Christians of Iraq

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Updated list of Opression and Murders of the Assyrians in Iraq Not reported by the International Press

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---- Britain's House of Lords Discusses Assyrian Case November 21, 06 Assyrian International News Agency AINA) -- The following was raised by the Earl of Sandwich during a debate that convened at the House of Lords yesterday, 20th November 2006: The Earl of Sandwich: My Lords, the words unusually missing from this gracious Speech are "poverty reduction" and "international development". However, I realise that much humanitarian work is hidden behind foreign policy and anti-terrorism, especially in conflict countries. What has happened to poverty reduction in Iraq? Is DfID still using that terminology, or is it impossible under these dangerous conditions to target the poorest and the victims of injustice? One group that I commend tonight, both in Iraq and the Middle East as a whole, is the Christian community, which is declining in number across the whole region. I hesitate to single out Christians, who often enjoy social and economic advantages which may be resented, not least because of their connections abroad. Nevertheless, for whatever reason, the churches in Iraq have unfairly become the focus of much discrimination, and even hatred, since 2003, and many Christian families are now reduced to acute material and spiritual poverty. The plight of the Assyrian Christians and other minorities has already been discussed. My noble and right reverend friend Lord Carey has also represented them, and the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, made a strong case for them in July last year. The Assyrians, or Nestorians, are the descendants of the people of Babylon and Nineveh. They were one of the earliest Christian sects. By the 9th century they had become a worldwide church extending as far as China and south India. For 12 centuries they lived mainly in harmony with Muslim Arabs in what we now call Kurdistan, but when missionaries arrived in northern Iraq, the Assyrians began to be persecuted. Hundreds of thousands were victims during the terrible Armenian massacre. Britain defended them against the Turks after 1917, when Assyrian soldiers became trusted allies up to and after Iraq's independence in 1932. But at that time, thousands more, seen as collaborating with us, were killed by the Iraqi army. Historically, therefore, we are in their debt. It is hard to estimate the total number of Assyrians now, since so many have fled from Iraq to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the US, Australia and this country. Incidentally, the Home Office tried to send some of them back to Iraq on the absurd grounds that they were quite safe in the north. There are at least 600,000 to 700,000 left, and they and other related minorities such as the Chaldeans, the Syrian Orthodox Church, Catholics, Copts, Armenians and others, deserve much more attention and, above all, better protection from the Iraqi Government. That, of course, also means our Government. Thousands were oppressed and displaced along with the Kurds under Saddam Hussein's Arabisation policy, and the Commission for Resolution of Real Property Disputes is genuinely trying to help them to recover their homes and property, taken up to April 2003. Under Iraq's new human rights legislation, Christians in theory qualify for protection, but they are obviously not getting it from the police, the army or the occupying forces. They have no militia to protect them, like the larger Shia and Sunni factions. Many Christian communities have been directly targeted. In the past three years, 30 churches and schools have been bombed in Baghdad and northern Iraq, and small businesses are constantly attacked. Some of those attacks have been in so-called retaliation for the Danish cartoons or the Pope's ill-judged lecture on Islam, for selling liquor, as they have done for centuries, or, in the case of women, for not wearing the veil. But in communities already fragmented by near civil war, the problem runs much deeper than that. Christian families live in daily fear of death threats. Last month an abducted priest from the Syriac Orthodox Church, Father Boulos Iskander, was found in Mosul, beheaded and dismembered soon after his family had already paid a ransom of $40,000. His kidnappers used the excuse of the Pope's remarks the previous month. Several young women have been killed after threats about the veil. A 14 year-old Christian Assyrian boy called Ayad Tariq in Baquba was also beheaded last month, according to the Assyrian news agency. Not surprisingly, many Christians have left Iraq, among the hundreds of thousands of refugees. Asylum seekers arriving in OECD countries doubled during the first six months of this year, and more than 8,000 Iraqis applied to EU countries during that period­a higher figure than from any other region. The UN estimates that a further 425,000 Iraqis are displaced inside the country. Among them are urban professionals, doctors, teachers and technicians, many of them Christians. As one noble Lord has said, those