The Assyrians in Australian Archives: Documents from the National Archives of Australia and Australian War Memorial, 1914-1947 9781607249931, 2010014836, 1607249936

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents.....................................................................................v List of Illustrations .................................................................................vii Maps ..........................................................................................................ix Preface.......................................................................................................xi Acknowledgments .................................................................................xiii Introduction ..............................................................................................1 Chapter 1 World War 1 and its aftermath.........................................19 Chapter 2 Bogus Collectors.............................................................. 113 Chapter 3 Human Rights in Australia............................................. 157 Chapter 4 Mosul and Economic Interests ..................................... 207 Chapter 5 The Simele Massacre ....................................................... 295 Chapter 6 Resolution and Resettlement ......................................... 325 Chapter 7 The Levies of Habbaniya................................................ 397 Appendix 1 ........................................................................................... 495 A Brief History of Australian Foreign Policy ................................. 495 Selected Bibliography.......................................................................... 499 v

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Map 1. Map of the ancient Assyrian Empire .................................................ix  Map 2. Map of the modern Middle East.........................................................x 

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MAPS

Map 1. Map of the ancient Assyrian Empire

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Map 2. Map of the modern Middle East

PREFACE This collection of documents from the National Archives of Australia and Australian War Memorial will show the events unfolding on the Assyrian issue during the years 1914-1947. The Assyrian question is an obscure and even unknown event for many people of the western world. We believe the time was appropriate to bring this obscure issue out into the public domain. This publication will show that this once proud and ancient people - the Assyrians - who many believe had disappeared like so many other ethnic groups over the course of human history, do in fact exist today. They are a vibrant and strong minority group spread over some forty countries including Australia. A major problem that we had to take into account were the various labels which are used to describe the Assyrians such as Chaldeans, Nestorians, Suryoye, Jacobites and Syriac-speaking people. In the first two categories - Chaldeans and Nestorians - is the religious identification of the Assyrians with the former one belonging to the Catholic Church and latter one to the Church of the East. Whilst we appreciate and understand the religious differences which separate the Assyrians we have identified the Assyrians as an ethnic group which possess a common language, history, customs and traditions and not by their religious affiliation. We are grateful for the Assyrian Universal Alliance for providing us with the necessary funding to make this publication possible. As co-editors we have retained the right and discretion to show the positive and negative aspects of the Assyrian issue. For instance Chapter 2 will show Assyrian bogus collectors coming to Australia under the pretext of collecting money from local Assyrian communities to assist their brethren in the Middle East. These collectors were thieves and vagabonds who tried to xi

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profit from the political and economic difficulties which afflicted their brethren in the Old World (Middle East). Stavros T. Stavridis and David Chibo, Melbourne, Australia January 2010

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are several people whom we would like to thank for their assistance and encouragement in making this publication possible. We would like to thank the Assyrian Universal Alliance Australian Chapter for generously providing us with the funding to purchase the documents from the National Archives of Australia and Australian War Memorial which are included in this publication. We acknowledge the assistance and support of the Historical Documents Unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who believe that this book will provide an Australian perspective to the Assyrian question. We also would like to thank the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London through the United Kingdom High Commission in Canberra in giving us the copyright permission to reproduce the documents in this volume. We acknowledge the following Commonwealth Departments and Agencies for granting us special permission to kindly reproduce the original documents in this publication. These include: the Departments of Defence (the Army History Unit and Service Delivery Division, the Defence Legal Service) Prime Minister and Cabinet, Transport and Regional Services (Territories and Local Government Division), Attorney-General’s Department (Information and Security Law Division) and Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Federal Police and National Archives of Australia. It should be noted that special copyright instructions have been included on some of the documents as requested by some of the Commonwealth Departments and Agencies. We also like to thank The New South Wales Department of Education and Training, New South Wales Ministry for the Arts and (Victorian) Department of Premier and Cabinet for granting us xiii

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their special copyright permission to kindly reproduce these original documents from the National Archives of Australia collection. We cannot forget Mrs. Sofia Kostos of Philadelphia, USA for contacting the United Nations in New York on our behalf regarding copyright for League of Nations documents. Her assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated. We also like to thank Mr. Kelvin Birrell, Archivist/Librarian, and Australian Mission to the United Nations for helping us to resolve the issue of copyright for League of Nations documents. We extend a special note of thanks to Mr. Fred Aprim in the United States who provides us with valuable information on two books by Sargon Dadesho and Yacoub Malek that are unavailable in Australia. This greatly assisted our literature review. A special note of thanks for our two good friends Dr Panayiotis Damiadis and Nicholas Al-Jeelo who drew our attention to some documents which we have included in our publication. Lastly the support and encouragement of our families was invaluable in allowing us to complete this book.

INTRODUCTION The first question most people ask when they first hear about the modern Assyrians is, Who are the Assyrians? The answer however is not as easy as it first appears. The modern nationalistic definition of the Assyrian identity encompasses the history, the influences, the religions and the powers that have shaped the Middle East. While most people have heard of the ancient Assyrians, whose reputations have and continue to be erroneously vilified by the writers of the Old Testament, it is the modern day Assyrians who have blazed a new and bitter chapter in the annals of nationalism. The story of their discovery and subsequent quest for a homeland is a tragic journey marked by persecution and massacres that has culminated in the vast majority leaving their homeland and entering the diaspora.1 The ancient Assyrian Empire was a continuation of the Sumerian city states that were united under the Babylonian Empire. Over the centuries it grew to encompass and assimilate the minorities on its periphery as it expanded and stabilised the Middle East.

For details on the modern Assyrian diaspora, the interested reader might wish to consult the following works. See James Jupp (ed), The Australian People: an encyclopedia of the nation, its people and origins, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001, pp.174-76; Madawi Al Rasheed, Iraqi Assyrian Christians in London, E.Mellen Press, Lewiston, NY, 1998; John Pierre Ameer, Assyrians in Yonkers, Gorgias Press, Piscataway, NY, 2008; Maegen Betgivaris-McDaniel, Assyrians of New Britain, Arcadia Publishing, USA, 2007; Sargon Donabed & Ninos Donabed, Assyrians of Eastern Massachusetts, Arcadia Publishing, USA, 2006; Eden Naby , The Assyrian diaspora Ch.11 in Touraj Atabaki & Sanjyot Mehendale (ed), Central Asia and the Caucasus: Transnationalism and diaspora, Routledge, Oxford, UK, 2005 1

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One of the major ethnic groups that came to be assimilated and in turn influence the Assyrian Empire was the Aramean majority. The Assyrian Empire acted as an administrative entity that united the various ethnic groups throughout the empire and provided a stable foundation for the transmission of civilisation to the rest of the world. According to most Western history books the Assyrians literally disappeared off the face of the earth after the fall of their ancient capital, Nineveh, in 612 BC. The Assyrian Empire according to Professor John Joseph did not disappear. With a much larger Aramean population now under its rule, far removed from the Assyria home base, the smaller, ethnically-Assyrian population could not resist Aramization, a process that gradually transformed the cultural face of the empire “leading to the Assyrians being outlived and absorbed.” Before too long, Aramaic had displaced Akkadian even as the language of everyday speech within Assyria itself. According to H. W. F. Saggs, the cities of Assyria proper had become so cosmopolitan and polyglot that people of actual Assyrian descent were possibly a minority within those cities.2 The dominance of Aramaic over Akkadian in both speech and writing was so extensive in the 8th BC that Aramaic script - not Aramaic language-came to be called in Egyptian, Greek and Hebrew languages as Assyrian writing.3 Professor John Joseph explains: Even before its western expansion beyond the Euphrates River, the Assyrian empire had found it necessary to use an Aramaic dialect of geographical Syria as its official language, a move dictated by the wide expanse of Aramaic and the convenience of its alphabet and script.4 H. W. F. Saggs, The Might that was Assyria, pp. 89, 95, 99l Frye, Heritage of Persia, pp. 80 seq. as in John Joseph, The modern Assyrians of the Middle East: Encounter with Western Christian missions, archaeologists, and colonial powers. Brill, 2000, p. 12. 3 Joseph Naveh and Jonas C. Greenfield, “Hebrew and Aramaic in the Persian Period,” in Cambridge History of Judaism (1984) v. 1, pp. 126127; Joseph, op cit., p. 12. 4 Joseph , op cit., p. 11. 2

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The loss of their capital had lost them cultural and linguistic control over the people within their empire. The Assyrians slowly assimilated with the Aramean majority and totally adopted their language. So centuries after the fall of Nineveh and having adopted the Aramaic alphabet and language the Assyrians began to call themselves Syrians a reference to their new language derived from geographical Syria, the home of the Arameans. Nonetheless they remained on their lands as succeeding waves of Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman and Arab Empires crashed upon the cultural shores of the Middle East each in turn bestowing its own rich influence of religion and culture upon the region while continuing to build upon the legacy of previous Empires. While their language and identity had gradually evolved the strength and power of their old gods remained undiminished. Constantine and the Roman Empire in Christianising the Middle East saw the strength in unifying the populace under a state administered religion. He simply rebranded elements of Egyptian and Mesopotamian practices and beliefs in order to unify the states under the Roman Empire. This may explain the alleged explosive growth of Christianity during the first few centuries throughout the ancient world. The Assyrians in effect did not knowingly convert to Christianity. It would be more appropriate to say that Christianity under the Roman Empire evolved to incorporate them.5 According to Professor John Joseph: About 800 years after the fall of Nineveh, a common religion (Christianity), together with a common language (Aramaic) unified the peoples of this region, just as Islam and the Arabic tongue would arabize and muslimize most of the Arameans a few centuries later, causing them to disappear.6

The literature on the ancient Assyrians is vast. The interested might wish to consult the following works. See Mark Healy, The Ancient Assyrians, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2004; Mariana Giovino, The Assyrian sacred tree: a history of interpretations, Academic Press, Fribourg, 2007; Albert K. Grayson, Assyrian royal inscriptions, 2 vols, O.Harrassowitz, Weisbaden, 1972 6 Joseph, op cit ., p. 30. 5

