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Archives 2010
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European Syriac Union (E.S.U.) wishes you a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year 2011.
We also have special thoughts for the minorities in Middle East and Iraq,
especially the Christian Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrians who are suffering.

L'Union Syriaque Européenne (E.S.U.)
vous souhaite un Joyeux Noël & une Bonne Année 2011. Nous avons également une pensée
particulière pour les minorités du Moyen-Orient et d'Irak, et plus particulièrement
les chrétiens Chaldéen-Syriaque-Assyriens qui souffrent.
Le Noël endeuillé des chrétiens d’Irak
22 Décembre 2010 - LaCroix -
Deux mois après le massacre de
la cathédrale de Bagdad, les chrétiens irakiens se préparent
à célébrer Noël dans la plus grande discrétion, leur
sécurité étant plus que jamais menacée.
Ce 25 décembre, ils fêteront la venue d’un enfant né au
monde il y a 2000 ans. Un enfant dont personne ne voulait,
et qui n’échappa que de peu au massacre décrété par les
autorités de l’époque. Mais c’est la photo d’un autre enfant
qu’ils auront sous les yeux, derrière l’autel : un bébé,
assassiné, lors de
l’attentat qui a eu lieu le 31 octobre dernier, dans la
cathédrale syrienne catholique Al-Najat de Bagdad. Un bébé,
mitraillé sur place par l’un des terroristes, simplement
parce qu’« il faisait du bruit »…
La petite communauté syrienne-catholique qui s’apprête à
célébrer Noël est encore traumatisée, raconte le P. Pascal
Gollnisch, directeur général de l’Œuvre d’Orient, qui
revenait mercredi matin de Bagdad, où il a rencontré les
autorités chrétiennes. Dans l’église d’Al-Najat, rien n’a
été bougé : les soutanes des deux prêtres tués avec leurs
fidèles ont été suspendues au mur, sur lequel on n’a pas
effacé les traces de sang. Les photos des victimes ont été
accrochées.
Pour célébrer Noël, la communauté syrienne-catholique
reviendra dans l’église. Mais « avec la peur au ventre »,
précise le P. Gollnisch. D’ailleurs, cette année, pas de
messe à minuit, mais une célébration dans l’après-midi du 24
décembre, assez tôt pour pouvoir assurer la sécurité, et une
autre le lendemain, jour de Noël.
Pas de messe de la nuit, pas de visite chez les
familles
«
Avant, nous célébrions la messe à minuit, puis les clubs de
jeunes organisaient une grande fête », se souvient avec
tristesse Mgr Athanase Matti Matouka, archevêque
syrien-catholique de la ville. Cette année, ajoute-t-il, «
pas de manifestations extérieures, pas de visites, pas de
boissons. Rien. » ...
Chrétiens d'Irak : partir ou pas?
21 Décembre 2010 -
France 2 - Reportage sur le calvaire
des chrétiens Chaldéen-Syriaque-Assyriens en Irak. Une
équipe de France 2 est retournée sur les lieux 50 jours
après l'attaque suicide dans l'église Syriaque Seydit El
Najat qui avait fait plus d'une soixantaine de morts et
près d'une centaine de blessés.
La France, par la voix de la Ministre des Affaires
étrangères Michèle Alliot-Marie, demande également des
mesures de sécurité pour les chrétiens d'Orient et plus
particulièrement ceux d'Irak.
Lien vers la vidéo (Link to the video in French)