who are most useful to Iraq in its present situation have been directly targeted by extremists. One Christian refugee who personifies the brave and almost hopeless struggle of minorities isDr Donny George, the former director of the National Museum in Baghdad, who helped to recover the treasures that were looted after the US invasion. Having come under increasing pressure from Shiites and Islamists, he resigned in August as president of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. He even had to close the museum and seal it in concrete to save it. Like other archaeologists, Dr George has left the country and has moved with his family to Damascus. Money to pay the salaries of the special police force that valiantly defends Iraq's famous archaeological sites is running out. Again, we see a vicious minority of extremists determined to destroy their own culture, coupled with the apparent inability of the coalition and the Government to help. What can our Government do now to break this deadlock? Are the minorities receiving their fair share of the billions of dollars pledged in Madrid? My noble friend Lord St John raised this question. During last year's debate, the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, told my noble friend Lady Northover: "The Iraqi transitional Government ... have massive international support: $32 billion was pledged in Madrid ... it is of course up to the Iraqi Government to co-ordinate with the Kurdish regional government to afford an equitable redistribution of resources".­[Official Report, 6/7/05; col. 716.] Two noble Lords who visited Iraq have told us that this is not happening. Dr Kim Howells said: "The Iraqi Constitution contains provisions which guarantee democratic principles, rights and freedoms of all individuals, including the freedom of worship. We continue to encourage the Iraqi government to ensure these are protected".­[Official Report, Commons, 26/10/06; col. 2072W.] What does this "protection" mean in practice? What has happened to the resettlement programme in the Nineveh plain? Do the Kurdish Regional Government respect the constitution when they register householders to prevent terrorist infiltration or are they favouring the Kurds in this process? This issue came up in the Australian Federal Parliament on 29 May, when Chris Bowen MP asked his Government to support a protected administrative region for the Assyrians. I do not go as far as my noble friend in suggesting that the Assyrians should have regional autonomy, as their own democratic movement proposes. I think that that is difficult to contemplate at a time when, as we have heard, Kurdish independence may again be on the cards as a result of a failed Iraqi state. There is a lot of historic suspicion on the Assyrian websites, but there is a lot of sense in supporting a protected homeland or some kind of administrative region for the Assyrians. The persecution of Christians by Muslims is neither new nor unique. It is mainly a story of exile that is being told in Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Palestine and all over the Middle East. I accept that it is in part an unforeseen consequence of our own mistaken policies but that does not excuse us, and so long as we have influence in Iraq we have the opportunity of ending it. I will end by urging the Government to return to their position in 2002­it was advocated again tonight by several noble Lords­when a large number of states, including Iran, as the noble Lord, Lord Lamont, pointed out, united in a coalition against terrorism. I will briefly quote from the late Robin Cook's resignation speech in March 2003. He said: "Only a year ago, we and the United States were part of a coalition against terrorism that was wider and more diverse than I would ever have imagined possible. History will be astonished at the diplomatic miscalculations that led so quickly to the disintegration of that powerful coalition. The US can afford to go it alone, but Britain is not a superpower. Our interests are best protected not by unilateral action but by multilateral agreement and a world order governed by rules".­[Official Report, Commons, 17/3/03; col. 726.] The following was the response on behalf of Her Majesty's government by The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): On the point of the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, about the Assyrian and other Christian minorities, we are working hard for the interests of the Christian minorities in Iraq. We support all minority groups in Iraq and, where we can, we play a role in facilitating their participation in society and in the Government. I can confirm that we are also supporting at a very considerable level, through DfID, the spending on the reconstruction of the country. We have pledged a total of £544 million on that goal. Links to the above can be found here: 1, 2, 3