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The myth that the Arameans were in turn conquered by the Arabs and subsequently slaughtered which some modern Assyrians claim explains the dwindling population of Syrian Christians in the Middle East today can today be easily debunked. The truth is that the Arab armies which early Islamic sources estimate at around 10,000 strong merely united the Arameans under the Arab empire. Over time the vast majority of the Christian-Aramean population gradually assimilated into the Islamic-Arab Empire. Building on the achievements of its previous Mesopotamian ancestors the Islamic Abbasid Dynasty collected, synthesized and significantly advanced the knowledge gained from the ancient Roman, Chinese, Indian, Persian, Egyptian, North African, Greek and Byzantine civilisations. The Middle East had once again became the unrivaled intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world’s knowledge into Arabic. The turning point was to come during the 14th Century when the barbaric Crusaders to the West, and the brutal Mongols to the East overwhelmed the Arab Empire. The destruction and brutality in particular of the Mongols saw to it that the Middle East’s Golden Age, was snuffed out and instead of moving into a period of Enlightenment, such as that experienced by Europe, it was plunged into its own Dark Age remaining backwards and isolated until contact with the Europeans during the 19th century. It was during these first tentative steps at surveying the strategic prize that is the Middle East that the West first made contact with the people that would come to be known as the modern day Assyrians. The colonial ambitions of the European powers and their desire to expand their colonies in the Middle East had introduced them to the people known collectively as the Suraye (Syrian Christians), also known as the Chaldeans, the Jacobites and derogatorily as the Nestorians. From the onset the backwardness, naivety and isolationist stance taken by the Suraye in protecting their Syriac (neo-Aramaic) language, their diluted culture and Christian religion saw them as ideal pawns to be used by their colonial co-religionists in their plans to carve up the Ottoman Empire. These Christian Suraye who were concentrated in the area surrounding Mosul were first told of Sir Austin Henry Layard’s dis-

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covery of Nineveh and the splendour of the ancient Assyrians during the 1850s at a time when the winds of nationalism had swept through Europe and were beginning to influence the Middle East.7 The Suraye known as the Nestorians, along with a small group of Jacobites and Chaldeans were the first to predominantly adopt a nationalistic identity and in a primitive and romanticised form of nationalism eventually affixed the name of one of Iraq’s ancient ancestors to their small exclusive Christian sect. Having no evidence of direct lineal descent from their ancient ancestors and after 2,500 years of being buried in the sands of the Middle East the modern-day Assyrians were reborn. Interaction with the Anglo-American missionaries and archaeologists during the late 19th century helped foster the conceptual link between the Nestorians and the ancient Assyrians. This link was further reinforced by the Assyrian-American diaspora community in augmenting the popularity of the Assyrian nomenclature between the two world wars. The Middle Easterners saw their identity, religion and language as indivisible. This primitive form of nationalism saw the Assyrian identity applied to their church and language as well. For the purposes of this book the Assyrians will be referred by their ethnic identity rather than their Nestorian, Jacobite or Chaldean religious affiliation. However one cares to judge the acceptance of this new identity it should be remembered that it was essentially a defense mechanism against the winds of nationalism that were just beginning to blow throughout the Middle East. The Christian minority were competing against an Islamic majority and other Christian sects in the race to define a nation state and unite all of the Christians in the Middle East.

The following texts focus on Assyrian excavations in the 19th century. See Mogens Trolle Larsen, The conquest of Assyria: Excavations in an antique land, Routledge, Oxtord, 1996; George Smith, Assyrian discoveries, Gorgias Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2002 (originally published by Scribner, Armstrong & Co in 1876); Austen Henry Layard , Nineveh and its remains, Lyons Press, Guilford, Conn, 2001 (originally published in 1851) 7

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The new identity was also naively adopted in order to grant legitimacy to their new claims for a homeland on the very lands where the ancient cities of Assyria were then being excavated. The adoption of the new identity was enthusiastically taken up by the Church of the East, in particular, who saw it as the glue that could hold their dispersed and isolated communities together against the new wave of nationalism that was then sweeping over the Middle East. The other churches were not all to accept this new identity; the Suraye from the Chaldean Catholic church identified themselves and their language with their church’s Chaldean identity. Meanwhile the western dialect Suraye identified themselves as Syrians. Evidence that the modern Assyrian bloodline is far from pure was provided by genetic testing of modern Assyrian genes only recently. According to the report: The results of these scientific studies lead to the startling realization that Turks, Iranians, Kurds, Iraqis, Jordanians, Lebanese are more closely related genetically to Assyrians than they are to other members of their own respective language families in Asia. These seven groups (and Jews) are genetically close. The great language, cultural and religious differences are not reflected in the most fundamental aspect of their biology - their genes, which are the most accurate indicators of their shared origins and ancestry.8

According to John Joseph: The people who today call themselves Assyrians are, strictly speaking, members of a cultural and religious group, molded together into a minority by ties of a common language and, until the nineteenth century, a common church membership

Dr. Joel J. Elias - Professor (Emeritus) University of California School of Medicine, San, The Genetics of Modern Assyrians and their Relationship to Other People of the Middle East, 2000 http://www.atour.com/health/docs/20000720a.html 8

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which, until the birth of the modern nation-state in Middle East, was the strongest tie among people.9

Located at the confluence of three continents:Asia, Africa and Europe, the Middle East had always been seen as a strategic prize whose control provided strategic trade routes and subsequently vast wealth to any power that could ultimately control and stabilise the region. Modern industrial society is fuelled by oil. And nowhere in the world was the supply of this commodity more plentiful, more easily accessible and of a higher quality than in the Middle East, a fact not lost on the Colonial powers who vied for strategic control of this “black gold” during the course of the 20th Century. John Joseph explains how the Assyrians were greatly affected by Western political currents and chicanery that employed the Assyrians in the two World Wars for their own ends under the guise of friendly protection. Their nationalist aspirations encouraged by the British led them to rebel against their neighbors and side with the Christian West during the Great War. Their nationalistic aspirations however were illusory in the new political realities of the post-Ottoman Middle East. And their betrayal of their Muslim neighbours proved to be a disastrous move that left them in a state of exile. Isolated and desperate they were further fragmented by the numerous Western Missionaries’ clash for supremacy. Nationalism and the control of the Middle East through Colonialism and Imperialism by the Western powers have been primarily responsible for the tragedy that has befallen the modern day Assyrians. The latest chapter in this ongoing tragedy is the U.S. occupation and destabilisation of Iraq. This destabilisation has been responsible for the flight of around half the Christian population in the latest war. However in understanding their true identity, and their place in today’s Middle East, the Assyrians are still capable of saving themselves from the worst depredations of modern-day nationalism. Contrary to their myopic beliefs they need to realise that all 9

Joseph , op cit, pp. 31-32.

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Iraqis have come from the Middle Eastern melting pot and are direct descendants of the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Arameans who adopted Christianity and were later to be influenced by the Arab invasions and Islam. The modern day Assyrian requires a nationalistic paradigm shift that allows them to see themselves as a legacy that enriches the mosaic that is Iraq. The acceptance of all of the ancient Assyrians’ descendants and the fight for their religious and cultural freedom within a united and free Iraq is the only solution that will save them from total assimilation and the cyclical destruction that has marked their modern history. The modern day Assyrians do exist. And in it is their sad chapter documented in Australia’s archives that is presented by this publication for the world to see. This publication is an edited collection of documents from the National Archives of Australia and Australian War Memorial (A.W.M) collections in Canberra outlining the important events that unfolded in the Assyrian question in Australia and overseas during the turbulent years of 1914-1947. The documents have been assembled in chronological order to allow the interested reader to follow the thoughts and actions of important individuals and the political, military, diplomatic and strategic decisions of the interested governments - Australia and Great Britain -and international organizations such as the League of Nations in the Assyrian issue. A documentary collection on the Assyrians using Australian archival sources has never been published before and the authors believe that this book will contribute to our learning and understanding of the Assyrian question from an Australian perspective. The files on the Assyrian issue held by the Australian Archives and War Memorial are wonderful and under-utilized resources which the professional researcher, historian, political scientist, international relations specialist and post-graduate student will find ample documentation to write their books, research papers for peer review journals and dissertations. In this publication we initially focused our research focus on four major files from the Australian archives collection. However dissatisfied with our findings, we decided to cast our research net even wider by searching and checking through more files on Iraq and Syria that directly and indirectly referred to the Assyrians. This

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latter exercise proved fruitful and rewarding in that we came across additional documents, which we believe, will greatly enhance this publication. It should be noted that we did not dedicate as much time with the Australian War Memorial collection as compared with that of the Australian archives. However this in no way diminishes the archives held by the A.W.M for researching and writing about Australia’s involvement and participation in the major conflicts of the 20th Century. We appreciate our good friends Panayiotis Damiadis and Nicholas Aljeelo for providing us with a copy of a document from the Australian War Memorial collection showing the involvement of Australian and New Zealanders in the Dunsterforce mission in 1918. While this document does not mention the Assyrians by name but does provide an important clues as to their identity such as the name of tribal leader Agha Petros and geographic locations of Urmia (Persia) and Bakuba (Mesopotamia).10 Another interesting document from the AWM collection provides a very good account of Axis activities in Syria and Iraq for the years 1939-1941. There is reference to the Habbaniya air force base outside Baghdad coming under attack from Iraqi troops forcing the British to defend themselves. This document does not mention that Assyrian levies fought alongside British troops to put down the Iraqi revolt in May 1941.11 There is no British documentary publication which is completely dedicated to the Assyrian issue, though scholars can consult British documents which are available in the National Archives of the United Kingdom in London. However an important multivolume documentary publication titled British Documents on Foreign Affairs Series B is now available which includes documents from the British confidential print. In this collection there are listed documents which cover the Assyrian issue in the early 1930’s. At least See Document no. 31 Australian War Memorial (A.W.M) , AWM 38 3DRL 606/239 [2] pp.8-10 11 See Document no.152 A.W.M 54 531/1/24 Axis activities in Syria and Iraq 1939-1941 p.14. The content in this document is based on unpublished German Foreign Office Archives. 10

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this collection partially compensates by making previously classified documents available in the public domain.12 This book will also contribute to our knowledge and understanding of the Assyrian question with British documents found in the Australian Archives collection. The British sent Canberra confidential documents providing Australia policy makers with the latest British thinking on the Assyrian issue.13 Books, dissertations, journal articles and memoirs have been written on the Assyrian question. It should be noted that overall not too many books have been written about the Assyrian issue in the English language. Many of the books covering the history of Iraq and Syria make passing references to the Assyrians. What is provided below is a sample of what is available in the English language. The British point of view is covered in the following publications Lt-Colonel R.S.Stafford, The Tragedy of the Assyrians, (1933), Peter Sluglett, Britain in Iraq 1914-1932 (1976) and David Omissi article titled ‘Britain, the Assyrians, and Iraq Levies 1919-1932’ published in Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History (1989).14 Stafford was an administrative inspector who had first hand experience of the political situation in Iraq. He refers to League of NaRobin Bidwell (Ed) British Documents on Foreign Affairs: Series B, Turkey, Iran and the Middle East, 1918-1939, Vol.8 Eastern Affairs, December 1931-June 1933, University Publications of America, 1986, pp 235-38, 25455,368-71, 390-91, 397-98, 399-402 & 404-07; Robin Bidwell, (Ed) British Documents on Foreign Affairs: Series B Turkey... Vol.10, Eastern Affairs, June 1933- May 1934, pp.151-57, 192-95, 199 & 354-57. 13 This is a small sample of the confidential documents which the British Government passed onto Canberra. See Australian Archives( AA ) ,Canberra , ACT, A981/4 IRA 7 Part 1 E6047/2/93 Eastern (Iraq) Confidential Mr Bateman ( Bagdad) to Sir Samuel Hoare, October 8, 1935; E4387/7/93 Eastern (Iraq) Confidential Mr Ogilvie-Forbes (Bagdad) to Sir John Simon , August 4, 1933; E4479/7/93 Eastern (Iraq) Confidential Mr Ogilvie-Forbes ( Bagdad) to Sir John Simon, August 9, 1933. 14 Lt-Col R.S. Stafford, The Tragedy of the Assyrians, George Allen &Unwind, London, 1935; Peter Sluglett, Britain in Iraq 1914-1932, St Anthony’s College, Oxford by Ithaca Press, London, 1976; David Omissi, Britain, Assyrians and Iraq Levies 1919-1932, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 17, 3, (1989) pp.301-22. 12

