Assyrian International News Agency AINA
Dec 26 2009

Iraqi Christians Receive Seasonal Wishes From UN Envoy

By Lisa Karpova And Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

The top United Nations envoy to Iraq today issued seasonal wishes to
the country’s Christians and to all Iraqis amid fears of a surge in
violence targeting the country’s Christian population. In a statement
coinciding with Christmas Eve, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Iraq Ad Melkert wished all Iraqis, and in
particular Iraqi Christians, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year.

Iraq had a secular government under Sadaam Hussein. Christians and
Muslims lived side by side in peace and harmony. Christians even had
high positions in the Iraqi government, as well as small ones. They
didn’t have to fear for their lives or being the target of violence.
Iraq’s Christians have historically played an important role in
maintaining the country’s unique and rich societal fabric, and they
continue to contribute to preserving national unity in the face of
much adversity.

There are no specific statistics about the total population of
Christians in Iraq now because of current instability. The Christian
population before the U.S. invasion of the country, in 2003, was
estimated to have been about one million, but since then because of
bombing of their churches, killing, kidnapping and other terrorist
attacks against members of the community by Islamic fanatics, more
than half of the community has been forced to abandon their homeland
and seek refuge in Syria, Jordan, Iran, Lebanon and other moderate
countries.

This is the kind of government the US and the Israelis seem to have a
major problem with. You have Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria,
Palestine…all of these countries have shown tolerance and friendship
to their Christian minorities and have appreciated their contributions
to their respective societies. However, you have places like Saudi
Arabia, Azerbaijan and Turkey where Christians have been subjected to
all kinds of abuses and genocide and guess what? The US and Israel are
their best friends.

The modern militant form of Islam in the Middle East, even if it were
not a bastard child of the Western neocolonial strategists, certainly
has brought devastation to the region. Western interests have seen
Nasser’s pan-Arabism (Ben-Bela, Burgiba, Saddam Hussein, King Hassan)
as a major obstacle to their economic and geopolitical interests. They
believe that sacrificing the Christians in Iraq has been a price well
worth paying even though it was not theirs to pay.

Christian churches in Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Mosul have been bombed
throughout the war. Now, priests and others in Nineveh Plain say they
pay large sums of money to Al Qaeda-linked militants in Mosul, the
provincial capital, in exchange for protection for themselves and
their churches. Christian churches are surrounded by barbed wire and
fences where none were needed before.

The extortion has not kept Christians safe. Nearly every one has had a
heart-wrenching story to tell about kidnapping, extortion, and
displacement at the hands of Islamic extremists intent on driving
Christians from the region.

"I had a choice: Convert to Islam, pay the tax, or give away one of my
daughters," says a man originally from Baghdad, who was kidnapped two
years ago and released only after his family paid a hefty ransom. Now,
he’s trying to leave Iraq for good.

The US-led invasion of March 2003 sent thousands of Armenian
Christians fleeing to Armenia, Syria and Lebanon. Others have
resettled in the United States, Sweden and Holland. Much different
than in Saddam’s Iraq, when special classes were allowed in Armenian
language and religious studies.

At least 45 Armenians have been killed in the post-Saddam years of
rampant insurgency, sectarian warfare and often unbridled crime, while
another 32 people have been kidnapped for ransom, two of whom are
still missing. On December 7, 2004, assailants firebombed a new church
in the northern city of Mosul, an Al-Qaeda bastion, just days before
it was to be inaugurated.

Like all Iraqis, Armenian Christians have also been caught up in car
bombings, killed during robberies or in cases of mistaken shootings by
the US military and private security firm Blackwater. Speaking of
Iraq’s hospitality and kindness after the Armenian Genocide, an
Armenian Christian family declared, "We are indebted to the Arabs.
They did everything to welcome us. They allowed us to live and to rise
in society, after Armenian survivors, many of them orphans, had
arrived bare-footed from death marches across the desert."

The Iraqi army said its forces were put on alert in areas with
significant Christian populations because of intelligence reports that
they could be once again be subjected to attack as they have been
continually since the American invasion set loose the elements of
intolerance, fanaticism, criminality and fascism. For that, Iraqi
Christians must be truly grateful to the Americans.

In the last month, there has been an increase in deadly attacks
against Christians in Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city. In October
last year, more than 12,000 Christians fled Mosul following an upsurge
in attacks, threats and intimidation. Some later returned.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress