Mr. Alfred Mansour, the member of the gathering, told SBS the idea was first to protest the destruction of part of the Nineveh wall, to pave way for a road to be built.
After mass protests on social media and the interference of former Iraqi MP Joseph Sliwa, the construction was put to a halt.
Mr. Mansour says that is not enough. The group is trying to send a message to the Iraqi government, to stop the building of the road permanently.
The gathering, Mr. Mansour says, is drafting a list of demands to be presented to the Iraqi consulate in Sydney and copies will be sent to UNESCO, museums and archaeologists, Historians and academics around the world, showing the extent of the damage placed upon the Nineveh wall because of the construction.
The list of demands will also include:
- Put a permanent stop to the road project.
- Establishment of a commission to investigate the people responsible for the damage.
- Charge and imprison the perpetrators.
- Preserve, clean and rebuild all the damaged historic sites that been neglected for decades.
finally, Mr. Mansour says, the gathering is planning to coordinate and communicate with various Assyrian organisations around the world, to form one united and powerful voice to be a defender against any other acts as barbaric as the one we have witnessed.
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