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tions reports, annual reports of the British Colonial administration 1921- 1931 and other secondary sources to describe the events that lead to the Assyrian massacres in August 1933.15 Sluglett’s book places the British presence in Iraq within the context of the mandate system and defence considerations. The Assyrians are only briefly mentioned in his book. He uses the records of the British Foreign Office, Colonial Office, Air Ministry and the Baghdad High Commission to write his account.16 Omissi’s article discusses “the symbiotic relationship that developed between the Assyrian Levies and the imperial power.” Furthermore he attempts to show that the Assyrians were not a cohesive group but experienced “conflicts of class and tribe which partly explains its political behavior.” His article is based on the Aubrey Lees, Brooke-Popham and Trenchard papers and the Foreign and Colonial Office and Air Ministry records held in the former Public Record Office now known as the National Archives of the United Kingdom.17 The Arab point of view on the Assyrian issue is sparsely covered in the English language. We found two works written by Khaldun S.Husry and Albert Hourani. The former work is an article titled ‘The Assyrian affair of 1933 Parts 1 and 2’ published in the International Journal of Middle East Studies (1974) whereas the latter one is a book titled Minorities in the Arab World (1947). Husry’s well-researched two-part article is largely based on British foreign office documents found in the UK National Archives in London.18 However Husry cites Arab sources describing the official Iraqi version to the Assyrian massacres in August 1933 and to King Faisal’s reaction to this episode.19 Hourani describes his work as a cautious R.S.Stafford, op cit., Preface, p.229. P.Sluglett, op cit., po.116, 122, 138fns.36 &65, 212-16, 298 and Preface &Acknowledgment. 17 .Omissi, op cit., pp.301 & 318-22. 18 Khaldun S.Husry, The Assyrian Affair of 1933 (1) and (2) in International Journal of Middle East Studies , 5, (1974) , April, pp.161-74 & June ,344-60 19 Khaldun S.Husry Part .2., pp.345fn.2, 346fn2 & 349fn.2;Albert Hourani, Minorities in the Arab World, Oxford University Press, London, New York, 1947, pp. 4,34,76, 80-1, 91,99-103,107 &118. 15 16

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one rather than a definitive work. He refers to the Assyrians living in Syria and Iraq.20 There are two important books Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War 1 and The Forgotten Genocide which deal with the Assyrian genocide during the First World War. The former publication written by David Gaunt focuses on the Ottoman provinces of Van, Diyarbekir and Bitles in south east Anatolia including the Persian (Iranian) province of Azerbaijan during its occupation by Ottoman forces. This book does not “pretend to be the definitive work on the Syrian Sayfo.” It concentrates on the period November 1914-November 1915 which was the most intensive period of the genocide. Rather than placing the Assyrian genocide within the wider context of the Middle East conflict, the author dealt with it at a local level to see “who was doing the killing, and who were the victims, and what were the circumstances.” The strength of this book lies with its combined use “of archival, oral and printed sources in Turkish, Arabic, Syriac, as well as Russian, German French and English language sources.” Many of “these sources have never been cited before, and some of them are printed here in the appendixes.”21 The latter book written by Sebastian de Courtois is based on the diplomatic archives of the French Foreign Ministry held at the Quai d’Orsay, the Dominican Fathers in Mosul and Eastern sources of Syriac origin. The last mentioned is an invaluable source in providing insights into the views and attitudes of Assyrian Orthodox and Catholic clergy during the time of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. This book is divided into three parts. The first part provides “information… to place the Syriac Orthodox communities in their geographical, social and human context.” Secondly, the focus is on the massacres of 1895-96 during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid 11 and the final section deals “directly

Hourani, pp.76, 80-1,91, 99-103. David Gaunt, Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War 1, Gorgias Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2006, pp.12 20 21

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[with]…events tied to the First World War, up to debates at the peace conference of 1919-1920.”22 Some books written on the Middle East particularly on Syria and Iraq have passing references to the Assyrians including Phillip S.Khoury’s, Syria and the French Mandate (1987), Samira Haj’s, The Making of Iraq, 1900-1963 (1997) and Samir Al-Khalil, Republic of Fear (1989).23 Khoury’s work covers the role of Arab nationalism in Syria within the context of the French mandate and uses a variety of archival sources held in Damascus and Paris, British and US Consular records in London and Washington DC and unpublished papers of Syrian politicians in Damascus and Beirut. Some specific references to the Assyrians is found in the statistics showing the percentage distribution of Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities by total population in 1945 and the population of Damascus and Aleppo by religious community between 1935-43 and the Assyrian refugees in Syria in 1933.24 Haj’s account can be categorized as an economic history of Iraq with the Assyrians being considered a small or unimportant factor in the country’s economic development. The author refers to a clash between the Kurds and Arabs and Assyrian Christians and the Arab Moslems which took place in Mosul in March 1959. This episode showed “the intricate interconnections and contradictions between class, ethnic and religious identities” existing in Iraqi society.25 Furthermore there are British documents used to describe the British administration of Iraq in the 1920’s. This was the time when the Assyrians experienced many political and economic difficulties,

Sebastian de Courtois, The Forgotten Genocide, Gorgias Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2004, pp.xv11-xv111 23 Phillip S.Khoury, Syria and the French Mandate: The politics of Arab Nationalism 1920-45, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New York, 1987, pp.15-16 &451;Samira Haj, The Making of Iraq 1900-1963, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1997, pp.119-20 &160.fn.79 &fn.81; Samir Al-Khalil, Republic of Fear: The Politics of modern Iraq, University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, 1989, pp. X11, 20, 160, 166-75, 176. 24 Phillip S.Khoury, op cit., pp. Xv, 15-16 & 451. 25 Haj, op cit., pp.119-120. 22

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at a time when Britain was establishing the governmental and administrative structure for the future Iraqi State.26 Al-Khalil’s book examines the development of the Ba’ath party in the light of Iraqi politics. The Assyrians receive scant treatment but the events of 1933 are not overlooked. He describes this episode as the Assyrian affair (1933) showing the clash between the Iraqi State and a minority group. He relies on the works of Stafford, Khaldun S. Husry and Hempill’s The formation of the Iraqi army to construct the events which led to the Assyrian massacres in August 1933.27 Additional references to the Assyrians can also be found in three books dealing with the Kurdish issue. These are David McDowall’s, A modern history of the Kurds (1996) and Robert Olsen’s, The emergence of Kurdish nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion 18801925 (1989) and Martin Van Bruinessen’s, ‘Kurdish tribes and the State of Iran’ article in Richard Tapper’s book (1983). All three works use British documents available in the UK National Archives.28 The Assyrians too have written about their own issue. These are Sargon Dadesho’s, The Assyrian National Question at the United Nations (1987), Joseph Yacoub’s, The Assyrian Question (1986) and John Joseph’s, Muslim-Christian relations and Inter-Christian rivalries in the Middle East. (1983).29 We had trouble locating the first two books in Australia and the information provided by Mr. Fred Ibid., pp. 160 fns.79 &81, 164 fns .11-12. Samir Al-Khalil, op cit., pp.166-75, 176. 28 David MacDowall, A Modern history of the Kurds, I.B.Taurus, London & New York, 1996, pp.12-13, 174-75, 380 &382; Robert Olsen, The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism and Sheikh Said rebellion 1880-1925, University of Texas, Austin, 1987, pp.2, 117,121 &127; Martin Van Bruinessen,’ Kurdish tribes and the State of Iran: The case of Simko’s revolt’ in Richard Tapper (Ed) The conflict of tribe and State in Iran and Afghanistan, St Martin’s, pp.363-400. 29 Sargon Dadesho, The Assyrian National Question at the United Nations , S.Dadesho, Modesto, California,1987,’ Joseph Yacoub, The Assyrian Question, Alpha Graphic, Chicago,1986, ; John Joseph,Muslim-Christian relations and Inter-Christian rivalries in the Middle East, State university of New York Press,Albany, 1983 26 27

INTRODUCTION

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Aprim, an Assyrian researcher in the United States, proved invaluable in helping us to fill the gaps in our literature review. Dadesho covers the Assyrian issue from ancient times to the present where documentary references are provided without indicating their original source. The author does not provide a bibliography and index for interested readers wanting to check out and conduct their own research on the Assyrians. Yacoub’s book begins in 1915 and finishes in early 1933. This places the Assyrian issue within the milieu of the First World War involving the Ottoman Empire’s clash with Great Britain and Iraq’s membership to the League of Nations in 1932. The author provides a useful bibliography that lists US Department of State records, British documents, French sources and a variety of secondary sources.30 Joseph’s publication describes the rivalries existing between Christians and Muslims who live in the Middle East. He mentions that the Middle East Christians are made up of different nationalities and theologies. The Assyrians are identified throughout the book with the author using British and American primary sources. These include - British Foreign Office records 1840-1913 and the archives of American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions held at Harvard University. He also uses Arabic sources in his book.31 Another two valuable sources on the Assyrians can be evidenced in journal articles and theses. In the former case journal articles written by the British and an American were published in the Royal Central Asian Society Journal during the period 1920-40. These individuals had good knowledge and understanding of the Assyrian issue within the context of Iraqi and Syrian political affairs.32 . This information is based on an international telephone conservation between the authors and Mr Fred Aprim, an Assyrian researcher living in the United States, who provided us with the background information on the Dadesho and Yacoub books. 31 John Joseph, op cit., 106, 150fn25,187fn.48,213-14 & chs5-6. 32 There is a good bibliography at the end of an article written by Albert M.Fernandez, Dawn at Tell Tamir, Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, 30