A Christmas of mourning for Iraq’s Christians
by Louis Sako*
20 December 2010
- After the series of anti-Christian attacks, Iraq will mark
Christmas again under tight security. No functions will be
held on Christmas Eve, nor decorations or ceremonies. A
community enduring suffering and losses is preparing to
experience the message of hope brought by Jesus to earth
because, for Iraqi Christians, Christmas is always a time of
joy as well as martyrdom. Mgr Louis Sako, Chaldean
archbishop of Kirkuk, bears witness.
Baghdad
(AsiaNews) – Midnight Christmas Mass has been cancelled in
Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk as a consequence of the
never-ending assassinations of Christians and the attack
against Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral on 31 October,
which killed 57 people. For security reasons, churches will
not be decorated. Masses will be sombre and held during the
day.
A sense of sadness and mourning prevails
among Christians. There is much concern for the future of
young people. For the past two months, they have been unable
to go to university. The same is true for many families that
fled north who now must plan a future without any concrete
bases.
No one expects anything from the
government as far as protecting Christians. Political
leaders are too caught up in setting up a new
administration.
Security is slightly better in Kirkuk than
in the capital, but here too abductions and threats occur.
For this reason, we have decided for the first time since
the war began not to celebrate Midnight Mass. We shall
simply not have any feast, period. Santa Claus will not be
coming for the children; there will be no official ceremony
with the authorities proffering their best wishes.
For the past six weeks, we have not
celebrated Mass because of a lack of security, except late
in the morning and Saturday afternoons. For now, we have
also stopped teaching the catechism.
We do not have the right to put people’s
lives in danger. All our parish churches have security
guards, but when worshippers step outside the church and
into the street, they become an easy target.
Yet, despite everything, we shall pray for
peace this Christmas and help the poor families of Kirkuk
and Sulaymaniyah. So far, 106 families have arrived from
Baghdad and Mosul.
In my homily, I am going to focus on such
problems, on the clashes and on people’s fears but also on
the fact that Christmas brings a message of hope. Of course,
heaven and earth are two different realities. The Massacre
of the Innocents followed Christmas. Thus, for us in Iraq,
Christmas is a time of hope and joy as well as pain and
martyrdom.
Peace is a goal that people of good will
should make happen. If we Christians want to be Christian
and welcome Christmas and its message, we must be
peacemakers, and build harmony among our Iraqi brothers and
sisters.
* Chaldean bishop of Kirkuk
Link to the article
Iraqi Christians fear spike in Christmas attacks
20 December 2010 -
Amnesty International today called on the Iraqi government
to do more to protect the country’s Christian minority from
an expected spike in violent attacks as they prepare to
celebrate Christmas.
“Attacks on Christians and their churches by armed groups
have intensified in past weeks and have clearly included war
crimes,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International Director
for the Middle East and North Africa.
“We fear that militants are likely to attempt serious
attacks against Christians during the Christmas period for
maximum publicity and to embarrass the government.”
Last year armed groups carried out fatal bomb attacks on
churches in Mosul on 15 and 23 December. Some 65 attacks on
Christian churches in Iraq were recorded between mid-2004
and the end of 2009.
The increase in violence against Christians in the last
month takes place against a backdrop of sectarian violence
in Iraq, including several bomb attacks on Shi’a gatherings
last week during the Ashura period, which have reportedly
killed more than a dozen people.
“We utterly condemn the ongoing attacks against Iraqi
civilians carried out by armed groups, and call on the Iraqi
government to provide more protection, especially for
vulnerable religious and ethnic communities” said Malcolm
Smart.
Attacks have increased since around 100 worshippers were
taken hostage in a Baghdad Assyrian Catholic church by an
armed group on 31 October, with more than 40 people killed
as Iraqi security forces tried to free the hostages. The
Islamic State of Iraq, an armed group linked to al-Qa’ida,
claimed responsibility for the attack.
Following the hostage crisis, Christian families in Baghdad
have been subjected to increasing bomb and rocket attacks on
their homes, as well as systematic threats in the mail or by
text message.
Christians in Mosul have also been increasingly targeted for
assassination by gunmen, with reports in Iraqi media of at
least five killed by armed men in November. Reports of
killings and abductions of Christians in Mosul have
continued in December. Dozens of Christian families have
fled Baghdad, Mosul and Basra and have sought refuge in the
Kurdistan region of Iraq.
In May this year, a bus-load of Christian students were
targeted in a bomb attack as they travelled from a
predominantly Christian area in Mosul to Mosul University.
A Christian from Mosul who must remain anonymous for
security reasons has told Amnesty International: “Many
students who were in those buses in May have not gone back
to university.”
“The security situation in Mosul is very bad… 90 per cent of
the Christian students have dropped university - they are
all very afraid of something happening to them. …When I
leave the house I am always under alert…”
These comments are consistent with a summary of testimonies
from Iraqi Christians who have recently fled to Syria,
released by a Christian organisation called the Church
Committee for Iraqi Refugees in al-Hassake.
The summary, released by the Barnabas Fund, another
Christian NGO, says that Iraqi Christians in threatened
cities like Mosul “are living behind locked doors. They are
compelled to take long leaves of absence from work, in Mosul
and other cities, as a result of the dangers they face at
work. The universities are almost empty of Christian
students, as are the schools.”
The summary tells of regular threats against Christian
families in Mosul and other cities, including a dead bird
being nailed to the door in warning, extortion, and
offensive graffiti on houses.
Tenants renting the homes of Christians who have fled Iraq
are allegedly being forced to hand over the rent payments to
armed groups who consider themselves the new owners,
according to the summary. When Christian families have sold
their houses to leave Iraq, armed groups have also allegedly
threatened the new owners for taking ‘their’ property.
According to media reports, as Christmas approaches the
Iraqi authorities have started constructing concrete walls
to protect Mosul and Baghdad churches from security threats,
and are introducing stringent security checks at their
entrances. Religious services have been scaled back due to
fear of attacks.
“Building walls around churches is a sign that the
government has failed to provide real security” said Malcolm
Smart.
The wave of attacks on Mosul Christians since the 2003
invasion of Iraq has greatly reduced the community’s
population which then stood at over 100,000.
Iraqi politicians have taken since elections in May to form
a government, creating a climate of uncertainty and power
vacuum for months, which has been exploited by armed
groups.
“Now that Iraq is finally forming a government, that new
government’s effectiveness will be measured by whether it
achieves an actual reduction in sectarian attacks by armed
groups, and helps stem the flood of Christians fleeing Iraq
to escape the violence” said Malcolm Smart.
Link to the article
Christians flee central Iraq in thousands, UN reports
17 December 2010 (BBC) - The UN refugee agency says thousands of
Iraqi Christians are fleeing from central provinces of the
country. They are seeking refuge in the relatively safe
Kurdish-controlled region in the north.
The UN High Commission for Refugees said about 1,000
families have left Baghdad and Mosul province since an
attack on a church left 68 people dead.
It said the flight of Christians to other parts of Iraq
and abroad has become "a slow but steady exodus".
The UNHCR also said it was dismayed that European
governments are deporting failed Iraqi asylum seekers to
areas of the country it does not consider safe. "UNHCR
strongly reiterates its call on countries to refrain from
deporting Iraqis who originate from the most perilous parts
of the country," Melissa Fleming, the agency's chief
spokesperson, said.
Church
attack
Nearly 70 people died as security forces stormed a
Catholic church in Baghdad to free dozens of hostages on 31
October. A number of gunmen entered Our Lady of Salvation in
the city's Karrada district during Mass, sparking an
hours-long stand-off.
UNHCR offices in Iraq are recording a significant
increase in Christians fleeing Baghdad and Mosul for the the
Kurdistan Regional Government Region and Nineva region, the
UNHCR said. "We have heard many accounts of people fleeing
their homes after receiving direct threats. Some were able
to take only a few belongings with them," Ms Fleming said.
UNHCR offices in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon are reporting
a growing number of Iraqi Christians arriving and contacting
UNHCR for registration and help.
Churches and non-governmental organisations are warning
the refugee agency to expect more people fleeing in the
coming weeks. While overall civilian casualties are lower
this year than last, it appears that minority groups are
increasingly susceptible to threats and attacks.
Link to the article
Related articles:
Europe 'concerned' about Iraq's Christians
14 December 2010 -
STRASBOURG, France, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The
European community is "very concerned" about the plight of
members of the Christian minority in Iraq, the president of
the European Parliament said.
The last remaining members of the Christian community in
Iraq, one of the oldest in the world, are leaving the
country following an October attack on a church in Baghdad.
President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek said it
was time for the Iraqi government to make sure Christians in
Iraq enjoy the same protection and status as Shiites and
Sunnis.
"The European Parliament is very concerned about these
developments and is a strong defender of human rights,
including freedom of religion" he said in his statement. "We
monitor the situation closely and have adopted a number of
resolutions to try to draw international attention to the
plight of Christian minorities."
The al-Qaida affiliated Islamic State of Iraq took
responsibility for the October assault on the Christian
church that left 58 people dead and 75 others wounded.
A spate of attacks rocked the Christian community in the
north of Iraq in 2008, displacing nearly half of the
population.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs said in March thousands of Christians were displaced
from Mosul in northern Iraq because of lingering violence.
Link to the article
USCIRF Urges Upgrading Security in Iraq for Christians and Other Imperiled Religious Communities
14 December 2010 -
WASHINGTON, DC - In advance of the December 15 UN Security
Council meeting on Iraq, the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today urged the
U.S. government to redouble its efforts, and use the
international forum as an opportunity, to address the grave
situation facing that country’s Christians and other
imperiled religious minorities.
The Security Council meeting is slated to address the
progress in Iraq to date. The recent upsurge in attacks
against Christians makes clear, however, that the country’s
most vulnerable religious minorities remain in peril. The
smallest Iraqi religious groups—including ChaldoAssyrian,
Syriac, and other Christians; Sabean Mandaeans; and
Yazidis—face targeted violence, including murders and
attacks on their places of worship and religious leaders,
intimidation, and forced displacement; they also experience
discrimination, marginalization, and neglect. As a result,
these ancient communities’ very existence in the country is
now threatened. The loss of the diversity and human capital
these groups represent would be a terrible blow to Iraq’s
future as a secure, stable, and pluralistic democracy.
This is a particularly important period in Iraq, with a new
government being formed and the U.S. military presence
drawing down. USCIRF recommends that the U.S. government
take the following steps to protect these vulnerable
communities:
• Provide Protection: In consultation with the Christian
and other minority religious communities’ political and
civic representatives, identify the places throughout Iraq
where these targeted minorities worship, congregate, and
live, and work with the Iraqi government to assess security
needs and develop and implement a comprehensive and
effective plan for dedicated Iraqi military protection of
these sites and areas; as this process moves forward,
periodically inform Congress on progress.
• Promote Representative Community Policing: Work with
the Iraqi government and the Christians’ and other smallest
minorities’ political and civic representatives to
establish, fund, train, and deploy representative local
police units to provide additional protection in areas where
these communities are concentrated.
• Prioritize Development Assistance for Minority Areas:
Ensure that U.S. development assistance prioritizes areas
where these vulnerable communities are concentrated,
including the Nineveh Plains area, and that the use of such
funding is determined in consultation with the political and
civic leaders of the communities themselves.
On December 4, in the wake of the recent spate of attacks,
16 Iraqi Christian parties and organizations issued a
compelling joint call for greater protection. USCIRF urges
both the U.S. and Iraqi governments to heed this call and
work with these leaders, as well as the leaders of the other
small endangered groups in Iraq, on implementing these and
other measures to protect and assist these communities
before it is too late.
USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government
commission. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the
President and the leadership of both political parties in
the Senate and the House of Representatives. USCIRF’s
principal responsibilities are to review the facts and
circumstances of violations of religious freedom
internationally and to make policy recommendations to the
President, the Secretary of State and Congress.
Link to the article
More Christians Flee Iraq After New Violence
12 December 2010 -
QOSH, Iraq — A new wave of Iraqi Christians has
fled to northern Iraq or abroad amid a campaign of violence
against them and growing fear that the country’s security
forces are unable or, more ominously, unwilling to protect
them.
The flight — involving thousands of residents from
Baghdad and Mosul, in particular — followed an
Oct. 31 siege at a church in Baghdad that killed 51
worshipers and 2 priests and a subsequent series of bombings
and assassinations singling out Christians. This new exodus,
which is not the first, highlights the continuing
displacement of Iraqis despite improved security over all
and the near-resolution of the political impasse that
gripped the country after elections in March.
It threatens to reduce further what Archdeacon Emanuel
Youkhana of the Assyrian Church of the East called “a
community whose roots were in Iraq even before Christ.”
Those who fled the latest violence — many of them in a
panicked rush, with only the possessions they could pack in
cars — warned that the new violence presages the demise of
the faith in Iraq. ...
Read the full article
Une délégation d'évêques irakiens attendue au Parlement européen à Strasbourg
08 Décembre 2010 -
Une délégation d'évêques irakiens sera reçue les 14 et 15
décembre au Parlement européen à Strasbourg pour évoquer le
drame des chrétiens. « Nous serons au Parlement européen où nous
exposerons notre situation réelle et où nous ferons entendre
notre voix à l'Europe en racontant notre peur mais aussi notre
intention de ne pas quitter le pays », a déclaré le vicaire
patriarcal chaldéen de Bagdad, Mgr Shlemon Warduni, à l'agence
de la conférence épiscopale italienne SIR.
La délégation sera composée de Mgr Warduni, des archevêques
syro-catholiques de Bagdad, Matti Shaba Matoka, et de Mossoul,
Mgr Georges Casmoussa. Cette initiative s'insère dans une série
d'actions pour sensibiliser l'opinion publique et les
institutions internationales à propos des violences
anti-chrétiennes.
Une journée de jeûne pour les martyrs de la cathédrale
syro-catholique de Badgad massacrés le 31 octobre dernier, est
organisée jeudi 9 décembre, par le Conseil des chefs religieux
des chrétiens d'Irak. Mgr Warduni précise à ce sujet
l'invitation faite aux chrétiens d'Irak de s'abstenir de
mondanités et de fêtes à l'occasion de Noël, mais de manifester
leur proximité aux familles des victimes, et à participer à la
messe de Noël à cette intention.
Mgr Warduni salue en outre comme un « pas en avant »
l'institution par le gouvernement irakien d'une commission
parlementaire et d'une « task-force » de la police pour la
protection des minorités chrétiennes : « Nous ne voulons pas de
privilèges, précise-t-il, mais seulement le respect de nos
droits ».
Pour sa part, l'évêque de Kirkouk, Mgr Louis Sako, souhaite
en Irak la présence d'une force internationale. Radio Vatican
déplore « la dernière en date d'une longue série d'attaques
sanglantes contre la communauté chrétienne ». Dimanche dernier
encore, dénonce Radio Vatican, des hommes armés ont fait
irruption dans une maison tuant un couple à l'arme blanche, mari
et femme tous deux chrétiens. Ils avaient vendu leurs propriétés
pour aller s'installer dans le Nord, une région plus tranquille.
Ils étaient revenus dans la capitale il y a deux jours pour
compléter les questions administratives.
Mgr Sako souligne que les chrétiens étant minoritaires en
Irak, quand l'un d'entre eux est enlevé ou assassiné « c'est
toute la communauté qui a peur ». Les chrétiens « se sentent
seuls », « ils ont besoin d'être soutenus ». Mais il souhaite,
en plus de la solidarité, une « force internationale », car la
police irakienne semble impuissante à assurer la sécurité.
En attendant, souligne Radio Vatican, l'exode des chrétiens
d'Irak se poursuit vers l'Europe, l'Amérique, l'Océanie. Des
centaines de familles chaldéennes ont cherché refuge ces
derniers jours en Turquie. D'autres, très nombreuses également,
ont opté pour le Kurdistan irakien, dans le nord du pays. Cette
région risque à terme d'être confrontée à une urgence
humanitaire. Plusieurs experts tirent cette sonnette d'alarme :
ce flot doit être accompagné et contrôlé. Une aide financière
aux autorités régionales du Kurdistan est souhaitée.
Ctb/zenit/bl
Related
English article:
http://cbcpnews.com/?q=node/14044
Lien vers l'article
Wooing Christians - Some, but not all, want to improve the lot of Christians in Turkey
Dec 2nd 2010 | DIYARBAKIR AND
MARDIN - IT IS well known that Kurdish tribes took part in the mass
slaughter by the Ottomans of around 1m Armenians in 1915.
“Collaborating Kurdish clerics pledged that anyone who killed an
infidel would be rewarded in heaven with 700 mansions containing
700 rooms, and that in each of these rooms there would be 700
houris to give them pleasure,” says Mala Hadi, an Islamic sheikh
in Diyarbakir.
The sheikh is among a handful of local leaders seeking
reconciliation with the Kurdish region’s once thriving
Christians. “We are ready to face the past, to make amends,”
promises Abdullah Demirbas, mayor of Diyarbakir’s ancient Sur
district. To atone, Mr Demirbas has been providing money and
materials to restore Christian monuments in Sur. These include
the sprawling Surp Giragos Armenian Orthodox church where, until
recently, drug dealers plied their trade amid piles of rubbish.
It is now squeaky clean and even boasts a new roof.
Yet in the neighbouring province of Mardin, Kurdish tribes
continue to harass the handful of Christians who remain. Their
main target is the Mor Gabriel Syrian Orthodox monastery.
Perched on a remote hilltop, this 1,600-year-old monastery faces
five separate lawsuits contesting its right to retain land that
church leaders say they have owned for centuries but have been
unable to register because of bureaucratic stonewalling. Two
cases were brought by Kurdish villages dominated by the Celebi
tribe, which some accuse of participating in the bloodletting of
1915 and now provides men for a state-run Kurdish militia
fighting separatist PKK rebels. (One tribal leader, Suleyman
Celebi, is a member of parliament for the ruling Justice and
Development, or AK, party.) The others were begun by the
government and rest partly on a law providing that farmland
which lies fallow for more than 20 years can be reclaimed by the
state as “forest”.
Otmar Oehring from Missio, a German Catholic charity, calls
the cases “baseless” and says “the state’s actions suggest it
wishes that the monastery no longer existed.” He points to
systematic persecution of some 2,000 Syrian Orthodox Christians
living in and around Midyat. “The Syrian Orthodox community
beyond the monastery has suffered repeated attacks, with land
around villages often set on fire. The perpetrators are unknown,
but are thought locally to be either local Kurds or the Turkish
army, or both, he notes in a report published last month.
The plight of the Syrian Orthodox in Midyat flies in the face
of AK’s efforts to improve the treatment of Christians. Greater
freedom for non-Muslim minorities is among the European Union’s
main demands on Turkey, which is hoping to join. The AK
government has made a string of gestures: restoring an Armenian
church in Van and opening it to worship (if only once); giving
free Armenian-language textbooks out in schools; and sending out
orders from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, that
Christians must not be ill-treated. None of this impresses
Samuel Aktas, the bishop in charge of Mor Gabriel. He has vowed
to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights. “I have
remained silent in the face of these injustices; but no longer
so,” he declares.
