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Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO) (; ), also known as "Mtakasta/Mtakasto", is an Assyrian political party based in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
. Founded in 1957, it is the oldest Assyrian political party in Syria, and was established as a national, political and democratic movement with the objectives of safeguarding the existence of the
Assyrian people Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group Indigenous peoples, indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians Assyrian continuity, share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesop ...
, as well as the realization of their legitimate national aspirations (political, cultural, administrative) in their historic homeland. The Assyrian Democratic Organization faced many upheavals under the Assad family of
Ba'athist Syria Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the One-party state, one-party rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Syrian regional branch of the Ba'ath Party (Syri ...
, including bans on its activity. The party is currently based in
Qamishli Qamishli is a city in northeastern Syria on the Syria–Turkey border, adjoining the city of Nusaybin in Turkey. The Jaghjagh River flows through the city. With a 2004 census population of 184,231, it is the List of cities in Syria, ninth most-po ...
as part of the
Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), also known as Rojava, is a ''de facto'' Autonomous administrative division, autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing Regions of North and E ...
, and has been part of the Syrian National Coalition since October 2011. Currently, the ADO boasts of membership of around 5000, advocates for the formation of civil, secular Syrian state, and enjoys good relations with Western countries such as the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.


History

Founded in 1957 in the town of Qabre Ḥewore by university students and other intellectuals, the Assyrian Democratic Organization was founded with the hopes of having Assyrians federally recognized as a group under the Syrian government, as well as stressing unity of Assyrians across all denominations. The party was formed as a response to the developments of
pan-Arabism Pan-Arabism () is a Pan-nationalism, pan-nationalist ideology that espouses the unification of all Arabs, Arab people in a single Nation state, nation-state, consisting of all Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa from the Atlantic O ...
in Syria, and increased pressure for Assyrians under
Arabization Arabization or Arabicization () is a sociology, sociological process of cultural change in which a non-Arab society becomes Arabs, Arab, meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Arabic, Arabic language, Arab cultu ...
campaigns and the formation of the
United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between Republic of Egypt (1953–1958), Egypt (including Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Ara ...
. The party espoused an ideology of secularism, and the origins of the party's thought can be linked to other prominent Assyrian nationalists such as Naum Faiq, Freydun Atturaya, Farid Nazha, and Ashur Yousif. The party initially began as an underground movement amongst Assyrian communities, but over time, activities and celebrations became much more public. ADO utilized symbolism of the ancient Assyrians to stress continuity in Beth Nahrain, and aims to see an Assyrian homeland in the Middle East; the party's founding in Syria meant that greater room was given to promote
Assyrian nationalism Assyrian nationalism is a movement of the Assyrian people that advocates for Assyrian independence movement, independence or autonomy within the regions they inhabit in northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, northwestern Iran, and southeastern Turkey. ...
than under the Turkish government in
Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...
and
Tur Abdin Tur Abdin (; ; ; or ) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria and famed since Late Antiquity for ...
. The party's activities would eventually cause strain in politics and the
Assyrian diaspora The Assyrian diaspora ( Syriac: ܓܠܘܬܐ, ''Galuta'', "exile") refers to ethnic Assyrians living in communities outside their ancestral homeland. The Eastern Aramaic-speaking Assyrians claim descent from the ancient Assyrians and are one of t ...
, which lead into a split between the names ''Assyrier'' and ''Syrianer'' in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. In 1978, the party split into the Assyrian Democratic Party, led by Adam Homeh and stressed sectarianism through the belief of superiority of Eastern Assyrians over Western, who lead much of the ADO. The Aramean movement can be partially considered a reaction to ADO's secular ideology by the
Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...
, who stressed ties to religion as part of Syriac identity. Although the name debate began in 1975, the conflict was amplified by the 1980's with the death of Aslan Noyan; Noyan had allegedly planned to leak negative information on ADO to Swedish authorities, and many held the party accountable for his death. Eventually, the Swedish government would declare ADO a terrorist organization, and the party's leadership faced challenges with the ADP's pro-Ba'ath stance and candidates. In 1998, ADO met with Vartan Oskanian, former Foreign Minister of Armenia, and the two parties met to discuss Armenian-Assyrian relations across history and the awareness of ADO among officials in the Armenian government. In the same month, the party condemned the French government and prime minister
Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and th ...
for avoiding the use of the word
genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
in context of the
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...
. In 2005, ADO opposed the creation of the
Constitution of Iraq The Constitution of the Republic of Iraq ( Kurdish: دەستووری عێراق) is the fundamental law of Iraq. The first constitution came into force in 1925. The current constitution was adopted on September 18, 2005 by the Transitional Nati ...
following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The opposition came as a result of the division of Assyrians into two distinct groups, namely "Assyrians" and " Chaldeans". In a statement released on August 31, ADO called for Assyrian organizations in the
Assyrian homeland The Assyrian homeland is Assyria ( or ), the homeland of the Assyrian people within which Assyrian civilisation developed, located in their indigenous Upper Mesopotamia. The territory that forms the Assyrian homeland is, similarly to the rest ...
and
diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
to appeal to authorities in Iraq to undo the division and declare Assyrians as one sole ethnic group. In 2010, ADO was stopped by Syrian security and prevented from holding a ceremony commemorating its anniversary.