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There are only two dissertations written on the Assyrians found at University of Melbourne and Macquarie University in Australia. The first one is a Masters thesis written by Anthony Julian Ham, The Assyrian Community in Iraq (1998) and the other one is a Phd written by Racho Donef, Identities in the multicultural state four immigrant populations from Turkey in Australia and Sweden (1998). These two dissertations reveal the little research that is currently being conducted on the Assyrians in Australia. The authors believe that Australian researchers and postgraduate students have ample documentary sources from the National Archives of Australia to expand the output of theses, journal articles and books on the Assyrians. We hope that our book will inspire others to take on research in this neglected area of study.33 Those who publish memoirs may have particular motives for doing it. As participants in some past event, the author may be seeking to do four things: - (1) telling his version of events (2) justifying their involvement and decision over some issue; (3) seeking to discredit former colleagues; and finally feeling betrayed by powerful nations. There are three works which fit into items (1) (2) and (4) above which include:- Yusuf Malek’s, The British betrayal of the Assyrians (1935), the booklet titled The Assyrian Tragedy (1934) found

Vol.X11, no.1, 1998 (www.jaas.org/edocs/v12n1/Fernandez.pdf). The journal articles that are cited here are taken from Fernandez’s article. For eg. Lt-Col. F Cunliffe-Owen, The Assyrian Adventure of 1920, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, Vol.1X, 1922; F.F. Rynd, The Assyro-Chaldeans, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, Vol.X, 1923; Sir Percy Sykes, The Assyrians in Iraq, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, Vol.XX1, 1934; Ernest Main, Iraq and the Assyrians1923-33, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, Vol.XX, 1933 and the American Baynard Dodge, The Settlement of the Assyrians on the Khabur, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, July 1940. 33 David Julian Ham, The Assyrian Community in Iraq, MA (thesis) Department of Political Science, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 1998; Racho Donef, Identities in the multicultural state four immigrant populations from Turkey in Australia and Sweden, Phd (thesis) Macquarie University, Sydney, 1998.

INTRODUCTION

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in the Australian archives collection and Brigadier-General H.H.Austin’s, The Baqubah Refugee Camp (1920).34 This documentary work is exclusively based on original documents, which presents a chronological account of the events unfolding on the Assyrian issue. We also faced the issue of selecting documents, which would reveal the thoughts and actions of key actors, ordinary citizens and interested governments during the years 1914-47. These documents are intended to tell the official story of the Assyrians allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. The Australian Government derived the majority of its information on the Assyrians from official British sources. The United Kingdom High Commission in Canberra, the Colonial and Commonwealth Relations Offices (CRO) in London provided Australian officials with classified documents on the Assyrian issue. Australia also had its own sources of information. The Australian High Commission in London reported to the Department of External Affairs of discussions it had with officials of the Colonial and Foreign Offices. These reports provided Melbourne and Canberra from 1927 onwards with current British thinking on the evolving Assyrian dispute. Another source of news came from the Australian Delegation at the League of Nations in Geneva who had contact with the other British Dominions and foreign delegations. This gave Australia the opportunity to have two voices in international affairs- one as a member of the British Empire and the other as an “independent” nation. The Australian delegation supported the British position at the League over the Assyrian question. At a domestic level the State Premiers of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales cooperated with the Commonwealth Government during the First World War by ensuring that all AssyrYusuf Malek, The British betrayal of the Assyrians, Joint action of Assyrian National Federation & the Assyrian National League of America, Chicago, 1935; [n.a] The Assyrian Tragedy, 1934, 96ff in (AA) A981 IRA 14 pt.1 Iraq Internal Politics; Brigadier-General H.H.Austin, The Baqubah Refugee Camp: an account of work on behalf of the Persecuted Assyrian Christians, The Faith Press, London, 1920. 34

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ians registered with police authorities as enemy aliens. The Assyrians were regarded as Ottoman subjects and therefore enemies of the British Empire. The Intelligence Section of the General Staff, Australian Army Force, State Police authorities and the Investigation Branch, Attorney-General’s Department kept the Assyrians under close surveillance during the 1914-18 conflict and post 1919 period. In 1926 Fred Mansour, an Assyrian man, wrote a letter to a Federal politician E. B. C. Corser in Melbourne regarding the denial of the voting rights for Assyrians who lived in Australia and were naturalized British subjects. Corser took this matter up with George F. Pearce, the Minister for Home and Territories believing that the Assyrians had a strong case to be allowed to vote in Australian Federal and State elections. Edith Glanville, the President of the Quota Club in Sydney, strongly believed that the Australian Government should have accepted Assyrian refugees from Iraq for resettlement in the empty spaces of the Northern Territory. Her efforts proved unsuccessful. Throughout out the 1930’s and 1940’s successive Australian Governments actively discouraged Assyrian migration to Australia. The book has seven chapters with each one having a chapter summary outlining the key issues covered in the documents. The chapters headings are titled as follows: - Chapter 1 World War and Beyond 1914-1920; Chapter 2 Bogus Collectors; Chapter 3 Assyrians’ Human Rights; Chapter 4 Mosul and Economic Rights; Chapter 5 Simele; Chapter 6 Post-Simele: the resettlement of Assyrians; and finally Habbaniya and beyond. These documents essentially furnish the important information on the Assyrian issue from the Australian perspective.

CHAPTER 1 WORLD WAR 1 AND ITS AFTERMATH 1.A INTRODUCTION Documents 1-32 form the basis of this chapter. The summary that follows introduces the Assyrians during the most turbulent period of their modem history. When the Ottoman Navy shelled Russian naval positions along the Black Sea in late October 1914, it signalled the formers entry into the First World War. The Entente Powers -Britain, France and Russia- responded in early November 1914, by declaring war on the Ottoman Empire. The Assyrians living in Australia were considered Ottoman subjects and therefore were to be treated as enemy aliens. They were required to register under War Precautions Act as enemy aliens and could not freely move around from one locality to another without prior informing the Australian authorities. For example if they changed address in Melbourne or Sydney or simply visited someone in the countryside without telling the authorities, they could be fined and imprisoned under the wartime regulations. There is one document from the Australian War Memorial collection that shows the involvement of Australian and New Zealanders in the Dunsterforce mission in 1918. These military officers played an important part in assisting the Assyrians to escape the clutches of the Turkish army and Kurdish tribes in what became a long journey travelling over inhospitable country which resulted in the deaths of thousands of Assyrians. While this document does not mention the Assyrians by name but does provide an important clues as to their identity such as the name of tribal leader Agha Pet-

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ros and geographic locations of Urmia (Persia) and Bakuba (Mesopotamia).35 Urmia is located in North-West Persia (Iran) which contained a large Assyrian population before the outbreak of the First World War. The Assyrians who lived in the Hakkari Mountains of Eastern Turkey escaped from the clutches of the Ottoman Turks by seeking refuge in the Urmia district. When Russia withdrew from the war in 1917, the Assyrians with the assistance of British officers ended up in the Bakuba refugee camp just outside of Baghdad.

1.B OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

Australian War Memorial (A.W.M),, AWM 38 item 3DRL 606/239 [2] pp.8-10 See Doc.31 35

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1.C LIST OF DOCUMENTS FOR CHAPTER.1 Doc.1 Andrew Fisher, Prime Minister (Melbourne) ltr. to Hon, The Premier of Victoria, Melbourne, November 9, 1914 (National Archives of Australia, A456 W13/20) Doc.2 Secretary, Prime Minister ltr. to The Official Secretary to the Governor-General, Melbourne, November 9, 1914 (NAA, A456 W13/20) Doc.3 Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, (Dept of Home Affairs) ltr. to Capt. H.Jones, Intelligence Section, General Staff, Head Quarters, 3rd Military District, Melbourne November 11, 1914. (NAA, MP16 15/3/1508) Doc .4 Andrew Fisher, Prime Minister (Melbourne) ltr. to Premier Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, November 9, 1914 (NAA, A456 W13/20) Doc 5 A.H.Peake, Premier, Premier’s Office (Adelaide) ltr. to The Right Hon, The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, Melbourne, Vict, November 14, 1914 (NAA, A456 W13/20) Doc 5(A) Enclosure Addition to Proclamation. (NAA, A456 W13/20) Doc.6 A.J.Peacock, Premier, Premier’s Office (Melbourne) ltr. to The Hon The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth, Melbourne, November 1914 (NAA, A456 W13/20) Doc.7 Decode of cablegram received from Secretary of State for (Colonies), London, January 9, 1915 (NAA, A456 W13/20) Doc.8 Decode of cablegram received from the Secretary of State for (Colonies), London January 12,1915 (NAA, A456 W13/20) Doc.9 Decode of cablegram from British High Commissioner, Cairo, February 27, 1915 (NAA, A6006 1916/3742)

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Doc.10 The Officer -in- Charge, Intelligence Section, G.S ltr. to The General Staff Officer, 3rd Military District, Melbourne, March 4, 1915 (NAA, B543 W175/1/2188) Doc.11 W.Henry, Deputy Chief Censor ltr. to The of the General Staff, 3rd Military District, Melbourne, October 15, 1915 (NAA, MP16 15/3/1429) Doc.12 Premier’s Office, Sydney, New South Wales, ltr. to The Right Hon. The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, Melbourne, August 25, 1916 (NAA, A1/15 16/22704) Doc.13 Secretary, Department of External Affairs ltr. to The Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department, September 6, 1916 (NAA, A1/15 16/22704) Doc.14 Prime Minister, Melbourne ltr. to The Hon. The Premier of New South Wales, Sydney October 11, 1916 (NAA, A1/15 16/22704) Doc.15 Chief of the General Staff (Department of Defence), Melbourne ltr. to Commandant, 3rd. Military District, November 15,1916 (NAA, MP16 16/1418) Doc.16 Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department, Melbourne, ltr. to The Official Secretary to the Governor-General, April 27, 1917 (NAA, A11803 17/89/558) Doc.17 Decode of cablegram from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, London, May 28, 1917 (NAA, A11803 17/89/558) Doc.18 Syrian Relief Fund - An Appeal on behalf of distressed Syria. (NAA, MP16 18/40) Doc.19 Syrian Relief Fund: Syria’s tragedy-deportation, starvation and execution, by J.M.Fawaz, B.A reprinted from Argus, September 29, 1917 (NAA, MP16 18/40)