Link to the article
Irak: espérant un visa, des chrétiens se ruent sur un consulat français
ERBIL (Irak), 28 nov 2010 (AFP) - Plusieurs
centaines de chrétiens irakiens souhaitant échapper aux menaces
d'Al-Qaïda se sont rués dimanche au consulat français d'Erbil, dans
la région autonome du Kurdistan, sur la foi d'une rumeur affirmant
que cette mission délivrait à tous des visas pour la France.
Face à l'afflux de ces réfugiés --des hommes, femmes, enfants et
personnes âgées-- munis de leurs papiers d'identité, le consulat a
été contraint de fermer ses portes, selon un journaliste de l'AFP.
La plupart de ces chrétiens sont originaires de Bagdad, théâtre
ces dernières semaines d'attaques sanglantes contre leur communauté,
et de Mossoul, la deuxième ville du pays, où leur situation est
également difficile.
"Nous sommes venus quand nous avons appris que le consulat
français prenait les noms des déplacés pour leur donner un visa car,
franchement, nous ne voulons plus rester dans ce pays", a déclaré
dans la foule Girgis, 54 ans, originaire de Mossoul.
"J'avais une usine à Mossoul mais je l'ai quittée parce que j'ai
peur des terroristes. Mais notre vie ici est très difficile et nous
ignorons combien de temps nous allons devoir vivre de la générosité
des proches qui nous accueillent".
Contactée par l'AFP, l'ambassade de France à Bagdad a simplement
affirmé que "des dizaines de chrétiens" s'étaient rendus dimanche au
consulat d'Erbil, sans dire si celui-ci avait dû fermer ses portes.
La branche irakienne d'Al-Qaïda, qui a revendiqué l'attaque
sanglante de la cathédrale syriaque catholique de Bagdad le 31
octobre, dans laquelle 44 fidèles et deux prêtres avait péri, a
annoncé le 3 novembre que les chrétiens étaient désormais des
"cibles légitimes" pour les combattants islamistes.
Des menaces qui se sont concrétisées une semaine plus tard par
une série d'attaques contre des maisons appartenant à des chrétiens
à Bagdad, et qui ont fait au moins six morts.
Lien vers l'article
European Parliament resolution of 25 November 2010 on Iraq:
the death penalty
(notably the case of Tariq Aziz)
and attacks against Christian communities
Thursday, 25 November 2010 - Strasbourg:
The European Parliament ,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on the
situation in Iraq,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on the
abolition of the death penalty, in particular its resolution of 26 April
2007 on the initiative for a universal moratorium on the death penalty,
– having regard to United Nations General Assembly
Resolution 62/149 of 18 December 2007, calling for a moratorium on the
use of the death penalty, and United Nations General Assembly
Resolution 63/168 of 18 December 2008, calling for implementation of the
2007 General Assembly resolution 62/149,
– having regard to the speech of the Vice-President of
the Commission/ High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, on human rights policy, delivered in
the plenary of 16 June 2010 and pointing out that the abolition of the
death penalty worldwide is a priority for the European Union,
– having regard to the final declaration adopted by the
4th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, held in Geneva from 24 to
26 February 2010, which calls for universal abolition of the death
penalty,
– having regard to Article 2 of the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
– having regard to the Council conclusions adopted on
16 November 2009 on freedom of religion or belief, underlining the
strategic importance of this freedom and of countering religious
intolerance,
– having regard to the 1981 UN Declaration on the
Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on
Religion or Belief,
– having regard to the statements by the Vice-President
of the Commission/ High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, on Iraq, in particular that of
1 November 2010 following the attack against worshippers at Our Lady of
Salvation Cathedral in Baghdad, Iraq,
– having regard to its annual reports on the situation of
human rights in the world and its previous resolutions on religious
minorities in the world,
– having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure, ...
Attacks against Christian communities
G. whereas, on 22 November 2010, two Iraqi Christians
were killed in Mosul; whereas, on 10 November, a series of bomb and
mortar attacks targeting Christian areas killed at least five people in
the Iraqi capital, Baghdad; and whereas these attacks came after
Islamist militants had seized a Syriac Catholic cathedral in Baghdad on
31 October 2010, leaving more than 50 worshippers dead,
H. whereas the militant group Islamic State of Iraq,
considered part of the international Al-Qaida movement, has claimed
responsibility for the killings and has vowed to launch further attacks
against Christians,
I. whereas Article 10 of the Iraqi Constitution
establishes the Government's commitment to assuring and maintaining the
sanctity of holy shrines and religious sites; whereas Article 43 states
that followers of all religious groups shall be free to practise their
religious rites and manage their religious institutions,
J. whereas hundreds of thousands of Christians have fled
from the country in the face of repeated attacks against their
communities and churches; whereas many of the remaining Iraqi Assyrians
(Chaldeans, Syriacs and other Christian minorities) are now internally
displaced persons, having had to flee extremist violence aimed at them,
K. whereas the Assyrians (Chaldeans, Syriacs and other
Christian minorities) constitute an ancient and indigenous people who
are very vulnerable to persecution and forced emigration, and whereas
there is a danger of their culture becoming extinct in Iraq,
L. whereas human rights violations in Iraq, notably
against ethnic and religious minorities, continue at a disturbingly high
level; whereas the safety and rights of all minorities, including
religious groups, must be respected and protected in all societies,
M. whereas the EU has repeatedly expressed its commitment
to freedom of thought, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion and
has stressed that governments have a duty to guarantee these freedoms,
...
Read the full resolution on EP site
Iraqi Christians Flee as al-Qaida Steps Up Attacks
23 Novmeber 2010 (PBS) - An assault on
a church in Baghdad and other targeted attacks on Christian families are
driving fear into the hearts of the remaining members of this religious
minority in Iraq, and causing many to seek sanctuary in other places.
"None of the Iraqi Christians want to leave their homeland, because
that's their home and they want to stay there. They're leaving because
they have to," said Susan Dakak, a board member with Iraqi Christians in
Need, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based organization that seeks to help the
Christian community in Iraq.
The main focus of the organization has become helping Christians
resettle, whether it is in the United States -- Knoxville is hosting a
growing Iraqi Christian community -- or other countries, such as Turkey
and Syria, she said. Families also are seeking refuge in northern Iraq,
where Kurdish security forces are in control.
Violence against Christians is on the rise, Dakak said. On Oct. 31,
gunmen stormed Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad, killing at
least 58 people. Al-Qaida took responsibility for the attack.
About 350 people in the Syriac Catholic community regularly attended
Sunday mass at the church, but many have left the area or are too scared
to go to mass, the
Washington Post reported. The Syriac Catholic Church is one of the
Eastern Catholic Churches affiliated with Rome.
Dakak recalled that day. "We suddenly started getting e-mails from
people about what was happening," she said. Office workers located next
to the church could hear the explosions and communicated to her
organization throughout the four-hour ordeal.
After the siege, two men were killed in Christian homes in Mosul. And
Christian families mourning the deaths of relatives in the Oct. 31
attack became victims of car bombs themselves, CNN reported: ...
Read the full article on PBS
Deadly attacks on Iraqi Christians continue
22 Novmeber 2010 - Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Three people
were killed Monday in Iraq in the latest attack targeting Christians,
police in the city of Mosul said.
In one attack, two Christian brothers were killed in Mosul when
gunmen broke into their workplace in an industrial part of the city and
shot them. The brothers were welders who owned the shop.
On Monday evening, police found an elderly Christian woman strangled
in her home in central Mosul.
The attacks on Christians started October 31 in Baghdad have extended
to the northern parts of the country, such as Mosul.
Last week, a bomb attached to the vehicle of a Christian man
detonated in eastern Mosul, killing him and his 6-year-old daughter,
local police told CNN.
The November 16 attack came one day after two Christian men in
adjacent homes were killed after gunmen stormed their houses.
Also on November 15, a bomb detonated outside a Christian home. It
caused damages but no injuries.
Iraq's Christian community, which numbered 1.4 million in 2003, is
estimated to have dwindled to 500,000 as many have left the country, the
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has said.
The commission, a U.S. government agency that
listed the numbers in its 2010 report, said Christian leaders are
warning that this decline could signal "the end of Christianity in
Iraq."
Link to the article on CNN
PV Vivekanand: Christians face extinction in Iraq
20 November 2010 - Is creating a new Christian-dominated
province in northern Iraq a solution to the plight of Christians in the
country? Well, that is the question being raised after Iraqi Christians
proposed the idea and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani expressed support
for the call, which came after a bloodbath in a Syrian-Catholic church
in Baghdad in October.
Representatives of Assyrian, Chaldean and Aramaean Christians in Iraq
are proposing the creation of an autonomously administered region for
their people in the Ninewa province in the northern part of the country.
“In the Ninewa plains, Christians, Shabak, Yazidi and Muslim Kurds make
up the majority of the population. Thus the Assyrian/Chaldean/Aramaean
demand is completely justified,” says the president of the Society for
Threatened Peoples (STP), Tilman Zülch.
“Most importantly, autonomy for the region could help protect the
smaller ethnic and religious communities if this area is connected to
the peaceful Iraqi-Kurdish region,” Zulch said this month. “The
situation there has been safe for years, and the policies of the
regional government concerning nationalities is exemplary for the entire
Middle East region.” The Christian communities in Iraq seem to be
suggesting a smaller version of Iraqi Kurdistan — a largely autonomous
region with less oversight by the national government.
“The constitution of Iraq permits the formation of autonomous regions
and provides for a referendum on affiliation, including for parts of the
Ninewa,” according to Zülch. “The referendum must be held soon, as it is
in the best interests of the security of all minorities.” Talabani, in a
French television interview last week, supported the creation of a new
province where Christians are the majority.
“There are regions with Christian majority in Iraq and we do not have an
objection regarding forming a special province for Christians in Iraq,”
he told France 24 television. “Protecting Christians is a holy duty for
Iraqi government and all political blocs,” he said, adding that the
dominant Shiites have expressed their readiness to form armed teams to
help and protect Christians.
Read the full article here ...
The ethnic cleansing of Iraqi Christians
19 November 2010 - Iraqi Christians are the indigenous
people of Mesopotamia. Their history goes back to ancient Babylon and Ur
of the Chaldeans. They are the original builders of the Cradle of
Civilization. They managed to survive in their indigenous land, Iraq,
century after century, generation after generation, war after war, for
thousands of years.
Today, Iraqi Christians, the majority of whom
are Chaldeans, are the most peaceful segment of Iraqi society. They have
a great love for their country and are the most loyal, honest, sincere
citizens of Iraq. They do not have any political agenda, but they live
and die, care and labor for their country. They never carried weapons
nor did they ever assemble any type of militia for the past 2,000 years.
The Christians of Iraq, though a small
percentage, 1.2 million out of a total population of 25 million,
represent the civilized, liberal, democratized and cultured core of
Iraqi society. They accept others, tolerate differences, respect human
rights, and separate the affairs of religion and state. They are the
most educated and the most successful business people in all Iraq.
Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003,
along with the rise of terrorism within Iraq, more than 60 Christian
churches and monasteries have been bombed and destroyed. Thousands of
Christians have been killed, kidnapped and injured. This wave of
displacement reached a peak during the years 2006–2008, in which the
number of displaced Christians in Mosul, in the north, was more than
10,000 people.
According to the reports of United Nations
High Commission for Refugees and other refugee organizations, over
600,000 Iraqi Christians, 50 percent of the original Christian
population in Iraq before 2003, have fled Iraq. Today, more than half of
these refugees are living in dire conditions in the surrounding
countries of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. They exist in
destitution and poverty. Often times, many of the Christian women are
forced into prostitution in order to provide daily bread for the rest of
their family members. These refugees see no hope in returning to Iraq
because they see the other remaining Iraqi Christians living under the
mercy of the terrorist attacks in the “new and democratic” Iraq.
The most recent attack on the Christian
population, which took place at Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic
Cathedral of Baghdad on Oct. 31, during Sunday evening mass, proved yet
again that Iraqi Christians are vulnerable targets because of their
Christian faith and that the Iraqi government can practically do nothing
to protect them. At least 58 people were killed, including two priests
and over 75 people were injured. Most of these victims were members of
the same family; parents and children, as it is tradition for the entire
family to attend the Sunday mass together. According to witnesses, the
attackers were systematically murdering the worshippers, and the Iraqi
security forces stood outside listening, while relatives of the victims
gathered outside begging them to intervene.
These kinds of attacks show that Iraqi
Christians will continue to be an easy target for terrorists. If the
United States and the international community do not act to enforce a
political solution to protect the Christians of Iraq, more and more
Christians will be targeted, attacked and killed under the guise that
they are infidels or pro-Westerners. Soon, we will be seeing that Iraqi
Christians who have lived and survived thousands of years in their
native land will disappear from Iraq. If Christians disappear, Iraq will
lose its social buffer component, its balance and stabilizing segment.
Iraq will lose its builders and its best assets.
Since the American invasion in 2003, the
Christians of Iraq have faced a real ethnic cleansing campaign. Ethnic
cleansing is a crime against humanity under the statutes of the
International Criminal Court. The U.S. has both a legal and moral
obligation to protect the Iraqi Christians along with all the other
vulnerable religious and ethnic minorities of Iraq who can never defend
themselves. The U.S. must put pressure on the Arab and Kurdish
majorities to secure a regional administrative region for the Christians
of Iraq and the other minorities, to offer them equal constitutional
rights, to preserve their identity, religion and culture, and even to
have a small share of Iraq’s oil revenues, as the Iraqi Arabs and Kurds
do.
Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003,
along with the rise of terrorism within Iraq, more than 60 Christian
Churches and monasteries have been bombed and destroyed.
Link to the article here
For Iraqi Christians, fear is knocking
16 Novmeber 2010 (CNN) -
She lives in a paralyzing state of "constant and fear" and
it's forcing her to keep her children indoors and out of school.
That's how one Baghdad woman describes the dire predicament
faced by her and other Iraqi Christians, a dwindling community
that is enduring another string of anti-Christian sectarian
assaults in Baghdad and in Mosul.
The woman, who didn't want to be identified because of fear
for her life, said security hasn't been beefed up since the
assaults began on October 31, when the Sayidat al-Nejat
Cathedral, or Our Lady of Salvation Church, was attacked.
"We only have God," said the woman, who lost a family member
in the church attack. "God is the only one watching over us."
Her words reflect the fears across the world of the ancient
Iraqi Christian community, a people that numbered 1.4 million
people in 2003, before the war in Iraq, and is estimated to now
be only 500,000, the U.S. Commission on International Religious
Freedom said.
USCIRF, a U.S. government agency that listed the numbers in
its 2010 report, said Christian leaders are warning that the
result of this decline could signal "the end of Christianity in
Iraq."
In a country of more than 29 million people, Christians and
other minorities are relative specks in a population where 97
percent are Muslim -- 60 to 65 percent Shiite and 32 to 37
percent Sunni, the CIA World Factbook said.
As sectarian violence raged during the war, Iraqis of all
religions have fled for other countries. But a disproportionate
number of Christians have landed in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan,
the three main countries of refuge.
Sybella Wilkes, a spokeswoman at the U.N. High Commissioner
for Refugees, said the overall Christian population in Iraq is 1
1/2 to 2 percent. But, she said, the number of Christians
registered in those three countries are 11 to 15 percent of the
overall population of Iraqi refugees.
The UNHCR says on its website that the total number of Iraqi
refugees in the world stood at nearly 1.78 million in January.
David Nona, chairman of the Chaldean Federation of America,
says the news is "getting worse" and he is hearing and reading
about a siege mentality among his fellow Christians in Iraq --
not going outside and not opening the door for people, for
example.
"People are truly terrified," said Nona, whose Chaldean
community in the Detroit area -- about 140,000 or so people --
has hosted an influx of about 25,000 Chaldo-Assyrians over the
past three years.
Link to the article
Thousands marched across Europe to strongly condemn systematic attacks against Iraqi Christians
 14 November 2010 - Stockholm (Sweden) about 10.000 people demonstrated to condemn
the systematic attacks against Christian Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people.
Another demonstration started the same day at 2:00PM in Paris (France) where 5.000 people
gathered and marched to condemn the attacks against Iraqi Christians.
Photos of the demonstration in Paris
13 November 2010 - Brussels: About 8.000 people coming from all Europe
demonstrated in pouring rain to condemn systematic attacks against
Christian Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people.
 Speech made by the
Deputy Prime Minister, Employment and Equal Opportunities Minister, in
charge of Migration and Asylum Policies, Joëlle Milquet, on behalf of
the Belgian Government:
Read the speech
Photos of the demonstration in Brussels
Belgian Television coverage of the demonstration (in french):
Couverture dans la presse en Belgique:
http://www.rtlinfo.be/videos/19h/236463
http://www.lesoir.be/actualite/monde/2010-11-13/manifestants-a-bruxelles-en-soutien-aux-chretiens-d-irak-803294.php
http://www.lavenir.net/article/detail.aspx?articleid=241143251
http://actualite.fr.be.msn.com/actualitebelge/article.aspx?cp-documentid=155240452
http://vivreensemble.blogs.lalibre.be/archive/2010/11/13/plusieurs-milliers-de-manifestants-a-bruxelles-en-soutien-au.html
Thousands in Brussels Protest Attacks Against Iraqi Christians
13 Novmeber 2010 Associated Press - BRUSSELS - Several thousand
people from across Europe gathered in Brussels Saturday to
protest a recent escalation of violence against Christians in
Iraq.
"We want our voice to be heard by
the European community," said Suleyman Gultekin of the European
Syriac Union, which organized the march. "We are attacked
systematically" in Iraq.
Syriac Christians have lived in the
Middle East for centuries and now make up a small minority
in countries like Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Turkey.
The demonstration follows a string
of violent attacks against the Christian community in Iraq,
which has already dwindled from 1.5 million to about 400,000
over the past decade.
Gunmen stormed a Sunday Mass service
in
Baghdad on Oct. 31, killing 68 people -- including two
priests -- and injuring many others. On Wednesday, five people
were killed and 20 wounded in more than a dozen bombings and
mortar attacks targeting Christian families in the Iraqi
capital.
"Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's
regime, the
Iraqi government was not able to protect us," Gultekin told
The Associated Press. "So, our conclusion is that we need an
autonomy in the north of Iraq to protect our people and to be in
a safe and secure place."
Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/11/13/thousands-brussels-protest-attacks-iraqi-christians/#ixzz15sRkUv2g
Photos of the demonstration in Brussels
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5j9vG-XKyszFe-0h-2c9N8Cog1hYg?docId=5121914
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/11/13/126007.html
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article189764.ece
Mass Demonstration to support the Christians of Iraq
BRUSSELS
Grande Manifestation de soutien aux chrétiens d'Iraq
PARIS
Mass Demonstration to support the Christians of Iraq
STOCKHOLM