Syrian Civil War and ISIS

After the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, the ADO under the leadership of Gawrieh took a neutral stance on the conflict, calling for a peaceful resolution. Gawrieh had previously been one of the leading secular figures of the Damascus Declaration, he however refused to join the leftist
National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change The National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCC), or National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB) (), is a Syrian coalition of Syrian opposition to Bashar al-Assad, opposition movements formed at the onset of the Syrian ...
. ADO's involvement in the Syrian Civil War mediation talks set it apart from other parties due to its position as a minority political party, and its representation of Christian Assyrians in the Syrian landscape. However, in its course, the ADO began to take a stand against the Syrian regime and a routine of neighborhood watches, arming young Assyrians with weapons for protection. In The National News, Akkad Abdul Ahad, who ran the party's newsletter, stated "We are against the regime, but many Christians are afraid of change, of what comes after the regime, of who will rule Syria." ADO joined the Syrian National Council upon its founding in October 2011, being part of other opposition groups based in Istanbul. The Assyrian Democratic Organization has been in opposition to the Sutoro police force during the fight against ISIS, as it is affiliated with the Asayish and the Syriac Union Party. The party was also subject to
arbitrary arrest and detention Arbitrary arrest and detention is the arrest and detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law or order. ...
by Syrian forces on more than one occasion; on May 20, 2011, the party's headquarters in Qamishly were raided, and 13 members were arrested after participating in a peaceful demonstration the previous day. A similar raid occurred two years later in 2013 by several militias aligned with the Syrian government. On December 19, 2013, Gawrieh was arrested by Syrian authorities in Qamishli. His arrest was condemned by Assyrian organizations, human rights organizations, as well as other countries such as the United States. Hadi al-Bahra, then president of the coalition, condemned his arrest, stating that it would prevent any long-lasting political solutions to the Syrian Civil War. He was eventually released three years later, in June 2016. In March 2017, two ADO offices in
Qamishli Qamishli is a city in northeastern Syria on the Syria–Turkey border, adjoining the city of Nusaybin in Turkey. The Jaghjagh River flows through the city. With a 2004 census population of 184,231, it is the List of cities in Syria, ninth most-po ...
and
al-Malikiyah Al-Malikiyah (; ; ) also known as Derik, is a city in northeastern Syria and the center of an administrative district belonging to Al-Hasakah Governorate. The district constitutes the northeastern corner of the country, and is where the Syrian ...
were shut down by
Rojava Rojava may refer to: * Syrian Kurdistan, also known as Rojava, the geographical region where Kurds historically settled within present-day Syria * Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Democratic Autonomous Administ ...
n authorities due to a lack of a permit. On 12 April, an official in the governing Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) met with Gabriel Moushe Gawrieh, head of the ADO, and discussed the incident and the "need to respect the laws of the administration". It was the first time TEV-DEM officials met with the ADO. Basheer al Saady, a member of the party, had previously discussed how continuous persecution had pressured Assyrians to leave Syria, stating how they had lost hope for a brighter future, especially after ISIS.