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Doc.20 Walter H.Long, Downing Street, London cable to Governor General, His Excellency. The Right Hon, Sir R.Munro Ferguson, June 7, 1918 (NAA, MP367 0567/8/2160) Doc.21 Agreement between the British and Ottoman Governments respecting Prisoners of War and Civilians, December 28, 1917 (NAA, MP367 0567/8/2160) Doc.22 List of Male Turkish Aliens (including Syrians), n.d. (NAA, MP367 0567/8/2160) Doc.23 Chief of the General Staff (Department of Defence) ltr.to Commandant, 3rd Military District, July 5, 1918 with attachment Repatriation of Turkish Civilians. (NAA, MP16 1918/2064) Doc.24 Chief of the General Staff (Department of Defence) Melbourne ltr. to Commandant, 3rd Military District, October 1, 1918 (NAA, MP16 1918/2064) Doc.25 List of Turkish subjects (males) August 19, 1918 (NAA, MP16 1918/2064) Doc.26 Intelligence Sec, General Staff ltr. to Australian Military Forces-3rd Military District, Head-Quarters, Melbourne, October 4, 1918 (NAA, MP16 1918/2064) Doc. 26(A) Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence, Agreement between the British and Ottoman Governments with regards to the repatriation of Prisoners of War and others to George Bossad, Back Creek, near Ballarat (Vict). (NAA, MP 16 1918/2064) Doc.27 Intelligence Sec, General Staff ltr. to Australian Military Forces-3rd Military District, Head-Quarters, Melbourne, October 4, 1918 (NAA, MP16 1918/2064) Doc. 27(A) Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence, Agreement between the British and Ottoman Governments with regards to the repatriation of Prisoners of War and others to Samuel Saleeba, Carlton (Vict). (NAA, MP 16 1918/2064)

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Doc.28 Intelligence Section General Staff, Melbourne ltr. to Officer-in-Charge Police, Ballarat, October 25, 1918 (NAA, MP16 1918/2064) Doc.29 Intelligence Section, General Staff, Melbourne ltr.to Officer-in-Charge, Carlton October 29, 1918 (NAA, MP16 1918/2064) Doc.30 Brigadier-General, Commandant, 3rd Military District ltr. to The Secretary, Department of Defence, October 30, 1918 (NAA, MP16 1918/2064) Doc.31Dunsterforce 1918 ( AWM 38 item 3 DRL/606/239/2 Official History, 1914-18 War: Records of CEW Bean) Doc.32 Official Secretary, Governor-General’s Office ltr. to The Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department, January 27, 1921 (NAA, A1/15 1921/2162) Doc.32 (A) Cmd.1061 Review of the Civil Administration of Mesopotamia, 1920, HMSO, London (NAA, A1/15 1921/2162)

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CHAPTER 2 BOGUS COLLECTORS 2.A INTRODUCTION This section will list document numbers 33-54. Chapter 2 focuses on a handful of Assyrians who took advantage of Western beliefs to misappropriate funds. The ‘Bogus Collectors’ are the focus of Australian government surveillance of the day and reports are distributed throughout Australia warning of these nefarious individuals. Far from omitting this chapter of the modem Assyrian history the authors believe that it is important to show that the Assyrians although mainly honest and trustworthy did have a handful of individuals, who took advantage of that image to embezzle funds for their own selfish interests. There is one document dated August 8, 1917 where the Australian Prime Minister through Governor Generals Office requests that the Colonial Secretary in London be informed of the Australian Government’s attitude towards the Assyrian bogus collectors. Here are some excerpts of this document: From time to time persons of Armenian, Chaldean or Assyrian race, claiming to be priests or deacons of the Greek Orthodox or Nestorian Churches have visited Australia to collect funds which they alleged were required for the purpose of erecting orphanages or relieving the distress of sufferers through the Turkish or Kurdish atrocities.

The document continues: The Commonwealth Government has entertained grave doubts as to the bonafides of these collectors in spite of the numerous credentials usually presented by them, and these doubts have been strengthened by investigations made into the cases of the latest visitors of this class, viz., “Deacons:” David

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THE ASSYRIANS IN THE AUSTRALIAN ARCHIVES Joseph and A. Huria Joseph and “Rev.” John Paris, all of whom arrived in Australia three months ago.

The Australian Government asked British Government to instruct its Consular officials in “taking steps to prevent the admission of any more collectors of this kind, and it is desired, therefore, that passports held by such men should not be visaed for Australia.”36

2.B OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

36

See Doc.33

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2.C LIST OF DOCUMENTS FOR CHAPTER.2 153

Doc.33 To Governor-General, His Excellency. The Right Hon, Sir

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Doc.36 Report to Det..Inspector Mann September 12, 1918 C.I.Branch, Perth signed G.Purdue and other 2 letters exchanged by Military Intelligence. (NAA, MP16 18/2038) Doc.37 H.Duncan Brown, Acting Collector of Customs, W.A memo for The Collector of Customs for South Australia, Port Adelaide, September 16,1918 (NAA, MP16 18/2038) Doc.38 Intelligence Section, General Staff ltr. to Military Intelligence Officer, Adelaide, September 17,1918 (NAA, MP16 18/2038) Doc.39 Intelligence, Section, General Staff, Australian Military Forces-4th Military District- Adelaide ltr. to Intelligence, Section, 3rd Military District, Melbourne, September 23, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/2038) Doc.40 Intelligence Section, General Staff, Australian Military Forces-3rd Military District, Melbourne ltr. to The Chief Commissioner of Police, Melbourne, September 24, 1918. On the same document there is a short confidential note sent by Chief Commissioner of Police to Supt. McManamny, Ballarat September 25, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/2038) Doc.41 Chief Commissioner of Police note September 27, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/2038) Doc.41 (A) Report by Victoria Police, Police Department, Criminal Investigation Branch, Ballarat, September 26, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/2038) Doc.42 Four police reports appearing on one document from A.G.Sainsbury, Chief Commissioner of Police, J.Rogerson and P.McManamny, Ballarat, September 25 & 26 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/2038) Doc.43 Intelligence, General Staff, Military of Forces of the Commonwealth -2nd Military District, Sydney ltr. to Intelligence Section,

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General Staff-3rd Military District, Melbourne, October 18, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/2038) Doc.44 Rev. Simon Younan ltr. to Australian National War Gvt, (Prime Minister), Melbourne, October 14, 1919 (NAA, MP16 Y19/240) Doc.45 F.Quinlan, Acting Secretary, Home and Territories Department, Melbourne ltr. to The Secretary, Department of Defence, November 24, 1919 (NAA, MP16 Y19/240) Doc.46 Brigadier, Commandant, 3rd Military District, Competent Military Authority ltr. to The Captain. R.M.S “Osterley”, Melbourne, November 27, 1919 (NAA, MP16 Y19/240) Doc.46 (A) Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence, Aliens Restriction Order, 1915, Order for Deportation signed by Senator Edward John Russel on behalf of George Foster Pearce, Minister for Defence, November 26, 1919 (NAA, MP16 Y19/240) Doc.47 Intelligence Section, General Staff ltr. to Intelligence Section, General Staff, 4th Military District, Adelaide, November 28, 1919 (NAA, MP16 Y19/240) Doc.48 Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Melbourne ltr. to The Collector of Customs, Hobart December 15, 1919 (NAA, P437 1919/1764) Doc.49 Inspector, Investigation Branch, (Adelaide) ltr. to The Director, Investigation Branch, Melbourne, January 19, 1925 (NAA, D1915 SA1230) Doc.49 (A) D.Yonan ltr November 19, 1924 (NAA, D1915 SA1230) Doc.50 Director, Investigation Branch, ltr. to The Secretary, Home and Territories Department, Melbourne, January 22, 1925 (NAA, D1915 SA1230)

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Doc .51 Director, Attorney-General’s Department, Investigation, Melbourne ltr. to Inspector, R.J.L. Connard, February 2,1 925 (NAA, D1915 SA1230) Doc.52 L.S.Amery, Downing Street, [London] cable to Governor General, April 19, 1927 (NAA, A1 1929/5980) Doc.52 (A) H.E.Spencer , Passport Control Department, Foreign Office, [London] circular to His Majesty’s Consular and Passport Control Officers, March 21, 1927 ( NAA, A1 1929/5980) Doc.52 (B) Schedule of Assyrians reported by the Criminal Investigation Department to belong to the “Collecting Fraternity” (NAA, A1 1929/5980) Doc.53 Director, Investigation Branch, Melbourne ltr. to Inspector R.J.L. Connard, Adelaide, (NAA, D1915 SA1742) Doc.54 Sidney Webb, Downing Street, [London] cable to The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, June 14, 1929 (NAA, A1 1929/5980) Doc.54 (A) H.E.Spencer, Passport Control Department, Foreign Office, [London] circular to His Majesty’s Consular and Passport Control Officers, April 24, 1929 (NAA, A1 1929/5980)

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CHAPTER 3 HUMAN RIGHTS IN AUSTRALIA 3.A INTRODUCTION Documents 55-86 form the basis of this chapter. The third chapter focuses on the rights of the Assyrians who migrated to Australia. Various documents discuss Assyrian citizenship in Australia, land rights, employment, naturalization, as well as travel rights. Having served with the allies during World War I and having sacrificed many of its number on the side of the allies, the Australian Government went out of its way to grant rights to Assyrians. This fact is highlighted in a document in which the request for voting rights is duly granted to “the aboriginal natives of Asia.” An amazing revelation, considering the fact that the aboriginal natives of Australia, had at that time yet to receive their voting rights.