UN condemns Iraq religious attacks
11 November 2010 (ABC
News) The UN Security Council has condemned militant attacks
against religious targets in Iraq as France said there is a deliberate
campaign to "destroy the Christian community".
The council asked the UN to provide information on the number of
religious minorities driven out of Iraq because of sectarian violence.
The UN Security Council was "appalled by and condemned in the
strongest terms the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Iraq, including
today's," British ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said in a council press
statement.
The council condemned all attacks in Iraq, "particularly those
motivated by religious hatred".
French ambassador Gerard Araud said recent attacks against a
Christian cathedral and other targets in Baghdad was part of "a
deliberate will to destroy the Christian community".
He said Al Qaeda's bomb and gun assaults were "an attack on the
diversity of Iraqi society".
Iraq's Christians are "on the frontline of the fight for democracy,"
he told reporters.
Mr Lyall Grant said the militant campaign "potentially poses a threat
to diversity in the Middle East, which was one of the fundamental
bedrocks of stability in the Middle East".
He said the Security Council had asked a UN envoy to supply
information on the number of religious minorities who have been driven
out of Iraq because of the strife in the country.
International concerns have been raised by the attack on Baghdad's
Catholic Cathedral in which 44 worshippers, two priests and seven
security personnel died. Al Qaeda claimed the assault and has called for
attacks on Christians in the country.
The Security Council gave backing to the Iraqi government's efforts
to end the violence.
- AFP
Link to the article
http://www.franceonu.org/spip.php?article5240
Blasts target Iraq Christians; 3 dead, dozens hurt
11 Novmeber 2010 - * New attacks spark fears among Christians
in Baghdad
* 52 killed in Catholic church assault on Oct. 31 (Updates with White
House condemnation, paragraphs 6-7)
By Aseel Kami and Ahmed Rasheed
BAGHDAD, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Bombings and mortar attacks targeting
Christians killed at least three people and wounded dozens in Baghdad,
Iraqi security sources said on Wednesday, 10 days after a bloody siege
at a Catholic church that killed 52.
The attacks renewed fears among minority Christians that Sunni Islamist
insurgents were trying to drive them out of their homeland and reignite
sectarian warfare, while Iraq's political leaders squabble over the
formation of a new government.
Attackers detonated bombs or fired mortar rounds in more than a dozen
attacks on Christian targets in the Iraqi capital late on Tuesday and
early on Wednesday, the security sources said.
An Iraqi police source put the toll at three dead and 37 wounded, while
an Interior Ministry source said four people were killed and 33 wounded.
Both sources asked not to be named.
"What can we do? They are chasing Christians in every neighborhood in
Baghdad," Emmanuel III Delly, the Chaldean patriarch of Baghdad, told
Reuters in a telephone interview, his voice shaking. "We can't do
anything to stop them, but to pray to God they stop these crimes."
The United States condemned the attacks and said it stood with the Iraqi
people as they resist efforts by al Qaeda in Iraq to spark sectarian
tension.
"We pledge our support to the government of Iraq as it takes all
necessary steps to combat terrorism and intensify its efforts to protect
all Iraqi citizens, including vulnerable religious minorities," National
Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement.
Tensions have been running high in predominantly Muslim Iraq since a
March election that produced no clear winner, leaving Shi'ite, Sunni and
Kurdish factions jockeying for position in a new government and raising
fears of renewed violence.
Insurgents linked to al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for a string
of recent attacks that appeared aimed at reigniting the sectarian
bloodshed that ravaged Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and which
began to abate three years ago. ...
Iraq: New attacks against Christians in Baghdad condemned. Joseph Daul MEP,
Chairman of the EPP Group
10 Novmeber 2010 - The Chairman of the EPP Group in the
European Parliament has strongly condemned the new series of deadly
attacks that have targeted the Christian community since yesterday in
Baghdad, causing panic among the faithful, most of whom are thinking of
leaving the country.
"Only ten days after the most recent massive attack, this new outbreak
of violence calls for a response from the international community," said
Joseph Daul.
For further information:
Joseph Daul MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group, Tel: +32-2-2847525
Antoine Ripoll,
Chairman's Spokesman, Tel: +32-475-856290
Notes to Editors:
The EPP Group is by far the largest political group in the European
Parliament with 265 Members.
Link to EPP Press Release
Lien au Communiqué de Presse
Support for Eastern Christians. Joseph Daul MEP, Chairman of the EPP Groupspan>
8 Novmeber 2010 - Following the fatal siege in the Syriac Cathedral in Baghdad, where 58
people were killed and 67 wounded, 36 of whom are being repatriated to
Europe, the Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament
reiterated the concerns of his Group for Eastern Christians.
"The attack on 31 October is the most tragic which has ever been
committed against Iraqi Christians, present in Mesopotamia for two
thousand years. In total, it is estimated that the number of the
Christian community has gone down by more than half over the last seven
years, only representing between 250,000 and 400,000 people or less than
3% of the Iraqi population", Joseph Daul said.
"Since 2003, Christians in Iraq are in despair of being no longer able
to live there", said the Chairman of the EPP Group (Christian-Democrats)
in the European Parliament.
"Many Christians have left the country for Turkey, Syria and Jordan. At
this rate, in ten or fifteen years, we risk having no Christians left in
Iraq, whereas they have a role to play in the reconstruction of the
Iraqi identity", concluded Joseph Daul.
(Translation from the original French)
For further information:
Joseph Daul MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group, Tel: +32-2-2847525
Antoine Ripoll,
Chairman's Spokesman, Tel: +32-475-856290
Notes to Editors:
The EPP Group is by far the largest political group in the European
Parliament with 265 Members.
Link to EPP Press Release
Lien au Communiqué de Presse
Iraq: Christians demanding autonomy after the devastating Terror Attack in a Catholic church in Baghdad
5 Novmeber 2010 - After the devastating Terror
Attack in a Syrian-Catholic Church in Baghdad, representatives of the
christian Assyrians-Chaldaeas-Aramaens in Iraq are
demanding an autonomously administered region for their people in
the Niniveh-Province in the north of the country. „The Christians,
Shabak, Yezidi and muslim Kurds represent the majority of the population
in the Niniveh-Region. Therefore this demand of the
assyrian-chaldaea-aramaen’s council is highly justified“, explained the
President of the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), Tilman Zülch, on
Monday in Göttingen. „The granting of autonomy could help to improve the
public-safety if this area is connected to the peaceful Iraqi-Kurdish
region. The situation there has been secure for years and the policy of
the local government concerning different nationalities is exemplary for
the entire Middle East.“ Many Christians were allowed to move to Iraqi
Kurdistan because they have relatives living there.
„The Iraqi constitution permits the formation of autonomous districts
and provides for a referendum on affiliation, including the Niniveh
province“, reported Zülch. „The referendum should be carried out soon.
It is in the interests of the security of all minorities.“
The STP, which has an independent section in the Northern Iraq, has
maintained a „Chronicle of Violence“ for many years regarding the
Christians and minorities in Iraq. The Bloodbath in the church wiped out
entire families like the christian family Thamer Kamel Osi: husband,
wife and their two children were killed during the attack. At least 39
Christians are said to have been killed, including the two priests
Wassim Sabih and Thaer Saad Abdal, and at least 120 people injured.
According to STP research, since 2003 more than three quarters of the
400.000 Christians have fled the metropolis of Baghdad with its five
million residents. Due to the steady terror-menace many Christians are
afraid to go to mass or send their children to Christian schools.
The continuously updated chronicle can be requested. Send e-mail to
nahost@gfbv.de. Tilman Zülch is available under Tel. 0049 151 153 09
888.
Translated by Martin Weimann
Steven Vanackere condamne les attentats récents contre des civils en Irak
4 November 2010 - Le Vice-Premier ministre et Ministre des Affaires
étrangères Steven Vanackere exprime sa profonde préoccupation face à la
recrudescence des violences en Irak, qui ont frappé ces dernières semaines
de nombreux Irakiens de toutes confessions et origines ethniques.
Steven Vanackere condamne avec fermeté tout recours à la violence contre des
civils, y compris l’attaque terroriste de cette semaine contre les fidèles
de la cathédrale syriaque catholique de Notre Dame du Perpétuel secours à
Bagdad, qui fait suite à une série d’attaques ciblées contre les communautés
chrétiennes en Irak.
Le Ministre rappelle l’attachement de la Belgique et de l’Union européenne
au respect des libertés fondamentales, dont fait partie la liberté
religieuse, qui est garantie par la constitution irakienne. Dans le cadre de
l’Examen Périodique Universel de l’Irak par le Conseil des droits de l’homme
des Nations Unies, en février 2010, la Belgique avait par ailleurs déjà fait
part de son inquiétude sur le sort des minorités en Irak.
Le Ministre Vanackere adresse ses condoléances aux proches des victimes. Il
se joint aussi à la Haute Représentante de l'Union européenne pour les
affaires étrangères et la politique de sécurité, Catherine Ashton, pour
exprimer son soutien aux responsables politiques irakiens et les encourager
à intensifier leurs efforts pour la stabilisation politique de l’Irak et le
renforcement de l’Etat de droit, pour le bénéfice des Irakiens de toutes
confessions.
Lien vers le site du Ministre
USCIRF Condemns Terrorist Attack on Baghdad Church
3 November 2010 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today condemned Sunday’s terrorist
attack on Baghdad’s Our Lady of Salvation Catholic church and expressed its
sincere condolences to the victims and their families. Reports indicate
that at least 40 worshippers, two priests, and 10 members of the Iraqi
security forces were killed, and more than 60 people were wounded.
“This horrific attack is a sobering reminder of what all should already
know–that Iraqi Christians clearly continue to face a grave terrorist
threat,” said USCIRF chair Leonard Leo. “We recognize the promptness with
which the Iraqi government responded to the hostage situation at the church,
and it is most unfortunate that all of the hostages could not be safely
rescued and that security forces were killed. In the wake of this brazen
and senseless attack, we urge the Iraqi government to proactively heighten
security at Christian and other minority religious sites and the United
States government to increase its support of such efforts.”
“It also is time for the Obama administration to acknowledge the sectarian
aspects of the conflict in Iraq, which are evident in this attack, and
ensure that U.S.-Iraq policy prioritizes the plight of the country’s
vulnerable religious minority communities,” continued Mr. Leo. “Congress
already has taken this step, as reflected in House and Senate resolutions
that call on the U.S. government to, among other measures, work with the
Iraqi government to enhance security at places of worship and ensure that
members of ethnic and religious minority communities do not suffer
discrimination and can effectively convey their concerns to government. The
administration should act accordingly as quickly as possible.”
Read the full article
La sécurité est un droit pour les chrétiens d'Irak
L'Œuvre d'Orient, avec des millions de français, exprime son indignation
devant l'attentat meurtrier contre la communauté chrétienne de Bagdad. Un
acte particulièrement insoutenable au moment où les fidèles étaient réunis
pour célébrer la messe dans la cathédrale syriaque catholique Notre Dame du
Perpétuel Secours.
Elle rappelle que ce n'est pas le premier geste anti-chrétien : depuis
2003, des dizaines d'églises ont été attaquées, des prêtres et de nombreux
fidèles ont été assassinés, des chrétiens sont enlevés et/ou violentés
quotidiennement… « Si vous ne connaissez pas l'enfer, venez chez nous ! »
disait tout récemment Mgr Sako, archevêque chaldéen de Kirkuk. Mais qui en
parle ?
L'Œuvre d'Orient demande que la sécurité, la pleine citoyenneté, la
liberté religieuse des chrétiens en Irak soient l'objet d'un débat au
Conseil de Sécurité de l'ONU.
L'Œuvre d'Orient demande que les puissances influentes dans la région, en
particulier la France, soutiennent les autorités irakiennes afin d'assurer à
la communauté chrétienne les conditions d'un avenir durable.
L'Œuvre d'Orient demande qu'une enquête permette d'établir les conditions
de l'assaut donné à la cathédrale Notre Dame du Perpétuel Secours.
L'Œuvre d'Orient, rappelle que les chrétiens du Moyen-Orient sont parmi
les plus anciens habitants de la région, qu'ils sont artisans de paix et
participent loyalement au développement de leur pays.
L'Œuvre d'Orient appelle à la mobilisation des médias et de toutes
les bonnes volontés à faire entendre la vérité, force de la paix. Il est de
notre devoir d'aider les chrétiens irakiens – et plus largement tous les
chrétiens d'Orient - à vivre, chez eux, en sécurité et dans le
respect des droits de l'homme. Cette action bénéficiera à l'ensemble de la
population, par delà les différences de religions.
L'Œuvre d'Orient remercie les responsables musulmans de leur condamnation
unanime de l'attentat.
« Nous continuons d'affirmer notre désir de vivre avec nos
compatriotes musulmans » affirmait Mgr Casmoussa, archevêque syrien
catholique de Mossoul, au lendemain du massacre. Par nos actes et nos
prières, soutenons cette espérance !
Père Pascal Gollnisch
Paris, le 3 novembre 2010
Lien
vers l'Oeuvre d'Orient
Killing of civilian hostages in Iraq church ‘a war crime’
2 Novmeber 2010 - Amnesty International today condemned
as a war crime Sunday’s attack on
a Catholic church in Baghdad by an armed
group, in which about 100 worshippers were taken hostage and more than 40
then killed as Iraqi security forces tried to free them.
...
“We utterly condemn this shameless targeting of civilians by an armed
group in a place of worship,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s
Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“The attack seems to have been intended to cause maximum loss of life and to
further inflame the sectarian divide that continues to wrack Iraq.”
“It is nothing less than a war crime to deliberately attack civilians in
their place of worship, hold them hostage and kill them.”
Read the full article -
Updated article
The End of Christianity in the Middle East?
2 Novmeber 2010 - The brutal bombing of a church in
Baghdad may be the final straw for this 2,000 year old minority community.
...
But the massacre in Baghdad is only the most spectacular example of mounting
discrimination and persecution of the native Christian communities of Iraq and
Iran, which are now in the middle of a massive exodus unprecedented in modern
times as they confront a rising tide of Islamic militancy and religious
chauvinism sweeping the region.
Christians are the largest non-Muslim religious minority in both Iraq and Iran, with roots in the Middle East that date back to the earliest days of the faith. Some follow the Apostolic Orthodox Armenian Church. Others subscribe to the 2,000-year-old Syriac tradition represented mainly by the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq and by Aramaic speakers widely known as Assyrians in both Iraq and Iran.
...
The numbers speak for themselves: The population of non-Muslims in Iran has dropped by two-thirds or more since 1979. From Iran, these groups flee to Turkey and India -- often at risk to life and limb through the violence-ridden border regions of Iraq and Pakistan. The number of Assyrian Christians in Iran has dwindled from about 100,000 in the mid-1970s to approximately 15,000 today, even as the overall population of the country has swelled from 38 million to 72 million people over the same period. In Iraq, Christians are fleeing in droves. U.N. statistics indicate that 15 percent of all Iraqi refugees in Syria are of Christian background, although they represented only 3 percent of the population when U.S. troops entered in 2003. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that between 300,000 to 400,000 Christians have been forced out of Iraq since 2003. And Christians have left because the message from Sunni militants and Shiite ayatollahs is crystal clear: You have no future here.
...
Read the full article
MRG strongly condemns attack on Christians in Baghdad church
1 Novmeber 2010 - Minority Rights Group International (MRG) vigorously condemns the attack
on Christians attending mass in a Catholic church in Baghdad on Sunday, and
calls on the Iraqi government to fulfil its obligation under international
law to provide effective protection for minorities.
‘The security situation for Christians and other religious minorities in
Iraq has become critical,’ says Mark Lattimer, MRG’s Executive Director.
‘The safety of minorities must now become an urgent priority for the Iraqi
Government, with security measures planned in full cooperation with
community leaders.’
...
‘Half of Iraq’s Christians have already fled the country since 2003,’
added Lattimer. ‘Unless their safety is assured, the remainder may be forced
to follow.’ ...
Read the full article
Irak : prise d’otages à Bagdad - Déclaration de Bernard Kouchner
31 Octobre 2010 - "C’est avec une vive émotion
que nous avons appris la prise d’otages qui s’est déroulée aujourd’hui dans
une église syriaque catholique de Badgad et dont l’issue tragique aurait
fait des dizaines de morts et blessés.
Nous adressons nos sincères condoléances aux
familles des victimes, à leurs proches, et assurons les autorités irakiennes
de notre entière solidarité.
La France condamne fermement cette action
terroriste qui fait suite à une campagne de meurtres et de violences ciblées
et qui a déjà fait plus 40 morts parmi les chrétiens en Irak.
La France rappelle son attachement au respect des
libertés fondamentales dont la liberté religieuse et soutien les autorités
irakiennes dans leur lutte contre le terrorisme."
Lien vers France Diplomatie
Breaking News :
Baghdad church siege leaves about 50 dead
and about 70 others wounded
On Sunday 31st October 2010,
a group of extremists attacked the Syriac Catholic church “Our Lady of Salvation” in
the Center of Baghdad. The extremists led their attack on Sunday evening
were about 100 Catholic Syriacs were attending the mass.
They entered the church with their weapons, wearing military uniforms.
They came into the prayer hall, and immediately killed the priest.
When the authorities have been informed, they
decided to rescue the hostages. Unfortunately the Iraqi forces-led bid to
rescue dozens of hostages held in a Baghdad church has left over about 50
people killed and about 70 others wounded including security forces.
Three militants detonated suicide vests as the Iraqi forces entered the
building – five others were shot dead. Several security officers also died.
The standoff was ended on Monday at 3 am at dawn.
One of the hostages who survived mentioned that
about 100 worshippers were herded to the centre of the church by the gunmen
who repeatedly taunted them. Another 60 or so were ushered to a small room
at the back of the church by a priest. "They were saying to us, 'you are
infidels,'" said the survivor. "Things like: 'we're going to heaven, you're
going to hell." etc.
It is not the first time that churches are
attacked or bombed in Iraq since 2003. Indeed it started on 1st August 2004,
where 5 churches in Baghdad and Mosul were bombed during the Sunday evening
mass and killing at least 11 people and wounding many others. Since then the
attacks against the Christian civilians, clergy and churches continue and
never stopped.
This horrible event reminds us that the
Christians (Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian-Arameans) and other minorities are
still persecuted and are under fire. The exodus of Iraqi Christians
continues as reminded frequently by many NGOs and UNHCR.
International community and governments should
react quickly to stop the exodus and help by any means the indigenous Iraqi
Christians and other minorities to remain and live safely in Iraq and other
Middle East countries.
ESU delegation meeting the European Commission
about the situation of the Syriacs in Turkey
On
Tuesday 19th October 2010, an ESU delegation had a meeting at the European
Commission with Mr. Makridis regarding the situation of the Syriacs in
Turkey.
The European Syriac Union delegation was composed by Mr. Lahdo Hobil (ESU VP),
Mrs. Rima Tuzun (ESU Secretary) and Mr. Suleyman Gultekin (ESU Representative for
Belgium).
The ESU representatives explained the general issues faced by the Syriacs in
Turkey. They also put the focus on the problems and issues happened during 2010.
Finally the ESU delegation transmitted a detailled report to Mr. Makridis about all issues and problems
the Syriacs are facing in Turkey.

