and allies. I have known in all only one Kurd in my life, a man in Germany who was married to a German woman. I received a positive view of the Kurds from him. But if what I am reading here is true, then it is better not to get involved on their side. There are many groups that want to separate from a country for an independent state or union with a neighboring country. But this is often unwise because they are not the only group in the territory. An example is South Tyrol, which also has an Italian population. So attaching it to North Tyrol in Austria would be good for the Tyroleans but bad for Italians in South Tyrol. Perhaps for that reason a different arrangement was found, cultural autonomy for the Austrian Tyroleans in Italy. That should be enough for the Kurds too.

    • rollypolly says

      Oct 12, 2019 at 3:19 pm

      Your only mistake is to assume the world is so simplistic that every Kurd has the same view and ideology, and more importantly for this article, that every Syrian Christian has the same view and ideology.

      There are plenty of factions that dislike what the Kurdish Democratic Union Party has been doing in northeast Syria. Ultraconservative Muslims and Christians both dislike them, for the same reason. Not every middle eastern Christian is our cultural ally.

  2. Dachlan says

    Oct 12, 2019 at 6:44 pm

    Quite surprise reading this article. I count on media concerning Kurdistan in Syria and never found this indigious Aramaic people news. Im more confused if he is Assad lover.

  3. Relic says

    Oct 12, 2019 at 11:36 pm

    “President Trump is right on Syria!,”

  4. Ginny says

    Oct 13, 2019 at 3:28 am

    Thank you for posting this. Mr. Messo is quite right. We should stay out of eternal conflicts in the Middle East. In Germany I have contact to a broad spectrum of Kurds and non-Muslim minorities from the area. The community is very diverse and even here tempers are hot about who should have the upper hand. Ezidi don’t even want to be called Kurds. The reason the press is siding with the “Kurds” this time is because the trouble makers are part of the Communist movement and many in the Pentagon would love it if we get engaged in a major war in the region. Trump is right to step back now and resort to other means of restoring order.

  5. Terry Gain says

    Oct 13, 2019 at 7:45 am

    I much prefer the opinion of Joseph Puder, published at Front Page Magazine

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/10/kurds-are-once-again-being-excluded-joseph-puder/

    Excerpts

    In conclusion, given the century-old injustices committed against the Kurds by the Arabs, Iranians and Turks, it is imperative for the U.S. and its Western allies to support a Kurdish state. The reasons for such support go beyond humanitarianism. Strategically speaking, a Kurdish state that encompasses the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, combined with the adjacent northern Syria currently controlled by Syrian Kurds, would offer a barrier against Iranian expansionism, and its vision of a Shiite Crescent. With the possibility of a future U.S. war with Iran, U.S. military bases in Kurdistan would be essential. Erdogan’s Turkey is unlikely to allow U.S. planes on its soil, given its warm relations with Iran, and its Islamic solidarity. Assad’s Syria and Shiite Iraq are, for all intents and purposes, Iranian satellites. As for Israel, a Kurdish state would be its natural ally.

    • Ernie says

      Oct 13, 2019 at 9:56 am

      Terry Gain , thank you !

    • Ernie says

      Oct 13, 2019 at 2:16 pm

      Dear Terry , here is the link to an article I found today reading The Jerusalem Post . It shows exactly what kind of people are unleashed in Syria by Turkey . Jihadists , in their behaviour not unlike Islamic State/DAESH . ( jpost.com//Middle-East/Turkish-backed-jihadists-murder-prisoners-and-female-politician-in-Syria-604496 )

      • Terry Gain says

        Oct 13, 2019 at 10:52 pm

        Thank you Ernie.

  6. Angemon says

    Oct 13, 2019 at 8:03 am

    If other countries follow suit, primarily those whose foreign policies largely follow America’s course, and stop arming their proxies, violence will soon end.

    Relying on the UN? What could possibly go wrong?…

  7. gravenimage says

    Oct 13, 2019 at 11:10 pm

    Syrian Christians Proclaim “Trump is right on Syria”
    ……………….

    I really hope so. But the Turks immediately attacked the Kurds and are now releasing Islamic State prisoners.

    Then there is this:

    “Christian Leaders Say Turkish Invasion Of Syria Raises Risk Of ‘Genocide'”

    https://www.npr.org/2019/10/09/768697873/evangelical-christian-leaders-push-back-on-turkish-invasion-of-northern-syria

  8. Pal says

    Oct 14, 2019 at 7:56 am

    Syrian Christians fear persecution during (By) the Turkey offensive

    https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/syrian-christians-fear-persecution-during-turkey-offensive

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