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Doc.63 (A) Application for Registration by George Bossad, March 26, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/318) Doc.64 J.Donovan ltr. to Intelligence Section, General Staff, May 22, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/883) Doc.65 Acting Secretary, Department of Attorney-General, Melbourne memo for Major Hogan, Intelligence Section, Department of Defence, Melbourne, July 2, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/929) Doc.66 Brigadier-General a/Commandant, 3rd Military District ltr. to The Commonwealth Crown Solicitor, Melbourne, July 9, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/877) Doc.66 (A) The War Precautions (Aliens Registration) Regulations 1916 Form A Application for Registration Joseph Mansour Fakhry, December 16, 1916 (NAA, MP16 18/877) Doc.67 Brigadier-General, a/Commandant, 3rd Military District ltr. to The Commonwealth Crown Solicitor, Melbourne, July 15, 1918 (NAA, MP 16 18/777) Doc.68 Intelligence Section, General Staff, 3rd Military District ltr. to Intelligence Section, General Staff, 2nd Military District, Paddington NSW July 24, 1918 (NAA, MP16/1 18/777) Doc.69 5th Class Clerk, Department of Defence, Central Administration note, July 24, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/777) Doc.70 S.M.Jaboor, ltr. to The Secretary, Department of Defence, Melbourne, July 27, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/777) Doc.71 Intelligence Section, General Staff, 2nd Military, Sydney, July 27, 1918 ltr. to Intelligence Section, G.S, 3rd Military District, Victoria, July 27, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/777) Doc.72 S.G.Gallaher, Sargeant 2/C, Police Station, Wagga Wagga, report, August 6, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/777)

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Doc.73 D.H.Hogan, Barrister & Solicitor, Bendigo ltr. to The Commandant, 3rd Military District, Melbourne, August 7, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/777) Doc.74 J.H.Miller, Supp. Police Department, Albury ltr. to C.Commr. Police, Melbourne, August 8, 1918. On the same page there is a brief note from signed by A.G.Sainsbury, C.Commr of Police to Intelligence Section, 3rd Military District, August 10, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/777) Doc.75 J.L.Thompson, S.C report, Melbourne August 9, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/777) Doc.76 Intelligence Section, General Staff ltr. to D.H.Hogan, Barrister Solicitor, Benidgo, August 10, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/777) Doc.77 Prisoner of War on Parole report, Wagga Wagga, August 16, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/777) Doc.78 D.H.Hogan, Bendigo ltr. to Captain Gilbert Dyett, Recruiting Office, Melbourne, October 1, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/777) Doc.79 Acting Secretary, Attorney-General’s Department, Melbourne memo for Major Hogan, Intelligence Section, Department of Defence, Melbourne, October 3, 1918 (NAA, MP16 18/2068) Doc.80 Intelligence Section, General Staff ltr. to Office in Charge Police, Bendigo, [October 1918] (NAA, MP16 18/777) Doc.81 Home and Territories Department, Memorandum, October 19, 1922 (NAA, A6006 1924/05/01) Doc.81 (A) Department of Home & Territories note, February 21, 1923 (NAA, MP6006 1924/05/01) Doc.82 Fred Mansour ltr. to E.B.C Corser M.L.A, House of Representatives, Commonwealth Parliament, Melbourne, February 23, 1926 (NAA, A1/15 26/4574)

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Doc.83 E.B.C.Corser, The Parliament of the Commonwealth, House of Representatives, Melbourne ltr. to The Right Hon. G.F.Pearce, Minister for Home and Territories, Melbourne, March 1, 1926 (NAA, A1/15 26/4574) Doc.84 (Probable author G.F.Pearce) ltr. to E.B.Corser MP, Parliament House, Melbourne, March 8,1926 ( NAA, A1/15 26/4574) Doc.85 Chief Electoral Officer, Chief Electoral Office for the Commonwealth, memo for The Secretary, Home and Territories Department, March 10, 1926 (NAA, A1/15 26/4574) Doc.86 G.F.Pearce, Minister for Home and Territories ltr. to E.B.C. Corser, MP. Parliament House, Melbourne, March 17, 1926 (NAA, A1/15 26/4574)

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CHAPTER 4 MOSUL AND ECONOMIC INTERESTS 4.A INTRODUCTION Documents 87-113 form the basis of this section of the book. Chapter 4 shows the ultimate goal of the Colonial powers. Far from attempting to save the Assyrians from their neighbours the true intentions of the allies are revealed. Mosul and its oil reserves is the subject of both British and Turkish interests after World War 1. With false promises of statehood, the Assyrians again play themselves in the middle by signing up as British levies to defend Iraq, and Britain’s oil interest against Turkish aggression. The Lausanne Conference of 1922-23 allowed Britain to further consolidate its political, economic and strategic influence in the Middle East at the expense of France, Italy and the United States. The settlement is a betrayal of the Assyrians and leaves them with no rights in Turkey. The rest of the Middle East is carved up by the colonial powers with Iraq being established as a British “protectorate” for the sole purpose of providing Britain with oil. It should also be noted that Iraq was a British mandated territory administered on behalf of the League of Nations, until Iraq became an independent state in October 1932. Following quickly on the heels of Iraqi independence are British oil companies who are quickly granted oil concessions by the new Iraqi government.

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4.C LIST OF DOCUMENTS FOR CHAPTER.4 Doc.87 Note prepared by Colonial Office, Middle East Department, Whitehall Gardens, for [British] Cabinet, Committee on Iraq, I.R.Q.2, November 30, 1922 (NAA, A981 IRA15 Pt.1) Doc.88 Paraphrase telegram from the High Commissioner for Iraq (from Basrah) to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, December 10, 1922 (NAA, A981 IRA15 Pt.1) Doc.89 Military notes prepared by General Burnett Stuart, Military Section, British delegation, Lausanne, for Cabinet, Committee on Iraq, I.R.Q.12, December 12, 1922 (NAA, A981 IRA15 Pt.1) Doc.90 Memorandum presented by the Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, Lausanne, to Ismet Pasha, December 14, 1922 [Eastern. Confidential.Section.1 E14103/13003/44] (NAA, A981 IRA15 Pt.1) Doc.91 Speech by the Marquess Curzon of Kedleston on January 23, 1923 regarding Mosul, Lausanne [Turkey. Confidential. Section.2 E1000/1/44] (NAA, A981 IRA15 Pt.1) Doc.92 J.M.Salmond ltr. to Trenchard, Air Headquarters, British Forces in Iraq, Baghdad, April 7, 1923 (NAA, A981 IRA 15 Pt.1) Doc.93 Decode of cablegram received by the Governor-General from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, London, September 30, 1924. (NAA, A981 IRA15 Pt.3) Doc.94 Extract from the Report of the Commission constituted to settle the question of the frontier between Turkey and Iraq (1925) (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.95 Decode of cablegram received by the Governor-General from the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London, January 7, 19225 (NAA, A981 IRA15 Pt.3) Doc.96 Decode of cablegram received by the Governor-General from the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London, September 18, 1925 (NAA, A981 IRA 15 Pt.3)

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ltr. to The Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department (External Affairs), Canberra, February 5, 1931 (NAA, A981 IRA17 Pt.2) Doc.108 F.O note Iraq, July 10, 1931 (NAA, A981 IRA13) Doc.109 Acting Secretary memo for The Secretary, Department of Defence n.d (NAA, A981 IRA13) Doc.110 Memorandum for the Secretary. Department of Defence, June 30, 1932 (NAA, A981 IRA13) Doc.111 Memo for the Secretary, Department of Defence, December 1932 (NAA, A981 IRA13) Doc.112 Extract from Foreign Office Annual report for 9133 on Iraq (NAA, A981 IRA13) Doc.113 W.R.Hood, Department of External Affairs, London memo for The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, August 14,1936 (NAA, A981 IRA13)

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CHAPTER 5 THE SIMELE MASSACRE 5.A INTRODUCTION The document nos. 114-123 provided in this chapter will detail the events that led to the Simele massacre in 1933.Chapter 5 finds the Assyrians in a state of restlessness. Having been denied an autonomous state by the League of Nations they then request permission to leave Iraq and migrate to Syria. In an effort to take control of the restless Assyrians the Iraqi government foolishly detain Mar Shünun (St. Simon), one of their most prominent religious leaders in Baghdad on June 26, 1933. In protest 1500 armed Assyrian men of the Tkhuma tribe cross the border into Syria. They return on August 4 and are confronted by the Iraqi army who seek to disarm them. They instead turn against the Iraqi army wiping out the frontier post and breaking through two army cordons before finally fleeing to Syria. In retaliation the Iraqi army initiates the Simele massacre killing over 3,000 innocent Assyrians on August 7, 1933. With British betrayal and Iraqi brutality, the Assyrians abandon all hope of a homeland and thus begins steady trickle of refugees who flee the Middle East destined for the diaspora. The Simele massacre marks the Assyrian loss of innocence and the final loss of national aspirations.

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5.C LIST OF DOCUMENTS FOR CHAPTER.5 Doc.114 L.L.O Note-Iraq June 17, 1932 (NAA, A981 IRA14 Pt.1) Doc.115 L.L.O Note-Iraq June 30,1933 (NAA, A981 IRA26) Doc.116 Cablegram from Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London to Prime Minister’s Department, August 9, 1933 (NAA, A981 IRA26) Doc.117 Cablegram from Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London to Prime Minister’s Department, August 17,1933 (NAA, A981 IRA26) Doc.118 Keith Officer, Department of External Affairs, London memo for The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, August 17, 1933 (NAA, A981 IRA14 Pt.1) Doc.119 Keith Officer, Department of External Affairs, London memo for The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, August 23, 1933 (NAA, A981 IRA14 Pt.1) Doc.120 Cablegram from Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London to Prime Minister’s Department, August 29, 1933 (NAA, A981 IRA26) Doc.121 Department of External Affairs, London memo to The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, September 11, 1933 (NAA, A981 IRA14 Pt.1) Doc.122 L.L.O Note-Iraq October 27, 1933 (NAA, A981 IRA14 Pt.1) Doc.123 League of Nations, Protection of Minorities in Iraq, C.535.1933.1 Geneva, October 2, 1933 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1)

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CHAPTER 6 RESOLUTION AND RESETTLEMENT 6.A INTRODUCTION Documents 124-150 show the attempts to resolve and resettle the Assyrians. Chapter 6 is the focus of British attention to finally resolve the Assyrian question. Proposals to resettle the Assyrians in Brazil, British Guiana and Australia are made and rejected, Australia’s excuse at the time for not accepting the Assyrians was, “As an Asiatic race their admission would infringe on the ‘White Australia’ policy.” With lack of financial support the League of Nations finally decides on settling the Assyrians in Syria’s malaria-infested Khabour region. There is a one document showing the attitude of the Australian Government over Assyrian resettlement. This is a cablegram sent by Stanley Bruce, the Australian High Commissioner in London to Prime Minister Joseph A. Lyons on December 1933 stating that the: League of Nations enquire whether Commonwealth Government would consider favorably settlement in Australia such Assyrians as may desire to leave Iraq in consequence of unrest there. Propose to reply that, in view of unemployment consequent on economic depression, Commonwealth Government have found necessary to greatly restrict admission of aliens into Australia and regret not practicable to absorb Assyrians in question.

Another document shows an Edith Glanville, the President of the Quota Club in Sydney, strongly believing that the Australian Government should have accepted Assyrian refugees from Iraq for resettlement in the empty spaces of the Northern Territory. Here are a few brief excepts of this document: 325

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THE ASSYRIANS IN THE AUSTRALIAN ARCHIVES For a long time it has been very evident that a great deal of the potential wealth of Australia is lobe found in the Northern Territory.... As it seems almost impossible for us to secure the necessary kind of people from Great Britain, I could not help but think of a race who are possessed of the necessary qualifications for pioneering a territory such as we have in the North. I refer to the Assyrians.

Her efforts proved unsuccessful. Throughout out the 1930’s and 1940’s successive Australian Governments actively discouraged Assyrian migration to Australia.