European Syriac Union
Syriac Orthodox
Mor Gabriel Monastery boundary cases in favour of the monastery declared null
by the Supreme Court of Ankara, Turkey
Please find below the information we received from Mr. Ergun (chairman of the Mor
Gabriel Foundation) regarding the Ankara Court decision of 13 August 2010.
The Supreme Court of Ankara declared that the Midyat Court never had
jurisdiction to hear the case (19 November 2008) in the first instance:
Dear,
A decision has been
made regarding our court case in the 4th department of the Supreme Court.
We had two files
regarding this court case. One related to the problem of the border with the
village of Yayvantepe (Kartmin), the other to the problem of the border with
the village of Eglence (Zinavle). The court in Midyat considering the strong
evidences in favour of the monastery had decided in the favour of the
monastery regarding the both files. However, the Supreme Court unfortunately
has abrogated the verdict given in our favour at the court in Midyat.
The punishment case
which continues in Midyat has been postponed to the 3rd of November 2010.
With my best regards,
Kuryakos Ergun

European Syriac Union
USA: Expressing the sense of the Senate on religious minorities in Iraq
5 August 2010 - RESOLUTION :
Expressing the sense of the Senate on
religious minorities in Iraq.
Whereas the territory of Iraq, the land of
Mesopotamia, has millennia of rich cultural and religious history;
Whereas the Sumerians, Babylonians, and
Assyrians thrived within what are now the borders of Iraq;
Whereas the biblical patriarch Abraham was
born in Ur, King Hammurabi ruled from Babylon, and Imam Ali, the founder
of Shiite Islam, died in Kufa;
Whereas during the 35-year rule of the
Baath Party and Saddam Hussein, and despite the Provisional Constitution
of 1968 that provided for individual religious freedom in Iraq, the
Government of Iraq severely limited freedom of religion, especially for
religious minorities, and sought to exploit religious differences for
political purposes, leading the United States Government to designate
Iraq as a ‘country of particular concern’ under the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public
Law 105-292) because of systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of
religious freedom;
Whereas members of religious minority
communities of Iraq, both those who have been forced to flee the
homeland in which their ancestors have lived for thousands of years and
those who remain in Iraq, are committed to maintaining their presence in
Iraq and keeping alive their communities’ cultures, heritage, and
religions, but threats against them jeopardize the future of Iraq as a
diverse, pluralistic, and free society;
Whereas despite the reduction in violence
in Iraq in recent years, serious threats to religious freedom remain,
including religiously motivated violence directed at vulnerable
religious minorities, their leaders, and their holy sites, including
Chaldeans, Syriacs, Assyrians, Armenians and other Christians, Sabean
Mandeans, Yeazidis, Baha’is, Kaka’is, Jews, and Shi’a Shabak;
...
Whereas the number of Christians in
Iraq was approximately 1,400,000 according to the 1987 Iraqi census
but, according to the 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom
issued by the Department of State, may now number only 500,000 to
600,000;
Whereas the United States is gravely
concerned about the viability of the indigenous Christian
communities of Iraq and other religious minority communities, and
the possible disappearance of their ancient languages, culture, and
heritage; ...
Read the Full Resolution
Syriac Orthodox church defaced with Islamist graffiti
As it has also been announced by various
news agencies and SuroyoTV news of 14.07.2010, Mor Yakup Church which
dates back to 1700 years had been the subject of hostile, insolent and
threatening attack.
Following this shameful attack a letter from ESU Chairman Fikri Aygur
had been sent to Besir Atalay, Interior Minister of Turkey.
According to the letter, on 13th of July 2010 Mor Yakup Church which is
located at Nsibin, Mardin had been attacked by the unknown people .
Assailants wrote insolent and threatening messages on the wall of
church with green color.
The letter highlighted the danger of these similar acts on the Syriacs and
continue, "such attacks on the cultural and social values of the Syriacs
becoming the main source of non-confidence among the folks". This event also
demonstrate that this planned provocation worries Syriacs all over the world.
Moreover, the letter makes a historical flashback about the situation
between 1980 and 1990's. It's pointing out that during these years Syriacs of
the region had been subject to religious attacks and consequently more
than 50 Syriacs had been killed, reverends were threatened and tens of
thousands of Syriacs had been forced to flee.
The letter also explain that during last years the religious attacks are increasing.
As a response to the Mahomet caricature's on 2006, Syriacs of Midyat - Mardin -
had been attacked by fanatic group of 2 to 3 thousand people.
Finally, the letter finishes by a request to Turkish's Ministry of Interior to find the
authors of this shameful attack and bring them before justice in order to
not give opportunity to similar attacks; and the Syriacs shall be able to continue
to live in their homeland.

European Syriac Union

ESU Newsletter 21 is released ...
Issue 21
Go here to
see all the previous ones.
Turkish (Syriac Orthodox) church defaced with Islamist graffiti
14 July 2010 - MARDIN: Police have started an investigation after a suspected group of people defaced the façade of the 1,700-year-old Mor Jacob Syriac Orthodox Church in Nusaybin, in the southeastern province of Mardin, with pro-Islamic slogans.
The offenders allegedly
defaced the stone walls of the church on Monday with various slogans, such
as “Clear off, bastards,” “Clear off, Zionist dogs,” “Heretics, lay off,”
and “Zionist powers, clear off,” in Turkish and, “Allah u Muhammed,” and
“Prophet Muhammad, fight the infidels and hypocrites,” in Arabic.
The police will
fingerprint the lid of a paint tin found on the ground at the site of the
graffiti and will also fingerprint the wire fence surrounding the church,
which is currently undergoing restoration.
Nusaybin Mayor Ayşe Gökkan
and members of the town council also went to the church upon hearing of the
vandalism, denouncing the act.
Gökkan said the graffiti
was an insult to all members of the Nusaybin community, whether Syriac
Orthodox, Kurdish, Arabic, or Yezidi.
According to Gökkan, the
offense was not committed by one person but by a group of people. Noting
that renovators had placed a wired fence around the church for construction
purposes, Gökkan said it would have been impossible for one person to climb
and tear down the fence, enter the church grounds and deface the walls.
“If the police respect all
cultures, they should quickly solve this case and prosecute the offenders.
The case is going to be followed closely by the municipality. [The
municipality] is not going to regard this as an ordinary crime. Mor Jacob
Church is an asset to people of all religions who belong to this community,
and the community is going to protect this asset,” he said.
The church reportedly
dates from 313 A.D. and is currently being restored by the Mardin
Directorate of Museums.
Mehmet Deniz, the
directorate’s resident art historian, Ural Züngör, a museum restorer and
member of Istanbul University’s Department of Restoration faculty and
Süleyman Bayar, an archaeologist, went to the church to investigate the
incident.
The three collected paint
samples and said the graffiti could be removed without damaging the church’s
historical texture.
The church is expected to
re-open its doors once the restoration project is complete.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=syrian-orthodox-church-in-mardin-gets-spray-painted-with-offensive-statements-2010-07-14
European Syriac Union is very sad to
inform you that we lost Mr. Iskender Alptekin.
Mr. Alptekin passed away following a heart attack
on Tuesday 18th May 2010.
Mr. Alptekin was married and had two
daughters.
We would like to present our most sincere condolences to his family and relatives.
Furthermore our condolences go also to all his friends within E.S.U. and the
others.
We would never thank enough Mr. Alptekin for his commitment and hard work
for his community during the last 6 year as E.S.U.
chairman.
We pray for Mr. Iskender Alptekin and his family.
May God bless him.


European Syriac Union

ESU Newsletter 20 is released ...
Issue 20
Go here to
see all the previous ones.
Our utmost thanks to SWEDEN
The Swedish parliament recognizes the 1915 genocide
11 March 2010 The Swedish parliament recognizes the 1915 genocide.
Sweden is the first country in the world recognizing the genocide of 1915 as also being perpetrated against other ethnics groups:
the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian and the Greek Pontus peoples.
We'll be eternally grateful to Sweden for this act of bravery in order to make justice
after 95 years of ignorance of the atrocities perpetrated during 1915 in Ottoman Empire
We
hope other countries will follow the example of Sweden.

European Syriac Union
Read
also Swedish Newspaper in English here
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/Turkey_recalls_envoy_to_Sweden_over_Armenia_vote.html?cid=8466202
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/12/worldupdates/2010-03-12T014703Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-468498-1&sec=Worldupdates
http://www.rtbf.be/info/monde/suede/suede-le-parlement-reconnait-le-genocide-armenien-de-1915-le-turquie-sinsurge
http://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/article/568520/suede-le-parlement-reconnait-le-genocide-armenien-de-1915-le-turquie-s-insurge.html
http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2010/03/11/le-parlement-suedois-reconnait-le-genocide-armenien_1317948_3214.html
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Archives 2009
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Mor Gabriel Monastery lost the Forestry case
24 June 2009 Mor Gabriel Monastery lost one of the cases over the land disputes with the Turkish state. The court made the decision on favour of the Ministry of the Forest.
On the other hand the Saint (Mor) Gabriel representatives stressed that they will prepare an objection against this decision and they declared that they will bring this decision to Ankara. Last month the Monastery had won one of the cases (land boundary case).
The dispute with the Treasury has been also won by the Mor Gabriel Monastery.
Similarly to the other trials the interest was very high. Personalities from different places were present to the court in Midyat. Among the attendees, Tuma Celik from ESU, Yilmaz Kerimo member of the Swedish Parliament, deputy Anne Ludvingson, Evin Cetin from Social Democrats of Sweden and Sema Kilicer representative of the European Union were present at the court.
Mor Gabriel Monastery stated that they will prepare an objection to this decision and they will bring this to Ankara, and one of the lawyers of the Monastery said if there will be a need they will bring this battle also to the European Court.
ESU grants too much importance to these cases against the Monastery, which it follows very closely.
Hopefully national and international media have also pursued these trials from the first days.

European Syriac Union
Read
also Turkish Newspaper in English here
Mor Gabriel Monastery won the land case
22 May 2009 Mor Gabriel Monastery, one of the most important Syriac Monastery in the world, won one of the land dispute cases last Friday. The local Turkish court ruled his decision on favour of the Mor Gabriel Monastery.
According to the news agencies, the dispute over the boundaries of Mor Gabriel, a fifth-century Syriac Orthodox monastery in eastern Turkey, had raised concerns over freedom of religion and human rights for non-Muslim minorities in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country and European Union aspirant.
During the case processes of the monastery, Syriacs all over the world point out their support to the monastery with the statements and visits to the monastery and with the great street demonstrations. On the other hand, the European Union and United States representatives also follow up the land cases closely.
Mr. Fikri Aygur, Vice-President of the European Syriac Union (ESU) said that, this is very important result for us and for the Syriacs in the world. From now on the Monastery finished the problems with the villagers because the frontiers are known. Aygur also declared that, other land dispute cases are ongoing in the local court and they pursuit all developments very closely. The decision of court is more political than legal dixit ESU. Lastly, Aygur noted that court decision will be a test for the Turkish state by respecting and giving the total rights to the non-Muslim communities in the Turkey.
On the other hand, other land dispute cases are postponed. The case of Treasury is on 17th June and the Forest Ministry case is on 24th June.