Who are the Christians of Iraq? Tishrin II = November Britain's House of Lords Discusses Assyrian CaseoNov. 20, 06vember Baghdad: priest missing, feared kidnapped Nov. 20, 06 Kurds remove Arabs and Assyrians thru violence Nov. 19, 06 Kurdish Officials Employ Saddam Hossain's Tactics Nov. 19, 06 Nuri Kino on Swedish National TV argues the Assyrian cause Nov.18, 06 Professors Dr. Otto Jastrow and Shabo Talay are planning a Toroyo Assyrian Language Dictionary Project Nov.16, 06 Bishops, commission plead for help for Iraqi Christians Nov.15, 06 Turkey Tries to Escape Its History Nov.14, 06 Terrorists Blast Iraqi Church Nov.12, 06 The Non-reaction to the Murder of an Assyrian Priest Nov.12, 06 Turkey Gives Non-Muslims the Right to Own Property Nov.12, 06 Hermit Assyrian nun is anything but reclusive Nov.10, 06 Fresh Concern Expressed About Iraq's Assyrians Nov.10, 06 Silencing Ancient Echoes: Iraq's Christians Nov. 9, 06 The Non-reaction to the Murder of an Assyrian Priest Nov. 9, 06 Iraqi bishop calls for Christian gathering: unite to be counted and more secure Nov. 8, 06 Proud Assyrian Survivor Can Move on Nov. 7, 06 Assyrian Genocide Victims Discovered In Turkey: Report Nov. 6, 06 Lecture by DR. DONNY GEORGE former Chairman, Board of Antiquities, Iraq Nov. 6, 06 Assyrian areas in northern Iraq as shown in a map by Newsweek Nov. 3, 06 Church calls for action over gruesome violence toward Christians in Iraq Nov. 2, 06 Evidence of Turkey's World War One Massacres Covered up by the Military” Nov. 2, 06 This Was Genocide, But Armenians Were Not Its Only Victims Nov. 1, 06 Assyrian UN Delegation Calls for Autonomous Region for Iraq's Assyrians Nov. 1, 06 Tishrin 1 = October The West Turns a Blind Eye to the Ethnic Cleansing of Christians in Iraq Oct. 31, 06 U.S. Bishops Call for Protection of Iraq's Christians Oct. 30, 06 Hood celebrates 150th anniversary of Assyrian reliefs Oct. 30, 06 Assyrian History On Display Oct. 29, 06 Freedom of Religion Key for All in Iraq Oct. 29, 06 14 years young Assyrian boy decapitated in Iraq Oct. 29, 06 Assyrian civic club marks 60 years Oct. 27, 06 From Discovery to Dartmouth: The Assyrian Reliefs Oct. 27, 06 Sargis Aghajan: A Saint or a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing? Oct. 26, 06 Priest Sends SOS for Christians in Iraq; Faithful Flee, Churches Close in Baghdad Oct. 25, 06 The World Must Speak About the ongoing Assyrian Genocide Oct. 25, 06 Iraqi Militias Conducting Ethnic Cleansing Campaign Against Baghdad's Christians Oct. 23, 06 Pope Urges World Leaders to Help Iraqis Rebuild Troubled Nation Oct. 23, 06 Iraq's Christian Assyrians: Living in Fear Oct. 23, 06 Assyrians built aqueducts to bring water to Nineveh predating Romans by 400 years. Oct. 23, 06 Hope for Assyrian Christians 'Rapidly Dying,' Says Former Iraqi Minister Oct. 20, 06 Christians Live in Fear of Death Squads in Iraq Oct. 20, 06 Congresswoman Esho's Letter to Rice about the endengered Christians of Iraq Oct. 20, 06 IRAQ: CHRISTIANS LIVE IN FEAR Oct. 20, 06 Iraq: Christian Minority Seeks Haven From Violence Oct. 19, 06 GEORGIA: Will mob halt Assyrian Catholic centre? Oct. 19, 06 Ancient ruins inspire hope in U.S. forces in Pre-Christian Iraq . Oct. 18, 06 Christian Migration From Mid-East At Heart of Patriarchs' Meeting Oct. 19, 06 Assyrian language Lecture and Seminar in London Oct. 19, 06 Save Us from the Time of Trial Oct. 18, 06 Persecution of non-Muslims increases in Iraq. Oct. 18, 06 In Iraq, a New Level of Threat to Christians Oct. 17, 06 World Has Forgotten Iraqi Christians: Chaldean Patriarch Oct. 16, 06 Some 500 people attend funeral of beheaded priest Oct. 16, 06 Christians are vacating land of Christ Oct. 15, 06 Threats force Iraqi Christians to flee to Syria Oct. 15, 06 Turkey starts to admit it has an ‘Armenian Question’ Oct. 15, 06 Some Turks change religion as way to West Oct. 14, 06 Beleaguered Yazidi find peace high in Iraq's northern mountains Oct. 14, 06 Beheading of Iraqi priest latest attack on minorities Oct. 14, 06 Kurdish Militia Attacks Assyrian TV Station in North Iraq Oct. 13, 06 Iraq priest 'killed over pope's speech' Oct. 13, 06 More than 35,000 Christians have fled violence in Iraq Oct. 13, 06 Prominent Assyrian Priest Beheaded Oct. 12, 06 Father Paulos Iskandar Killed by Terrorist Abductors Oct. 12, 06 Who Will Remember the Assyrian Genocide? Oct. 11, 06 Abducted and raped, young Christian women and girls are driven to suicide in Iraq Oct. 11, 06 Was the genocide of the Ottoman Empire in1915 only against the Armenians, or included Assyrians also? Oct. 10, 06 Traditional Assyrian Costumes Oct. 9, 06 Organisation and Substitutionism Oct. 8, 06 A Nation Without a Country Oct. 8, 06 Swedish authorities honor Malfono Gabriel Afram Oct. 7, 06 Christian husband and wife converts from Islam released Oct. 7, 06 Terror campaign targets Christians of Iraq Oct. 6, 06 In 20 years, there will be no more Christians in Iraq' Oct. 5, 06 \FIRST-PERSON: Assyrian haircut Oct. 5, 06 The Assyrians: Ignored Among Fears of an Iraqi Civil War Oct. 4, 06 Two Iranian Christians arrested in Mashad. Oct. 4, 06 Car Bombs at the Christian Assyrian shopping district in Baghdad killed 16, injured 87 Oct. 4, 06 30 Christian families receive threats to leave Mosul - Iraq Oct. 2, 06 Mr. Sarkis Aghajan, the Finance Minister of the Kurdistan regional Government Asks for more rights for the Assyrians Oct. 2, 06     Archives August, September 06 June, July 06 March April May 06 February 06 December05 Januray 06