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6.C LIST OF DOCUMENTS FOR CHAPTER.6 Doc.124 S.M.Bruce, High Commissioner, London cablegram to Prime Minister’s Department, December 7, 1933 (NAA, A981 IRA 7 Pt.1) Doc.125 Sec, Department of the Interior minute to The Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department, December 8,1933 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.126 Eshai Shimum, Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrians, Geneva ltr. to Minister for External Affairs of Australia, Canberra, March 4, 1934 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.127 Keith Officer, Department of External Affairs, London memorandum to The Secretary. Department of External Affairs, Canberra, April 17, 1934 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.128 Keith Officer, Department of External Affairs, London memorandum to The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, May 10,1934 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.129 Lopez Olivan, President of the Committee for the Resettlement of the Assyrians of Iraq, League of Nations, Geneva, ltr to The Prime Minister of Australia, Canberra, Australia, June 11, 1934 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.130 Keith Officer, Department of External Affairs, London memo to The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, August 2, 1934(NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.131 Department of the Interior memorandum by J.Horgan ,August 8, 1934 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.132 J.G.Latham, Minister for External Affairs, Canberra ltr. to The President of the Committee for the Resettlement of the Assyrians of Iraq, League of Nations, Geneva, August 30, 1934 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.133 League of Nations, C.165.M.91.1935 V11, Geneva, April 17, 1935 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1)

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Doc.134 Pierre Laval (translation) ltr n.d (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.135 League of Nations, C.211.M.110.1935.V11, Geneva, May 18, 1935 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.136 Keith Officer, Department of External Affairs, London memorandum to The Secretary. Department of External Affairs, Canberra, June 21, 1935 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.137 Keith Officer, Department of External Affairs, London memorandum to The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, July 7,1935 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.138 League of Nations, C.L.118.1935.V11, Geneva, July 16, 1935 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.139 G.F.Pearce, -League of Nations Appeal for... AssyriansFor Cabinet. Agenda no.1605, November 13, 1935 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.140 Keith Officer, Australian Delegation to League of Nations, Geneva, memorandum to The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, December 18, 1935 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.141W.D.Hood, Department of External Affairs, London memorandum to The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, May 15,1936 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.142 W.D.Hood, Department of External Affairs, London memorandum to The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, June 19, 1936 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.143 Northern Territory Development article by Edith Glanville n.d (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.144 Edith Glanville, President, Quota Club of Sydney, ltr. to Hon.J.A.Lyons, Prime Minister, February 23, 1937 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773)

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Doc.145 Acting Secretary, Prime Minister ltr. to E.Glanville, President, Quota Club of Sydney, Sydney, March 25, 1937 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.146 W.D.Hood, Department of External Affairs, London memorandum to The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, June 12, 1937 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.147 W.D.Hood, Department of External Affairs, London memorandum to The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, October 6, 1937 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.148 Office of the Administrative Inspector, Mosul memorandum to His Excellency, The Minister of Interior, [Baghdad?], April 30, 1938 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.149 League of Nations, C.505.M.345.1938.V11, Geneva, December 15, 1938 (NAA, A981 IRA7 Pt.1) Doc.150 For Official Secretary, Commonwealth of Australia, London memorandum for The Secretary, Department of the Interior, Canberra, December 9, 1938 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.150 (A) Ian Hannah, House of Commons, London, ltr, December 6, 1938 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773)

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CHAPTER 7 THE LEVIES OF HABBANIYA 7.A INTRODUCTION Documents 151-195 provides information on the Assyrian levies and the uprising of 1941.The final chapter finds the Assyrians once again caught in the middle of two warring parties. The year is 1941 and this time it is Germany who uses anti-British propaganda, influence and support to initiate an uprising against British colonial rule in Iraq. The Assyrian levies stationed at l-labbaniya, a British Royal Air Force base (RAF), situated just outside Bagdad are the focal point of this uprising. Outnumbered and besieged at Habbaniya by Iraqi army forces, the Assyrians along with British aerial support manage not only to defend Habbaniya but also to defeat the superior force and capture the whole of Iraq before German reinforcements can arrive. According to Vyvyan Holt, “During the Rachid Alli rebellion in Iraq the Assyrian levies employed by the RAF at Habbaniya fought well and played an important part in the defeat of the Iraqi army rebels.”

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7.C LIST OF DOCUMENTS FOR CHAPTER.7 Doc.151 Alfred Stirling, Department of External Affairs, London memorandum to The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra, August 28, 1937 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.1) Doc.152 Axis activities in Syria and Iraq 1939 /1941, Enemy Documents Section, Historical Branch, Cabinet Office, June 1951 (AWM54 531/1/24) Doc.153 Cablegram from The Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London to Prime Minister’s Department, April 30, 1941 (NAA, A1608 M41/1/3) Doc.154 Cablegram from Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London to Prime Minister’s Department, May 1, 1941 (NAA, A1608 M41/1/3) Doc.155 Cablegram from Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London to Prime Minister’s Department, May 2, 1941 (NAA, A1608 M41/1/3) Doc.156 From External Affairs Officer, London tel. to Mr. Casey, May 3, 1941 (A5954 616/5) Doc.157 Cablegram from Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London to Prime Minister’s Department, May 4, 1941 (NAA, A1608 M41/1/3) Doc.158 From External Affairs Officer, London tel. to Mr.Casey, May 5, 1941 (NAA, A5954 616/5) Doc.159 From The Australian High Commissioner cablegram to Prime Minister’s Department, May 4, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.160 From the Australian High Commissioner, London cablegram to Department of External Affairs, May 5, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2)

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Doc.161 From Australian High Commissioner, London cable to Prime Minister’s Department, May 6, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.162 From Australian high Commissioner, London cablegram to Prime Minister’s Department, May 6, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.163 From External Affairs Officer, London tel. to Mr.Casey, May 7, 1941 (NAA, A5954 616/5) Doc.164 From Australian High Commissioner, London cablegram to Department of External Affairs, May 8, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.165 From External Affairs Officer, London tel.to Mr. Casey, May 8,1941 (NAA, A5954 616/5) Doc.166 High Commissioner, London tel. to Mr. Casey, May 9, 1941 (NAA, A5954 616/5) Doc.167 Tel from Secretary of State, London to High Commissioner, May 9, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.168 Cablegram from High Commissioner, London to Department of External Affairs, May 10, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.169 Cablegram from High Commissioner, London to Department of External Affairs, May 10, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.170 Cablegram from Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London to Prime Minister’s Department, May 9, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.171 From High Commissioner, London tel.to Mr. Casey, May 11,1941 (NAA, A5954 616/5)

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Doc.172 Cablegram from High Commissioner, London to Department of External Affairs, May 14,1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.173 Cablegram from High Commissioner, London to Department of External Affairs, May 19, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.174 Cablegram from Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London to Prime Minister’s Department, May 19, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.175 Cablegram from High Commissioner, London to Department of External Affairs, May 20, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.176 Telegram from Secretary of State, London to High Commissioner, May 20, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.177 Cablegram from Australian High Commissioner, London to Prime Minister’s Department, May 22,1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.178 Cablegram from High Commissioner, London to Prime Minister’s Department. May 23, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.179 Cablegram from High Commissioner, London to Department of External Affairs, may 26, 1941(NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Dc.180 Cablegram from High Commissioner, London to Department of External Affairs, May 27, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.181 Cablegram from Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, London to Prime Minister’s Department, May 22,1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2) Doc.182 Cablegram from Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs to Prime Minister’s Department, June 1, 1941 (NAA, A981 IRA16 Pt.2)

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Doc.183 Cablegram from High Commissioner, London to Prime Minister’s Department, May 28,1941 (NAA, A981 IRA 16 Pt.2) Doc.184 Assyrian question by Captain Vyvyan Holt n.d (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.185 Note on Assyrian Settlement, Foreign Office, London, February 1944 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.186 W.Garnett, Official Secretary, Office of High Commissioner for the United Kingdom, Canberra ltr. to The Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department, Canberra, September 3, 1946 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.187 A.S.Watt, Acting Secretary, Department of External Affairs, Canberra memorandum for The Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department, Canberra, September 12, 1946 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.188 T.H.E.Heyes [The Secretary, Department of Immigration] memorandum for The Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department, Canberra, October 8, 1946 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.189 F.Strahan, Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department, Canberra memorandum to The Secretary, Department of Immigration, October 16, 1946 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.190 T.H.E.Heyes [The Secretary, Department of Immigration] memorandum to The Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department, October 31, 1946 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.191 The Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department, Canberra ltr.to The Official Secretary, Office of the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom, Canberra, November 11, 1946 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.192 W.Garnett, Official Secretary, Office of the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom, Canberra, ltr. to The Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department, Canberra, November 13, 1946 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773)

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Doc.193 Minister for Education, NSW, Sydney ltr. to The Hon. A.A.Calwell, M.H.R, Minister for Information and Immigration, Canberra, April 2, 1947 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.194 A.M.Hamilton, Westminster, UK, ltr. to The Hon. A.A.Calwell M.H.R., Minister for Information and Immigration, Canberra, A.C.T., Australia, April 23, 1947 (NAA, A434 46/3/8773) Doc.195 Arthur A.Calwell, Minister for Immigration ltr. to A.M.Hamilton, Westminster, UK, June 9, 1947 (NAA, A434 46/38773)

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APPENDIX 1

A BRIEF HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN POLICY37 In 1916, Australian Prime Minister William Morris Hughes abolished the Department of External Affairs, which was a part of the Prime Minister’s Department. This meant that the Prime Minister’s Department attained responsibility for the following functions from External Affairs: - Consular appointments, External Affairs, High Commissioner, Pacific Islands, Passports and Papua. After World War 1, Australia began to view itself as an “independent” nation within the political framework of the British Empire. Australia became more interested in having its own sources of information on issues that affected its defence and security in the post-1919 period. The Federal Cabinet decision of 1919 saw Major EL Piesse, the former Director of Military Intelligence being appointed “to the Prime Minister’s Department to collect secret intelligence on external affairs. Especially Far Eastern questions.” On June 20, ‘This appendix has been compiled from information held on the website of the Australian Archives (www.naa.gov.au) The following files were used :- NAA Agency notes CA12 Prime Minister’s Department; NAA Persons notes for persons CA24 Richard Gardiner Casey; NAA Series notes for seriesA10356 League of Nations; and NAA Series notes for series A981 Department of External Affairs 37