European Syriac Union
Qui en veut aux chrétiens de Turquie ?
22 Mai 2009 (Le Figaro)
Le gouvernement islamiste turc multiplie les tracasseries contre la minorité chrétienne du Tur Abdin. Au cœur de cette lutte, les terres millénaires du monastère Mor Gabriel.
Les chrétiens syriaques de Turquie font l'objet de tracasseries à répétition. Sans doute pour les pousser à l'exil. Symbole de ces difficultés incessantes : le monastère Mor Gabriel, surnommé aussi la deuxième Jérusalem, installé à 140 kilomètres de Diyarbakir, à 10 kilomètres de Midyat et 30 kilomètres de la frontière syrienne, est de plus en plus menacé malgré ses 1 600 ans.
... L'an passé, en effet, sous le prétexte d'une remise à jour du cadastre, l'Etat a tenté de récupérer 250 hectares appartenant au monastère après les avoir requalifiés en forêt. Vaine tentative, il est vrai, mais se profile une série de procès. Un malheur n'arrivant jamais seul, deux villages voisins, Eglence et Yanvantep, se réveillent soudain. Ils réclament des terres du monastère censées leur appartenir, pour faire paître leurs troupeaux.
L'Etat turc tient un double langage...
Lire la suite ...
Photos
An exodus of Christians
20 May 2009 (Associated Press)
BAGHDAD — Iraq has lost more than half the Christians who once called it home, mostly since the war began, and few who fled have plans to return, The Associated Press has learned.
Pope Benedict XVI called attention to their plight during a Mideast visit this week, urging the international community to ensure the survival of “the ancient Christian community of that noble land.”
The number of Arab Christians has plummeted across the Mideast in recent years as increasing numbers seek to move to the West, saying they feel increasingly unwelcome in the Middle East and want a better life abroad.
But the exodus has been particularly stark in Iraq —
where sectarian violence since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion has often targeted
Christians.
The AP found that hundreds of thousands of Christians
have fled.
Read More ...
Pope Benedict XVI issues plea for Middle East Christians
10 May 2009 (Telegraph.co.uk) Pope Benedict XVI celebrated mass with tens of thousands of worshippers from the dwindling Christian churches of the Middle East today, urging them to maintain their presence in region.
During the mass in a sports stadium in the Jordanian capital Amman, the Pope made a special point of meeting representatives of the Iraqi Christian community, much of which has fled into exile since the 2003 invasion.
He also spoke of the challenges faced by the Christian church in the region.
Read More ...
Le long calvaire des chrétiens d'Orient
9 May 2009 (Le Point) «N ous sommes tous des chrétiens d’Orient », s’exclamait Régis Debray lors d’un colloque à Paris. Assassinats de chrétiens en Irak, incendies d’églises à Gaza, vexations contre les coptes en Egypte, liberté de culte encadrée en Turquie, restriction de mouvements en Israël... Les communautés chrétiennes, filles du Moyen-Orient depuis deux mille ans, se sentent de plus en plus mal sur leurs terres natales, hier fief du pluralisme religieux. ...
« Nous voulons que les chrétiens restent dans le monde arabe », écrivait en 2002 le prince Talal, membre de la famille saoudienne, dans une tribune publiée par le quotidien An Nahar de Beyrouth. Un point de vue éclairé très minoritaire : en Arabie, seule la religion musulmane est autorisée... Lire plus ...
Pope Urges World to Protect Iraqi Christians
9 May 2009 Pope Benedict has urged the world to make efforts to protect Iraq's Christian minority.
In a speech Saturday to Muslim leaders in Jordan, the pontiff called on the international community and local political and religious leaders to try to ensure Iraqi Christians a "right to peaceful coexistence" with other Iraqis.
Read More ...
Don’t flee Kirkuk, Iraqi Christians are urged
8 May 2009 CHRISTIAN families living in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk have been urged to remain there, despite the murder of three members of the minority community last week.
Security sources said that gunmen broke into a home in a southern district of the city and shot dead two Christian women. In a separate attack in the same area, one man was killed and two were wounded in a shooting in their home.
Last autumn, in a spate of attacks on Christians living
in the northern city of Mosul, 15 Christians were killed.
Their deaths prompted dozens of families to leave the
city. Only when police and army reinforcements were
deployed did the exodus gradually stop. Read More ...
IRAQ and the Destruction of the Mandaean Religion
8 May 2009 The American led invasion of Iraq was meant to usher in democracy, liberty, freedom, and a revitalized Iraq. Sadly, from the outset other forces would be unleashed and this applies to radical Islam, terrorism, Sunni-Shia clashes, the persecution of Christians, and other negative forces. At the same time, an ancient religion was about to face a new wave of hatred and ethnic cleansing. This community, the Mandaeans, now faces virtual annihilation and now only a few thousand remain in modern day Iraq. So will this small community be forced to go into complete exile?
It is clearly apparent that all minorities, be they Assyrian Christians, Mandaeans, Shabaks, Yazidis, or others, face enormous persecution and the central government is either too weak or complacent. Also, the leaders of America must be blamed for entering Iraq and then leaving the minorities to face persecution, torture, death, and ethnic cleansing. Read More ...
Iraqi Christians Too Scared to Reveal Whole Truth on Violence
6 May 2009 WASHINGTON – Fear keeps Iraqi Christians quiet about the extent of persecution the tiny minority group endures, said an Iraqi Catholic archbishop Tuesday at a private meeting with religious freedom experts and journalists.
These Christians do not fear only for their own safety, but they are afraid of retribution against fellow believers in Iraq if they speak out, explained the Most Rev. Jean Benjamin Sleiman, the head of the Latin mass church in Iraq, at a Hudson Institute hosted luncheon. This mindset has kept even Iraqi Christians in the United States and other western nations relatively quiet about the severe Christian persecution in their homeland.
It is as if Iraqi Christians speak two different languages, the archbishop told the small group of
Americans gathered for the invitation-only event. To the pope they say they are being persecuted, he said, but to the public they say they are living well with occasional problems.
Read More ...
Irak - Nouveaux assassinats de chrétiens
Lettre de Mgr Stenger à Mgr Sako, évêque de Kirkuk
5 May 2009 Depuis la visite faite en févier 2008 aux communautés chrétiennes du nord de l'Irak par la délégation pilotée par Pax Christi France, dans le cadre de l'opération « Pâques avec les chrétiens d'Irak », le destin de ces communautés nous est, vous le savez, particulièrement cher. Ayant rappelé il y a peu de temps la mémoire de Monseigneur Farraj Rahho, archevêque de Mossoul, à l'occasion du premier anniversaire de sa mort, nous nous réjouissons de relever tous les signes manifestant la renaissance de votre pays et l'accroissement de ses raisons d'espérer en un avenir meilleur.
Nous avons appris avec une douleur d'autant plus grande les récents assassinats de chrétiens à Mossoul. Ils démontrent que la sécurité demeure précaire et que l'harmonie sociale est loin d'être assurée.
Une fois encore les chrétiens sont des cibles privilégiées de ceux qui
entretiennent l'instabilité et la crainte dans la population.
Lire la lettre ...
Christianity’s Lost History
1 May 2009 While Christianity was born in the Levant, today its history is largely thought of in terms the two great centers, both in Europe, around which the ecclesiastical politics within the Roman Empire coalesced—Rome and Constantinople. What gets forgotten is that there were other great centers beyond the frontiers of the oikoumene and that much of what is now referred to as “the Islamic world” was once Christian.
To illustrate his point, Jenkins focuses on the figure of Timothy I (727-823) who, in 780, was enthroned as patriarch, or catholicos, of the Church of the East, then based in the ancient Mesopotamian city of Seleucia, less than two dozen miles southeast of modern Baghdad. According to Jenkins, “in terms of his prestige, and the geographical extent of his authority, Timothy was arguably the most significant Christian spiritual leader of his day, much more influential than the Western pope, in Rome, and on par with the Orthodox patriarch in Constantinople,” since “perhaps a quarter of the world’s Christians looked to Timothy as both spiritual and political head.”
Read More ...
Three Iraqi Christians murdered
30 April 2009 Three Iraqi Christians were murdered last Sunday and two others were injured in two separate incidents in the city of Kirkuk. These attacks take place in a context of intense hostility to Christians from militant Islamists.
The following has been posted on various websites: “The General Secretariat of the Adherent of Islam Brigade has decided to address the final warning to ... the infidel Christian Crusaders ... and order you to leave immediately, in masses and permanently from the Muslim countries. There is no place for you infidel Christians among the Muslim believers in Iraq from now on. Otherwise, our swords will be legalized over your neck.”
"The main objective of these crimes is to create chaos and promote strife and divisions among the people of Kirkuk. I call on Christians not to be jarred by these crimes and to stay in Kirkuk. We are sons of this city," he said.
According to U.S. military officials, gunmen entered a home in southern Kirkuk, killing two women. Gunmen attacked three men in a home in the same area the same night. One was killed. ...
The manner of the killings suggests premeditated
execution, intended to send a warning to Iraqi
Christians and foster a climate of fear. They recall the
violence of last October in Mosul, when thousands of
Christians fled from their homes in the northern city of
Mosul. Fearing a similar exodus from Kirkuk, church and
government leaders have called on the Christian
community to stand firm and not be intimidated. The
vice-president of Iraq has called upon Christians not to
leave the country and has requested the international
community to give help and protection against the
militants.
Read More ...
Parliamentary question: Mor Gabriel monastery
recognition of the Aramaeans as a religious minority in Turkey
27 April 2009 The Mor Gabriel monastery in Midyat, Mardin province, which was built in AD 397, is the spiritual centre for Syriac Orthodox Christians, the Aramaeans, in Turkey. Around 70 monks and nuns live in the monastery. It is visited by thousands of Aramaeans every year.
Since 2008, this over 1 600‑year‑old monastery has been the subject of a flood of court cases, in which the monastery stands accused of, among other things, ‘unlawful settlement’. Certain of these proceedings have been brought by neighbouring villages represented by leading AKP politicians. If these proceedings are successful, there is a danger that the Aramaean monks and nuns will be forced out of the Mor Gabriel monastery, bringing to an end a 1 600‑year‑old non‑Muslim tradition in south‑eastern Turkey.
The Aramaean faith community is not recognised as a religious minority in Turkey. Communities not recognised
as religious minorities in Turkey do not enjoy minority rights and are not allowed to train young people or to
teach, and thereby pass on to the next generation, their faith or their language. Since 6 October 1997, the teaching of Aramaic, the language of Jesus used in the Syriac Orthodox Church, has been officially prohibited in the Republic of Turkey.
Read the full Parliamentary question here ...
Iraqi Christians urged not to flee after killings
27 April 2009 BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Christians in Kirkuk were urged to stand firm by the city's Chaldean archbishop Monday after three members of the religious minority were gunned down in their homes.
Louis Sako told mourners at a cathedral in the ethnically mixed city that the attacks Sunday killing three Christians and wounding two others were outrageous.
"The main objective of these crimes is to create chaos and promote strife and divisions among the people of Kirkuk. I call on Christians not to be jarred by these crimes and to stay in Kirkuk. We are sons of this city," he said.
According to U.S. military officials, gunmen entered a home in southern Kirkuk, killing two women. Gunmen attacked three men in a home in the same area the same night. One was killed..
Read More ...
ESU Newsletter 16 is released ...
Issue 16
Go here to
see all the previous ones.
Dispute over Syriac monastery turns into international row
19 April 2009 (Today's Zaman) A long-standing land dispute between the Syriacs of Midyat, a district in the southeastern province of Mardin, and the local village heads has finally turned into a legal battle attracting international attention.
The disagreement has been closely monitored by the European Union for some time,
and US President Barack Obama also got involved in the dispute after he received a letter from the German
Syriac diaspora on the matter and assigned one of his aides to follow the developments, effectively making the
small district's land dispute a matter of international concern.
Read More ...
Iraq VP Urges Christians to Stay; Pledges Protection
17 April 2009 (The Christian Post) The vice president of Iraq, Adel Abdul Mahdi, urged the country’s Christian population to resist fleeing Iraq and called on the international community to help protect the dwindling minority group from extremists.
The vice president of Iraq, Adel Abdul Mahdi, urged the country’s Christian population to resist fleeing Iraq and called on the international community to help protect the dwindling minority group from extremists.
"The position of Iraqi Christians is vulnerable and Iraq must not be left
alone to face this. It's a collective task," said Abdul Mahdi, a Shiite
Muslim, at a conference hosted by the French Institute of International
Relations in Paris on Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse.
"Christians are an integral part of Iraq,” he said. “We need to help Iraq
and help Christians remain in Iraq.”
Iraq’s Christian population has mostly fled to neighboring countries such
as Syria and Jordan, but has also been granted refuge in Western countries
including France, Germany, and the United States.
Members of the tiny Christian population are forced to leave their
homeland because of daily physical threats to their life. More than 200
Christians have been killed, dozens of churches bombed, and countless
believers have been kidnapped for ransom money since 2003.
Read More ...
Will Islam Return Obama's 'Respect'?
9 April 2009 (Wall Street Journal) Today is Holy Thursday for Christians and the start of Passover for Jews. This week was an opportune time for President Barack Obama to visit Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, which has been both a Byzantine church and Islamic mosque. In Turkey he spoke of seeking engagement with Islam based on "mutual respect." ...
"I know that the trust that binds the United States and Turkey has been strained, and I know that strain is shared in many places where the Muslim faith is practiced. So let me say this as clearly as I can: The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam. . . .
...
Coptic Christians in Egypt have been singled out for discrimination and persecution. Muslim rioters often burn or vandalize their churches and shops.
In Turkey, the Syriac Orthodox Church (its 3,000 members speak Aramaic, the language of Christ) is
battling with Turkish authorities over the lands around the Mor Gabriel monastery, built in 397.
Read More ...
Turkey's path towards the EU-progress through reforms
Mor Gabriel Monastery case
31 March 2009 (EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee) - We would also welcome developments in other areas of the political criteria, such as religious freedoms. For instance, the re-opening of the Halki seminar would be widely perceived as an important step towards greater tolerance vis-à-vis other religious communities. The Commission also follows closely the ongoing case as to the Mor Gabriel monastry.
Tolerance in general cannot be instructed from above, but authorities can lead by example. A development towards more tolerance in the society would be helpful also to other minorities, whatever their nature.
Read More ...
Full speech of Mr. Olli Rehn EU Commissionner for Enlargement (PDF format)
Iraq: The most dangerous place in the world for Christians
27 March 2009 (Telegraph.co.uk) - The Christians of Iraq are some of the oldest and long standing Christians in the world. Here among these wonderful people is still spoken the language of our Lord. Ninety-eight per cent of my people at St George's, Baghdad originate from "Niniwah" (Nineveh) and are the result of the most miserable evangelist ever, who arrived by submarine transportation 2,700 years ago - Jonah. Another miserable person turned up 700 years later called doubting Thomas. He was on his way to India. He told the people that their Messiah had come. They believed him and, to this day, the Christians in Iraq revere Jonah and Mar Thoma.
... we are still in the most dangerous place for Christians in the world. Security has slightly improved and some people have returned to places like Dora, but Christians in Iraq are still surrounded by great danger.
Read More ...
Christians being 'squeezed out' in Iraq
27 March 2009 - Christians in Iraq are being assisted by a ministry that raises awareness of the persecuted church worldwide.
Open Doors USA has set up pharmacies and other medical projects throughout Iraq. The pharmacies not only help Iraqi Christians find affordable medicine, but they also provide jobs for refugees in northern Iraq.
... "It is the call of Open Doors to all Christians around the world to remember the plight of those who have been squeezed almost out of existence by ...
Read More ...
Trial for “Insulting Turkishness”?
26 March 2009 -Christian Web News - Two Christians in Turkey will face trial in the coming months for “insulting Turkishness.” Although this sounds absurd, the allegations are serious. Nevertheless, the defense remains hopeful.
A Turkish court received permission Feb. 24 from the Ministry of Justice to try Christians Turan Topal and Hakan Tastan under the revised Article 301 law that has sparked outrage among free speech proponents. The court had sent the case to the Ministry of Justice after the government put into effect a series of changes to the law back in May of 2008.
Read More ...
Video: Iraqi Christians in peril
25 March 2009 - Produced by the Chaldean Church in Beirut, Lebanon. USA distribution by: Religious Freedom Coalition www.rfcnet.org The following interview with canon andrew white concerns the same topic.
If you are a Christian, and your son or daughter was killed because of your faith, what would you do? If your Muslim neighbor came to you and said, "Your daughters must convert to Islam and marry our sons, or we will kill your entire family," how would you respond? "Convert or die" is the message of choice for Islamic jihadists in Baghdad and Iraq who are working overtime to rid Iraq of "infidel" Christians.
See the Video here
Les chrétiens d'Orient sacrifiés
19 Mars 2009 (Le Point) - Maronites, coptes, melkites, syriaques, arméniens, assyriens, chaldéens, grecs-orthodoxes, éthiopiens-catholiques, outre des catholiques et des protestants... Comment peut-on être un chrétien d'Orient ! se dit l'Occidental déchristianisé, assis sur sa Sécurité sociale et persuadé que le monde se limite à la béatitude démocratique. ...
En vain attend-on l'indignation des pleureuses d'Europe ou des Etats-Unis.Toute paix, même la pseudo-paix des braves, suppose un vaincu, lequel ne saurait être les juifs, ni les musulmans, ni même les Kurdes, qui ont retrouvé leur territoire. Est-il illégitime de penser, hors toute théorie du complot mais selon le mécanisme de la victime émissaire cher à René Girard,
que ce seront les chrétiens, dans leur ensemble, qui seront sacrifiés sur l'autel de la paix au Proche-Orient ?
Lire la suite ...
Iraqi Christians still face persecution
17 March 2009 - Nearly six years since the beginning of the war in Iraq, Iraqi’s are increasingly saying that their country is becoming a safe place to live, according to a recent survey. For Christians, however, the daily threat of violent attacks means these are still uncertain times.
... Christians are still the victims of violence. Canon Andrew White of St George’s Anglican Church in Baghdad told CBN news that 83 congregants of his church were killed last year, and another five this year.
Read More ...
European Parliament resolution of 12 March 2009 on Turkey's progress report 2008
12 March 2009 European Parliament Strasbourg - European Parliament in its resolution of 12th March 2009, section
"Human rights and respect for, and protection of, minorities" stress Turkey about full respect for freedom of religion and regret the planned expropriation of the Syriac Orthodox Monastery of St Gabriel in Tur Abdin and the court procedures against representatives of the monastery
Read the Full Resolution
-
Lire la Résolution complète
Conférence au Sénat français sur les Chaldéen-Syriaque-Assyriens
Nous ne pouvons plus passer sous silence le drame que vivent les Chrétiens d’Orient et plus particulièrement ceux de l’Irak.
La situation des chrétiens Chaldéen-Syriaque-Assyriens ne cesse de se dégrader ...
Les attaques du 11 septembre 2001 et ce qui en a découlé n’ont fait qu’empirer leur situation.
Si rien n’est fait pour les aider, le monde assistera à un nettoyage ethnico-religieux en Irak avec des conséquences pour tout le Proche et Moyen-Orient. ...
Conférence - Débat : Les Assyro-Chaldéen-Syriaques dans le Fédéralisme Irakien
Jeudi 2 avril 2009 - de 14h à 18h
Sénat - Palais du Luxembourg
15 rue Vaugirard - Paris 6ème
Communiqué de Presse
Programme de la Conférence
Defending the Faith
Battle
Over a Christian Monastery Tests Turkey's Tolerance of Minorities