Modern activity

In July 2020, the ADO joined an alliance of political parties called the Syrian Front for Peace and Freedom, which also included the
Kurdish National Council The Kurdish National Council in Syria (KNCS, , ENKS; ) or Kurdish National Council (KNC) is a Kurds in Syria, Syrian Kurdish political party. While the KNC had initially more international support than the ruling Democratic Union Party (Syria), ...
, Syria's Tomorrow Movement, and the Arab Council in al-Jazeera and the Euphrates. In December of that year, ADO condemned a speech made by
Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...
at Al-Othman Mosque that espoused
Arab nationalist Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...
sentiments. The ADO accused Assad of aiming to cause discord amongst Syria's ethnic and religious components, and put Assyrians at risk of further violence. In 2021, Gawrieh, than the leader of ADO, was prevented from entering
Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
by the AANES. Gawrieh had previously been banned from entering the region in July of that year, and he was scheduled to meet with the German consulate in
Erbil Erbil (, ; , ), also called Hawler (, ), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is the capital of the Erbil Governorate. Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the 5th millennium BC. At the h ...
. Despite the AANES aiming to push blame on the Kurdish Regional Government, the ADO condemned AANES for the dispute and called on authorities to reverse the ban and uphold the ideals of the administration. In 2022, on the eve of
Akitu Akitu or Akitum () () is a spring festival and New Year's celebration, held on the first day of the Assyrian and Babylonian Nisan in ancient Mesopotamia and in Assyrian communities around the world, to celebrate the sowing of barley. Akit ...
, the ADO and the Syriac Union Party signed a Document of Political Understanding, which aimed to bolster mutual cooperation through recognizing the situation of
Assyrians in Syria Assyrians in Syria (, ), also known as Syriacs/Arameans, are an ethnic and linguistic minority Indigenous peoples, indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia, the north-eastern half of Syria. Syrian-Assyrians are people of Assyrian people, Assyrian descen ...
and the various names in use (Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac). The agreement followed discussions between the two parties under US mediation, and was hailed as significant for preserving Assyrian communities in Syria despite threats of Kurdish reproachment. Gawrieh stated that the Document was a message to the Assyrian homeland and diaspora, and was commended by himself as well as Bashir Isshaq Sa'di and Sara Barsom of the Assyrian Women's Office. In 2024, ADO participated in a webinar hosted by the Syrians for Truth and Justice Organization (STJ), in which Gawrieh condemned Turkish airstrikes on AANES and discussed the state of Assyrians in Syria due to the airstrikes, and how it impacted their presence in the country. Gawrieh had previously indicated fears that Turkish airstrikes could permanently alter demographics in the northeastern part of the country, and could create greater issues regarding property rights post-conflict. In regards to the 2024 Syrian Parliamentary elections, the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO) have strongly rejected the elections given tensions surrounding President Bashar al-Assad. Gawrieh issued a statement arguing that "the holding of the general elections is not only against the constitution issued by the Syrian regime in 2011, but also to send a message to the international community and spread its legitimacy among the Syrian people. The demonstrations in Sweden and other areas are real proof of their rejection of the current regime in Damascus."


Post-Assad

Following the
Fall of the Assad regime On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed during a 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, major offensive by Syrian opposition, opposition forces. The offensive was spearheaded by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported mainly by the Turk ...
in 2024, ADO made public postings on their social media accounts to mark the occasion. A video posted to their accounts showed Assyrians waving the Assyrian flag and the flag of the
Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
, and emphasized their hope for a better future for Assyrians and all people in Syria. Gawrieh voiced confidence in what he saw as a turning point for the Syrian people and country. Early into 2025, ADO issued a joint statement alongside the Syriac Union Party outlining their shared vision for the future of Syria, calling for a peaceful transition with a non-sectarian government as well as constitutional recognition of the Assyrian community, cultural and linguistic rights, and proper representation and restoration of Assyrian villages. However, on the occasion of Kha b'Nissan celebrations in Qamishli, the ADO lamented that results have so far been disappointing across the transitional period.


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control 1957 establishments in Syria Assyrian nationalism Assyrian political parties Assyrians in Syria National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces Organizations of the Syrian civil war Political parties established in 1957 Political parties in Syria Political parties in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Political parties of minorities in Syria Syrian opposition groups Assyrian organizations