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1919 Piesse took up his appointment as Director of the Pacific Branch within the Prime Minister’s department. In 1921, the Pacific Branch was expanded into a Foreign (Affairs) Section having two branches-Pacific and General- with each carrying out its own particular function. The Foreign Section (Pacific Branch) handled the following: All questions relating to the Pacific (including East Asia and USA), Japanese affairs including trends in public opinion, League of Nations obligations in regard to Mandated territories (other than administration) [and] all matters connected with the White Australia policy. Alternatively, the Foreign Section (General Branch) was responsible for the: League of Nations (except) including International Labour Office, Pacific International arrangements, conventions (including Treaties) [and] information trends of public opinion in foreign countries (except those dealt with by the Pacific Branch). W.M. Hughes created “a Ministry of External Affairs [in December 1921], with a nominal department, which, in practice comprised the Foreign Section.” It should be noted that administratively, the Department of External Affairs remained under the Prime Minister’s control until 1932. When Stanley Melbourne Bruce became Prime Minister in 1923, he set about the task “to reduce and simplify the functions of the Prime Minister’s Department.” Some of the new Administrative (Central) matters implemented were: channel ofcommunication for all Departments with State, British, Dominions and Foreign Governments also Consuls in Australia; Executive Council matters; Cabinet; and Parliamentary and Commonwealth Gazette and Statutes. Immigration came under Public Service matters in the Prime Minister’s Department. By 1930, the Immigration portfolio was transferred to the Department of Transport. Another important development in 1923 was that “the control of the High Commissioner’s Office in London was transferred to

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the Department of External Affairs and the Expropriation Board of the Treasury.” One of the most important decisions that Bruce made in relation to Foreign Affairs in 1924 was the appointment of Richard Gardiner Casey as Australian Political Liaison Officer in London being a part of the reorganization of the Department of External Affairs. It should be noted that Australia’s participation with the League constituted its first foray into international politics. The Australian High Commissioner’s Office in London was responsible for Australia’s contact with the League in Geneva. Furthermore Australia increased its participation in League affairs only after SM Bruce’s appointment as High Commissioner in 1932. During the period 1933-1936, Australia was an elected member of the Council of the League of Nations with Bruce serving a term as Chairman of the Council.

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SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY MANUSCRIPT SOURCES 1(A). National Archives of Australia (Canberra ACT) A1/15 1916/22704 Employment of Syrians 1916 A1/15 1921/2162 Review of the civil administration of Mesopotamia 1920-21 A1/15 1926/4574 Electoral Franchise for Assyrians 1926 A1/15 19295980 Bogus collectors for Assyrian refugees 1927-29 A2/1 1918/1 Patriotic funds, Armenian, Chaldean and Persian relief fund 1917-18 A446 1946/3/8773 Admission of Assyrians from Iraq 1933-37 A456 W13/20 War with Turkey 1914-1917 A981 IRA 7 Part 1 Assyrians 1933-39 A981 IRA 13 Iraq-Oil 1925-36 A981 IRA 14 Part 1 Iraq Internal Politics 1929-34 A981 IRA 15 Part 1 Mosul Dispute 1922-23 A981 IRA 15 Part 2 Mosul Dispute 1924-26 A981 IRA 15 Part 3 Mosul Dispute 1924-27 499

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A981 IRA 16 Part 1 Iraq relations with the United Kingdom 192941 A981 IRA 16 Part 2 Iraq...United Kingdom 1930-41 A981 IRA 17 part 1 Iraq British policy and interests 1922-1927 A981 IRA 17 part 2 Iraq... 1927-1931. A981 IRA 26 Iraq Foreign relations 1932-42 A1608 M41/1/3 War Section Iraq Part 1 1941-42 A5954 616/5 Prime Minister’s visit to United Kingdom cables relating to outbreak of hostilities in Iraq 3/5/41to 11/5/41 1941 A6006 1915/3/15 Admission of Syrian refugees 1915 A6006 1915/4/19 Naturalization for Syrians 1915 A6006 1924/05/01 Syrians naturalized by Commonwealth. Right to enrolment under Commonwealth Act 1924. A11803 1917/89/558 Expeditionary Force Syrians (Christians) 1917 1(B) National Archives of Australia (Melbourne, Victoria) B543 W175/1/2188 Numbers of internees of Germans, Austrians, and Turkish Nationalities 1915. MP16/1 1915/3/102 Dr R.L Fakhry 1914-15 MP16/1 1915/3/1429 Remittances from Australia to Syria 1915 MP16/1 1915/3/1508 Turkish subjects 1914 (Department of Home Affairs, Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics) MP16/11916/1418 Exchange of British and Turkish civilians 1916

500

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501

MP16/1 1916/1628 Saleeba, Bossaid.1916 MP16/1 1918/40 Laif Noon 1918 MP16/1 1918/318 George Bossaid Turkish subject 1918 MP16/1 1918/777 Fakhry Joseph Mansour (Assyrian) Bendigo, 1918 MP16/1 1918/883 Mrs. Annie Torbay (Assyrian) 1918 MP16/1 1918/929 Nichola Saleeba Zaheyia 1918 MP16/1 1918/2038 Father Simon Nicholas Syro-Chaldean Priest, 1918 MP116/1 1918/2064 Repatriation of Turkish subjects 1918 MP16/1 1918/2068 Christy Saleeba 1918 MP16/1 Y1919/240 Rev Simon Yonnan 1919 MP367/1 567/8/2160 Repatriation of Prisoners of WarAgreement between British & Ottoman Governments 1918-19 1(C) National Archives of Australia (Hobart Tasmania) P437 1919/1764 Aware of imposters claiming to be Assyrians or Armenian priests 1919 1(D) National Archives of Australia (Adelaide South Australia) D1915 SA1230 D Yonnan DD re advent of imposters calling themselves priests collecting funds for Syrians 1924-25 D1915 SA1742 Bogus collectors for Assyrians 1927

2. AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL (CANBERRA ACT) AWM38 3DRL606/239/2 Official history 1914-18 Records off Charles W.E.Bean Official Historian 1917-18

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AWM54 531/1/24 Campaign in Syria Axis activities in Syria & Iraq 1939-41 (June 1941)

3. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION AND WORKS OF REFERENCE Robin Bidwell (Ed) British Documents on Foreign Affairs, Series B Turkey, Iran and the Middle East 1918-1939 Vols. 8 Eastern Affairs (December 1931-June 1933) and Vol.10 Eastern Affairs (June 1933- May 1934), University Publications of America, 1986.

4. SECONDARY WORKS Hanna Batatu, The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1978 Robert Brenton Betts, Christians in the Arab East, John Knox Press, Atlanta, GA, 1978 Martin Van Bruinessen, ‘Kurdish Tribes and the State of Iran: The case of Simko’s Revolt’, in Richard Tapper (Ed), The Conflict of Tribe and State in Iran and Afghanistan, St Martin’s Press, New York, 1983, pp.364-400 Sargon Dadesho, The Assyrian National question at the United Nations, S.Dadesho, Modesto, California, 1987 Samira Haj, The making of Iraq 1900 -1963: Capital, Power and Ideology, State University of the New York Press, Albany, 1997 Albert H. Hourani, Minorities in the Arab World, Oxford University Press, London, New York, Toronto, 1947 Avian B.Ishaya, The role of minorities in the State: history of the Assyrian experience, Dept of Anthropology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Man, 1981. John Joseph, The Nestorians and their Muslim Neighbors, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1961. John Joseph, Muslim-Christian relations and Inter-Christian rivalries in the Middle East, State University of the New York Press, Albany, 1983.

502

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Samir Al-Khalil, Republic of Fear: the politics of Modern Iraq, University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, 1989. Phillip S.Khoury, Syria and the French Mandate System: The politics of Arab nationalism 1920-1945, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1987. Stephen H.Longrigg, Iraq 1900 to 1950, Oxford University Press, London, New York, Toronto, 1953 David McDowall, A Modern history of the Kurds, I.B.Taurus, London and New York, 1986 Helmut Mejecher, Imperial quest for oil: Iraq 1910-1928, published for the Middle East Centre St Anthony’s College, Oxford by Ithaca Press, London, 1976. Robert Olsen, The Emergence of Kurdish nationalism and the Sheikh Said rebellion, 1880-1925, University of Texas Press, Austin, 1989 Andrea Pacini, (Ed) Christian communities in the Arab Middle East: the challenge of the future, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1998. Daniel Pipes, Greater Syria: the history of a ambition, Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, 1990 Ahmed A. R. Shikara, Iraqi politics 1921-41, LAAM, London, 1981. Peter Sluglett, Britain in Iraq, published for the Middle East Centre, St Anthony’s College, Oxford, by Ithaca Press, London, 1976 Lt-Col. R.S.Stafford, The Tragedy of the Assyrians, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1935. Eliezer Tauber, The Formation of modern Syria and Iraq, Frank Cass, Portland, Oregon, 1995 Charles Tripp, A History of Iraq, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2000

503

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THE ASSYRIANS IN THE AUSTRALIAN ARCHIVES

Joseph Yacoub, The Assyrian question, Alpha Graphic, Chicago, 1986.

5. MEMOIRS n.a, The Assyrian Tragedy, 1934 Yusuf Malek, The British betrayal of the Assyrians, Joint -action of Assyrian National Federation & the Assyrian National league of America, Chicago, 1935 Brigadier-General H.H.Austin, The Baqubah Refugee Camp, The Faith Press, London, 1920

6. JOURNAL ARTICLES A.W.D Bentinck, ‘The Assyrians’, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, Vol.X1, 1924. Lt-Col F.Cunliffe-Owen, ‘The Assyrian Adventure of 1920’, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, Vol.1X, 1922 Bayard Dodge, ‘The Settlement of the Assyrians in the Khabur’, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, July 1940, pp.301-320. Albert M.Fernandez, ‘Dawn at Tell Tamir’, Journal of Assyrian AcademicStudies,Vol.X11 ,no.1, 1998 in www.jaas.org/edocs/v12n1/Fernandez.pdf G.F.Gracey, ‘An Inquiry into the Assyrian situation’, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, May-June Vol.XX11, 1935. Khaldun S.Husry, The Assyrian Affair (1) & (2), International Journal for Middle East Studies, April & June 1974 pp.161-76 & 334-60. Ernest Main, ‘Iraq and the Assyrians 1923-33’, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, Vol.XX, 1933. Ernest Main, ‘Assyrians in the Middle East’, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, Vol.XL, 1953, pp.151-60.

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SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

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David Omissi, ‘Britain, the Assyrians and the Iraq Levies, 19191932’, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 17, 3 (1989) pp.301-22 Major F.F.Rynd, ‘The Assyro-Chaldeans’, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, Vol.X, 1923. Sir Percy Sykes, ‘The Assyrians in Iraq’, Royal Central Asian Society Journal, Vol.XX1, 1934.

7. THESES Anthony Julian Ham, The Assyrian community of Iraq, MA (Dissertation), Dept of Political Science, Melbourne, 1998. Racho Donef, Identities in the multicultural state four immigrant populations from Turkey in Australia and Sweden, PhD (Dissertation), Macquarie University, Sydney, 1998

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