7 March 2009
KARTMIN, TURKEY (Wall Street Journal) - Christians have lived in these parts since the dawn of their faith. But they have had a rough couple of millennia, preyed on by Persian, Arab, Mongol, Kurdish and Turkish armies. Each group tramped through the rocky highlands that now comprise Turkey's southeastern border with Iraq and Syria.
The current menace is less bellicose but is deemed a threat nonetheless. A group of state land surveyors and Muslim villagers are intent on shrinking the boundaries of an ancient monastery by more than half. The monastery, called Mor Gabriel, is revered by the Syriac Orthodox Church.
Read More ...
Les moines de Mor Gabriel résistent à l'État turc
5 Mars 2009
MIDYAT, Turquie (Le Figaro) - Depuis plus de 1 600 ans, les chants en araméen, la langue du Christ, montent du monastère syriaque Mor Gabriel et enveloppent les collines couleur de miel, en bordure de la frontière turco-syrienne. Au fil des siècles, les cantiques ont perdu en intensité : la communauté ne compte plus que trois moines, treize nonnes et un métropolite.
Ces descendants des premiers chrétiens restent accrochés à la région du Tur Abdin, «la montagne des serviteurs de Dieu». Mais, depuis l'an dernier, le monastère est engagé dans une bataille judiciaire avec l'État turc et trois villages environnants. Pour les petites minorités chrétiennes de Turquie, le procès, qui doit s'ouvrir mercredi, constitue une nouvelle remise en cause de leur présence.
Lire plus ...
Colloque sur l'Avenir des minorités chrétiennes au Proche et Moyen-Orient
Colloque organisé par les Députés Fédéraux Clotilde Nyssens, Georges Dallemagne et Christian Brotcorne
en collaboration avec Solidarité-Orient/Werk voor het Oosten
La presse se fait l’écho discret depuis plusieurs mois des violences subies par les communautés chrétiennes
établies dans les pays du Proche et du Moyen-Orient. En Inde mais aussi en Turquie, en Egypte ou encore en
Irak, les communautés chrétiennes sont l’objet de discriminations sociales et de persécutions meurtrières.
La culture chrétienne existe pourtant dans ces pays depuis des siècles. Outre la dénonciation de ces injustices
nous voudrions mettre en évidence à l’instar de Régis Debray que le pluralisme de fait est une chance énorme
pour la promotion des valeurs universelles de dignité et de liberté humaines et, partant, pour le maintien
de la paix dans les pays du Proche et du Moyen Orient. Ce colloque sera l’occasion de donner la parole à des
témoins et à des spécialistes de la question afin de rendre visible la problématique en Belgique où vivent
aussi de nombreuses communautés arabo-chrétiennes.
Vendredi 20 mars 2009
de 9h30 à 13h
Maison des Parlementaires - Salle des Congrès
Rue de Louvain 21 -
1000 Bruxelles
Expropriation of the lands of the Mor Gabriel Monastery in Tur
Abdin, Turkey
13 February 2009
Written question no 563 to the Committee of Ministers presented by Mr Omtzigt and others to the Council of Europe.
Read More ...
Turkey: Respect Property Rights of Religious Minorities
11 February 2009 - USCIRF
WASHINGTON, DC -- The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan Federal commission, today urged the U.S. government to raise the importance of respecting property rights of members of diverse religious minorities with the Turkish government, particularly with reference to the Mor Gabriel Monastery.
For decades, Turkey's government has attempted to confiscate lands belonging to Greek Orthodox churches. In a current instance, on February 11 a case involving the attempted seizure by Turkish authorities of land on which sits the 1,600 year-old Mor Gabriel Syriac Orthodox monastery will be heard by a local Turkish court. At this hearing, the court will determine if the 270 hectares of land belong to the government or the monastery.
Read More ...
Mor Gabriel Monastery Under Siege in Turkey
Arameans are preparing for a huge demonstration to take place in Berlin on Sunday, Jan. 25
24 January 2009

Berlin, Germany (DW World) - "Save the monastery of Mor Gabriel, save Christendom in Turkey"-- that is the slogan of a huge demonstration planned for Sunday in Berlin. Its aim is to help safeguard the existence of Mor Gabriel -- also known as the Monastery of St. Gabriel -- which is the spiritual center of Syriac-Orthodox Christians in Turkey. Founded in 397, it is the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monastery in the world. It is located on the Tur Abdin plateau in Southeastern Turkey, the motherland of the Syriac people.
Read More ...
Christian monastery in Turkey fights to keep land
21 January 2009
MIDYAT, Turkey (Reuters) - In a remote village near the Turkish-Syrian border, a land dispute with neighboring villages is threatening the future of one of the world's oldest functioning Christian monasteries.
Critics say the dispute, which has become a rallying cry for Christian church groups across Europe, is a new chapter in the long history of religious persecution of the small Christian community by the Turkish state.
Read More ...
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Archives 2008
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Le Conseil des évêques catholiques d’Orient appelle les chrétiens libanais à l’unité et à la charité
29 Novembre 2008
Réuni à Bkerké sous la présidence du patriarche maronite, le cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, le Conseil des évêques catholiques d’Orient a achevé hier ses travaux. Dans son communiqué, il a notamment appelé les Libanais à l’unité et les chrétiens d’Irak à ne pas perdre espoir.
...
Concernant l’Irak, il a souligné que chrétiens et musulmans dans ce pays vivent la même tragédie et sont victimes du chaos au plan de la sécurité. « Nous nous sommes cependant arrêtés sur le drame que les chrétiens sont en train de vivre parce qu’ils sont massacrés et poussés à l’exode par des groupes fondamentalistes, au milieu d’un mutisme absolu », a affirmé le patriarche ...
Lire la suite ...
Liban: Un flot ininterrompu de réfugiés chrétiens d’Irak
29 Novembre 2008
Les ONG au Liban réclament une aide urgente pour subvenir aux besoins immédiats de centaines de familles chrétiennes ayant fui les violences en Irak.
«Depuis le mois de juin, cinq familles par semaine environ arrivent ici , indique Isabelle Saadé Féghali, de l’ organisation Caritas. Le problème est très grave et il n’y a jamais assez d’ aides.» Le nombre de réfugiés irakiens au Liban est monté en flèche depuis le mois d’ octobre, lorsque plus de 2.000 familles chrétiennes ont fui la ville de Mossoul dans le nord de l’ Irak, après une vague d’ assassinats visant leur communauté. Entre 40.000 et 50.000 réfugiés irakiens chrétiens et musulmans, selon les ONG, sont actuellement présents au Liban, considéré comme un pays de transit pour la plupart en attendant de s’ installer ailleurs, notamment aux Etats-Unis.
Télégramme.com
En Turquie, les Chrétiens irakiens sont oubliés
27 Novembre 2008
« Si les gouvernements occidentaux ne réagissent pas à cette crise, les conséquences seront catastrophiques ». François Yakan, vicaire patriarcal de l'Eglise chaldéenne (*) de Turquie ne mâche pas ses mots. Sans relâche, il tire la sonnette d'alarme auprès de la communauté internationale. Il se rend régulièrement à l'étranger, rencontrant hommes politiques et responsables d'églises avec ce même message : « Les gens ne sont pas au courant de la détresse des chrétiens irakiens. Ils n'ont ni gouvernement, ni armée, ni pouvoir. Nous assistons à la fin du christianisme en Irak, pourquoi ne s'en rendent-ils pas compte? » ...
« Nous avons trouvé une famille qui vivait dans la rue, un père, une mère et deux enfants » déplore François Yakan « cela faisait six mois qu'ils étaient à Istanbul et ils ne pouvaient même pas se permettre de payer un loyer. »
Lire la suite ...
Terror Reigns over Mosul's Christians
24 November 2008
BAGHDAD, Iraq and WASHINGTON, Nov 24, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- CSI Appeals to Obama and
al-Maliki to Save Iraq's Unarmed Minorities
Today, Dr. John Eibner, Executive Director of Christian Solidarity International -- USA, urged US President-elect
Barack Obama and the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki to prevent the extinction of Iraq's persecuted Christian
community and other powerless minorities, such as the Yezidis, Shabaks and Mandeans.
Read More ...
In Mosul, a battle for Christians
23 November 2008
MOSUL, Iraq — A month after thousands of Christians fled this northern Iraqi city in terror, many of the refugees have returned home, but some fear a new wave of sectarian violence, church leaders say.
...
A small but ancient community, Iraq's Christians appear powerless against greater forces, and the community in Mosul is divided between those who believe they still have a place in Iraq and those who fear their days here may be numbered.
Read More ...
Churches tell French EU presidency of concerns about persecution of Christians in Iraq
22 November 2008
Representatives of two European church groupings, in a meeting with a senior representative of the French presidency of the European Union, expressed concern about the rights of minorities around the world, especially where Christian minorities are persecuted, and discussed “the dramatic situation of Iraqi Christians whose extinction would signify a major injustice”.
...
“Extinction” of Christians in Iraq would mean a major injustice, the church groupings’ statement said. “It would mean that the dialogue between cultures is not anymore possible and that ethnic and religious communitarism prevails over the universality of human rights.”
Read More ...
German States Back Iraqi Refugee Plan
21 November 2008
(DW-World.de) - Germany's state interior ministers have given their backing to German interior minister Wolfgang Schaeuble's
plans to accept up to 2,500 Iraqi Christian refugees in the framework of a European Union agreement.
This comes on the same day as the UN's Special
Commissioner for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, expressed his
concern about the situation of Iraqi Christians in Iraq
in talks with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel in
Berlin. De Mistura said a further exodus had to be
stopped and called upon Germany and other EU countries
to urge Baghdad to give more protection to the minority
grouping.
Read More ...
Italian FM urges Iraq protection for Christians
20 November 2008
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini urged the Iraqi government to protect minorities, namely Christians who have suffered a wave of killings, during a surprise visit to Baghdad on Thursday. ...
More than 2,000 Christian families fled Mosul in October
after a wave of killings in Iraq's third largest city ...
Read More ...
ESU and Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian Council delegation meet European representatives
11 November 2008

