Toma Tomas

Toma Tomas ܬܐܘܡܐ ܬܐܘܡܐܣ توما توماس
Toma Tomas in his seventies
Born	1924 Alqosh, Iraq
Died	15 October 1996 (aged 72) Damascus, Syria
Nationality	Iraqi
Other names	Abu Joseph
Occupation	Guerilla leader
Known for	Guerilla leader

Toma Tomas (Syriac: ܬܐܘܡܐ ܬܐܘܡܐܣ) (1924-1996), also known by his nom de guerre Abu Joseph, was an Assyrian politician and the leader of al-Ansar, a communist, Marxist–Leninist militia in Iraq during the 1960s and 1970s which fought on behalf of the Iraqi Communist Party against the Iraqi government.

Early life

Toma Tomas was an ethnic Assyrian born in Alqosh in 1924 to a Chaldean Catholic family. He witnessed the Simele massacre first-hand when Assyrians escaped the massacres to Alqosh. This event was crucial in shaping his political ideas in the future.^[1]

After finished elementary school in Alqosh, he moved to Mosul where he finished high school and joined the Iraq Levies. He later found his way to Kirkuk to work at an oil company. There he learned about communism and joined the Iraqi Communist Party in the early 1950s.^[2]

Struggle against the central government

Toma Tomas with another Chaldean fighter in winter 1964.

He moved to his home town after the 14 July Revolution, which brought the Qasimists (who were allied with the Iraqi Communist Party) to power. The situation didn't last long however, the Arab nationalists revolted and the prime minister Abd al-Karim Qasim was executed. The communists where summarily executed and some led by Toma Tomas fled to the mountains of northern Iraq where they formed armed communist guerilla’s known as the Ansar and fought alongside the Kurds and Iraqi dissidents in their struggle against the central government.^[3]

For almost 30 years Toma Tomas led the Ansar in many battles against the Iraqi army in the region stretching from the Turkish borders to Telkepe to the south.^[2]

Death

He died in Syria on 15 October 1996 and was buried at the Chaldean cemetery in Nohadra. His remains were reburied in his home town Alqosh in 2010.^[4]

References

1. "Papers of Toma Tomas". Archived from the original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
2. الأصيل توما توماس , لم يكن للكراهية مكانا في قلبه.^{[permanent dead link‍]}, NirgalGate (in Arabic)
3. في الذكرى الثامنة لرحيل ( توما توماس - ابوجوزيف ) Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Ankawa.com (in Arabic)
4. نقل رفاة البيشمركة الانصاري توما توماس لمسقط راسه بعد اكثر من عقد على وفاته Archived 2012-07-18 at archive.today, AKnews (in Arabic)

External links

• Toma Tomas' diaries, Zahrira (in Arabic)