Dr. Muna Yaku, professor of law in Salahaddin University in Arbil, is the first among Iraqi Assyrian candidates to the Iraqi Parliament to be interviewed by Assyria TV. She tells that the reason she accepted to candidate is her Assyrian national duty. She sees great possibilities to achieve the Assyrian rights within the existing constitution and to become the voice of her people when it comes to the legislation.
She says that the changes in the election law in 2009 made it possible to any party to play a political game with the election to the quota of 5 seats to “the Christian bloc”. Before that only Assyrians and other Christians were able to elect this quota, but now anybody is able to put his vote on these candidates.
She is also critical to the term ”Christian bloc”. Next time this quota could be occupied by the so called ”Christian Kurds” who have converted in recent years. In order to guarantee the Assyrians five seats or more the erhnic identity must replace the “Christian bloc”, she says.
Because there are more Assyrians in the Diaspora than in Iraq nowadays, it is important that the Iraqi Assyrian Diaspora votes actively. This would help our own candidates to gain the power to form the future in right direction, and also to prevent any hostile non-Assyrians voting act.