A delegation composed by ESU members (Mr. Fikri Aygur & Mr. Suleyman Gultekin) and
the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian Council of Iraq members (Mr. Gabriel Marko, Mr. Kamel Zozo & Mr. Isa Yousif) had meetings at the European Commission and the European Parliament.
The aim of the meeting was to inform the different European representatives about the situation of the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrians in Iraq which is worsening
and to draw their attention about the needs of these indigenous Christians people.
The delegation explained, among other topics, that attacks are rising against all minorities and especially against the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrians people;
that the indigenous Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrians and other minorities continue to flee Iraq and taking into account that no actions are being undertaken
to overcome this tragedy, the only viable solution is to settle an autonomous area for the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrians in Iraq. The delegation clearly
stated and insisted that this request for autonomy is not against the Iraqi people neitheir against the Iraqi constitution
but is only aimed to stop the flee of these indigenous Christians people with millenia-old history and culture.
Photos Gallery
Iraqi Christians Search for New Homeland
09 November 2008
(CBNNews.com) - NINEVEH PLAINS, Iraq - Christians and non-Muslims in Iraq are being targeted in a brutal
campaign by Islamic militants.
Since October, some 13,000 Christians and other minorities have been driven from their homes in the northern
city of Mosul. More than a dozen Christians were assassinated.
Now some Iraqi Christians want to create a separate, autonomous region for
their community.
Read More ...
Iraqi president hints he might veto minorities bill
07 November 2008
- BAGHDAD, (Reuters) - Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, whose three-member Presidency Council vets
all legislation, has hinted he might veto a bill guaranteeing council seats to minorities, which they
complain gives them too few seats.
A statement from Talabani's office posted on his website late on Thursday said he had met with
minority Christians.
"They expressed worries about the negative impact of the law passed in
parliament, which they said gives them a small number of seats and does not
protect their rights," the statement said. Read More ...
Christians On the Run in Iraq
30 October 2008
- In Iraq, the persecution of Christians continues, as murders and a mass exodus contradict Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki's promise of security for everyone. Churches are trying to help the refugees, and some may
come to Germany -- if the government settles on a plan.
The long trip from Mosul to Baghdad traverses a bombed highway along the Tigris River, through a wasteland
in central Iraq left behind by five years of war. For Rami Kamil, 43, his wife and their children,
the journey was an escape from the growing prospect of being murdered in Mosul.
Read More ...
Mass commemorates Christians murdered in Iraq
25 October 2008
- Iraqi Christians exiled in the UK held a mass on Saturday to commemorate relatives and friends murdered
because of their faith in their homeland. Around 90 Iraqi exiles living across
Britain attended the service to say prayers for lost loved ones and those still in Iraq.
Led by Archbishop Athanasius Toma Dawod, the head of the Syrian Orthodox Church in the UK, the mass included
prayers for Christians killed in recent attacks in Mosul, northern Iraq.
Read More ...
Who Is Driving Christians Out of Iraq?
24 October 2008
- The current plight of Christians in the northern city of Mosul is a reminder of how precarious conditions in
Iraq as whole are.
At least 2,500 families have been forced to leave the city, a dozen killed and many of their houses destroyed.
Christians are not the only minority under persecution but their fleeing is being highlighted because it comes
at a crucial moment for Iraq and particularly its northern region.
Read More ...
More violence in Mosul: father and son killed because they were Christian
23 October 2008
- Despite the hopes of the government and part of the population, the massacre of Christians continues in Iraq.
The killing could be another signal for the Christians to leave the country. Prime minister al Maliki promises
to "punish the guilty and their supporters.
Mosul (AsiaNews) - The Iraqi government is asking Christians to remain in Iraq, but is doing nothing to stop
them from being slaughtered. Yesterday in Mosul, in the Sanaa neighborhood, a father and son were killed: no
further details are available at this time on the method of the attack or the identity of the two victims,
but their death must be seen in connection with the violence in recent weeks against Christians in the city.
Read More ...
L'évêque de Mossoul demande au gouvernement de tenir ses engagements
23 Octobre 2008 - Si la violence qui sévit en Irak à l'encontre des chrétiens n'est pas "systématisée", elle a pris
ces derniers temps une tournure plus "agressive", si l'on en croit l'évêque syriaque (catholique) de Mossoul, Mgr Georges Casmoussa.
... le religieux dénonce "l'atmosphère de peur et de
panique ainsi que les menaces directes" qui, ces
dernières semaines, ont poussé entre 1 000 et 1 500
familles chrétiennes de la ville à fuir leurs maisons.
Lire la suite ...
UN assisting Iraqi Christians seeking refuge in Syria
 23 October 2008 - The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is helping hundreds of Iraqi Christians who
fled the northern city of Mosul to neighbouring Syria, which is already hosting at least 1.2 million refugees from the strife-torn
nation.
“Many Christians from Mosul have been systematically targeted recently and are no longer safe there...“
Read More ...
Chrétiens d'Irak: Le Vatican inquiet
21 Octobre 2008 - Le Vatican s'est dit "extrêmement préoccupé" mercredi de la situation "dramatique"
des chrétiens à Mossoul et a réclamé une meilleure protection de cette minorité qui subit violences, menaces et intimidations.
Selon le Haut Commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés (HCR), près de 10 000 chrétiens, soit la moitié de la communauté
locale, a fui la grande ville du nord de l'Irak depuis dix jours à la suite d'une série d'assassinats.
"La situation à Mossoul
est dramatique. Les victimes sont des chrétiens et des milliers de gens fuient précisément parce qu'ils font régulièrement l'objet
d'attaques mais en plus d'une campagne systématique de menaces", a déclaré le révérend père Federico Lombardi, porte-parole de
Benoît XVI.
Lien vers l'article ...
UN voices concern at displacement of over 9,000 Iraqi Christians from Mosul
17 October 2008 - The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed its
concern at reports that some 9,360 Christians have been displaced from the Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week
owing to threats, intimidation and attacks.
“We have received information from the Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM) in Mosul that approximately 1,560 families (some 9,360 people) have been displaced so far, although UNHCR cannot confirm this number,” the agency’s spokesperson, Ron Redmond, told reporters in Geneva.
“The displaced population would represent about half of the Christians in the Mosul area,” he added.
Read More ...
Iraqi Christians Flee Mosul Violence
16 October 2008 - About 1,700 Iraqi Christian families have now fled their homes after
a campaign to displace them in the city of Mosul started about two weeks ago.

Authorities said 11 Christians have been killed and at
least five homes have been blown up since the terror
began. ...
Text massages, leaflets and e-mails were sent to
Christian families, ordering them to leave their homes
under penalty of death.
Read More ...
Irak-Les chrétiens sont abattus sur place
16 Octobre 2008 - De terribles événements se déroulent actuellement à Mossoul, dans le nord de l’Irak.
Des terroristes islamistes armés parcourent les rues et demandent à chaque passant sa carte d’identité. S’il est écrit
« religion chrétienne », son détenteur est abattu sur place, d’une balle dans la tête.
Nos contacts sur le terrain rapportent que ce genre d’exactions arrive de plus en plus souvent.
Il y a 5 ans, on comptait à Mossoul près de 300 000 chrétiens, il n’y en a plus aujourd’hui que 30 000.
Lire la suite ...
Chrétiens d’Irak : le sauve qui peut à Mossoul-Ninive
15 Octobre 2008 - Depuis le début du mois d’octobre 2008, une nouvelle vague de violences frappe les chrétiens
de Mossoul-Ninive (Nord de l’Irak). Près d’une quinzaine de ces derniers ont été assassinés entre le 29 septembre et le 12 octobre,
ce qui provoque une panique générale et un exode massif des membres de cette communauté, vers les villes et villages
assyro-chaldéo-syriaques de la plaine de Ninive.
On évalue à 1119 le nombre des familles ayant trouvé refuge dans ces dits villages;
toutes ont échappé à la mort, aux violences et aux exactions innombrables d’individus et/ou de groupes armés.
Lire la suite ...
Le Liban et la Syrie ouvrent des relations diplomatiques
15 Octobre 2008 - La Syrie et le Liban ont établi des relations diplomatiques mercredi, pour la première
fois depuis la proclamation de leur indépendance, il y a plus de soixante ans, a rapporté, mercredi 15 octobre, l'agence
officielle syrienne Sana. Le président syrien, Bachar Al-Assad, a reçu le ministre des affaires étrangères libanais,
Fawzi Salloukh, arrivé peu auparavant à Damas.
Lire la suite ...
Iraqi Christians Flee Mosul in the Wake of Attacks
14 October 2008 - BAGHDAD — A church in the northern city of Mosul was bombed Tuesday
as Christians continued to leave the city to escape recent violence that has been directed at them.
Several church leaders accused the Iraqi government of trying to cover up the extent of the problems facing
Christians there and of overstating its success in improving security in Mosul, one of the country’s most
volatile cities.
Read More ...
Iraqi Christians say forced to flee Mosul
13 October 2008 - MOSUL, Iraq, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Iraqi Christians fleeing attacks
in the northern city of Mosul on Monday pleaded for protection from what they described as a systematic
plan to drive them out of the area. Kana'an Bahnam, a 58-year-old Christian, fled ethnically mixed Mosul
with his family in the middle of the night, in disguise and with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
...
Nineveh province Governor Duraid Kashmula told Reuters at least 930 families had in recent days fled Mosul,
390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, for towns and villages nearby.
Read More ...
La présidence de l’UE condamne les violences à l’encontre des chrétiens d’Irak
13 Octobre 2008 - Déclaration de la présidence du conseil de l’Union européenne
La présidence du conseil de l’Union européenne est vivement préoccupée par la situation d’insécurité que vivent les chrétiens d’Irak.
Elle condamne fermement les violences qui ont eu lieu ces derniers jours à Mossoul, où des personnes ont été assassinées en raison
de leur confession.
Elle a noté les mesures prises par le gouvernement irakien en vue de garantir la sécurité de cette communauté, dont le déploiement
rapide d’unités de police à Mossoul qui est un signe positif. Elle espère que ces mesures permettront de mettre fin aux violences.
La présidence de l’UE condamne les violences à l’encontre des chrétiens d’Irak
ESU Newsletter 14 is released ...
Issue 14
Go here to
see all the previous ones.
Iraqi Christians, Muslims Unite in Seeking Peace
26 September 2008 - ROME, SEPT. 26, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Interreligious peace-seeking in Iraq
can take on many forms, ranging from meetings with high-ranking leaders of both religions to parish dinners
that gather ordinary people regardless of creed.
On Monday, Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans and archbishop of Baghdad,
met with Abdul Aziz Hakim, leader of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), the Shiite party with the largest
number of representatives in Parliament.
Read More ...
Iraq Passes Provincial Elections Law - Christians loose their rights
24 September 2008 - BAGHDAD — After months of negotiation, Iraq’s Parliament passed a crucial
election law on Wednesday, but only by setting aside for future debate the most divisive political issues. -...-
The question of how to settle a fierce dispute over control of the ethnically mixed and oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk,
however, was given to a committee for further study. And an article in an earlier version of the law that provided a
limited number of provincial council seats for Iraq’s Christians and other minorities was eliminated from the new bill,
stirring outrage among the groups.
Read More ...
ESU Delegation received at the European Commission
24 September 2008 - An ESU delegation composed by Mr. Fikri Aygur (ESU Vice-Chairman)
and Mr. Suleyman Gultekin (Belgian ESU Representative)
was received at the European Commission regarding the situation of the Syriacs in Turkey.
The ESU delegation discussed the issues and problems still faced by the Syriac community in Turkey
and more specifically in Turabdin (South-East of Turkey).
ESU also submitted a report on this subject to the European commission."
Read More ...
Assyrians call for unity in Iraq
19 September 2008 - BRUSSELS, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The head of the Holy Apostolic Catholic
Assyrian Church of the East said in a prayer service in Belgium that Assyrians based in Iraq should seek
solidarity.
Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV addressed a Syriac Orthodox church
in the Belgian capital, saying Iraqi Christians based in the
Iraqi province of Ninawa should establish an
Assyrian-administered unit in accordance with the Iraqi
Constitution and provisions of the United Nations ...
Read More ...
Iraqi Christians continue to face persecution
9 September 2008 (Christian Post) - A group representing persecuted Christians believes followers of Christ have good reason not to feel safe in Iraq.
Recently, two Iraqi Christians were kidnapped and executed, although one
family had paid ransom. Jonathan Racho of International
Christian Concern is not surprised. "Following the invasion of the
country in 2003, Christians faced unprecedented persecution," Racho
explains. "Many Christians have been killed; many have been kidnapped."
Read More ...
Two Christians Kidnapped, Then Killed in Iraq
4 September 2008 (Christian Post) - Two Iraqi Christians were kidnapped then
later killed by Islamic fundamentalists in Mosul within the span of a few
days, a news agency with connections to Iraq reported.
Tariq Qattan, a 65-year-old doctor, was recently kidnapped by a terrorist group. Then on Wednesday, news emerged that he had been killed, according to Assyrian International News Agency.
His family had reportedly paid $20,000 in ransom money, but it was not enough to free the Christian man.
On the same day, news also was released about the kidnapping
and murder of another Christian ...
Read More ...
Lire Plus...
La christianophobie dans tous ses Etats
2 September 2008 (Novopress) - Au moment où les
persécutions antichrétiennes s’amplifient dans le monde, particulièrement en
Inde et en Irak, le secrétaire du Saint-Siège pour les rapports avec les
Etats, Mgr Dominique Mamberti, a appelé vendredi à lutter contre la
christianophobie lors du meeting de Rimini organisé traditionnellement en
Italie par Comunion et Libération.
Il a du reste livré sa définition de la «
chriatianophobie » : « C’est l’éducation erronée,
voire la désinformation sur les chrétiens et leur religion,
propagées en particulier par les médias. C’est aussi
l’intolérance et la discrimination subies par des chrétiens
en raison de législations ou de mesures administratives qui
les pénalisent par rapport à d’autres confessions. C’est
enfin la violence et la persécution. »
Lire Plus ...
Occupation attempt of St. Gabriel Monastery in Turabdin (South-East Turkey)
1 September 2008 - St. Gabriel Monastery, which is among the most ancient Christian monasteries, was founded in 397
A.D and is situated in TurAbdin region (South East of Turkey). This monastery is considered as a
very important religious site by the Syriacs.
St. Gabriel Monastery, as a tradition, has been helping
the poor and the needy people throughout its history and in order to sustain this tradition it has
owned a large estate of lands and woods in its vicinity. ..."
Whilst the cadastral land registration works are going on, the lands of the historical
Mor Gabriel Monastery are being threatened with occupation by the neighbouring
Arab villages and the attempting occupiers are being supported by the local village
guards as well as the Kurdish Aghas (tribe leaders)...
Read More ...
The Pope Has A Christian Responsibility To Protect Iraq
1 September 2008 (Middle East Online) - The Pope has a responsibility to speak out on behalf of Iraqi Christians who are suffering violence and intimidation. But it is important to remember that all Iraqis are victims of the chaos that has been visited upon their homeland, says Khalid Issa Taha.
Iraqi Christians have given so much to
their mother country, often acting as a bridge between
Europe and Islamic civilisation. The Christian community has
always valued education and has produced some of Iraq’s most
distinguished lawyers, doctors and professors.
Read More ...
Saving the Christians of Iraq
26 August 2008 - WASHINGTON, DC (Inside Catholic) - Last month, I reported on the persecution of Christians in Iraq and the continued vulnerability of their remaining communities. Extortion and violence by Muslim extremists have driven 500,000 Christians out of Iraq -- about one quarter of the 2,000,000 Iraqis who have left the country since the beginning of the Iraq War. And another 2,000,000 Iraqis are displaced within their own country.
Read More ...
Iraqi Christians face discrimination
26 August 2008 (Middle East Times) - ERBIL, Iraq, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Islamic militants have targeted the Christian minority population in northern Iraq, forcing more than 500,000 to flee their homes.
John Klink with the International Catholic Migration Commission said the international community, and the United States in particular, could do more to offer aid to the displaced Christian minorities, InsideCatholic.com said Tuesday.
Read More ...
Selon l'ONG Portes Ouvertes, les réfugiés chrétiens d'Irak sont discriminés
par des employés du HCR et des ambassades occidentales...
13 août 2008 - En Syrie, les équipiers de l'ONG Portes Ouvertes ont recueilli des témoignages bouleversants
de réfugiés chrétiens irakiens. Ils se disent victimes d'injustices de la part d'employés du HCR et des ambassades occidentales.
« Ces chrétiens qui fuient la persécution en Irak nous racontent qu'ils sont discriminés par les institutions sensées leur venir en aide ..."
Lire plus ...
Iraq Christians consider joining Kurdistan
August 7th 2008 - MOSUL, Iraq, (UPI) -- Joining the region of Kurdistan
may offer better security and general prosperity for the Iraqi Christian community in Mosul, church
leaders said Thursday.
Josef Yohannes, a priest in a Christian village in northern Ninawa province, said many in his community
feel Baghdad looks upon them as unwanted refugees and fails to preserve their rights in Iraq.
Read More ...
Iraq's Christians form new militias to combat Islamic extremists?
July 27th 2008 Iraq's Christians have taken up arms and formed new militias in a desperate effort to defend
their beleaguered communities from an onslaught by Islamic extremists.
In the five years since the Anglo-American invasion of 2003, murders and abductions have driven about half of the 800,000 Christians
who once lived in Iraq to flee the country. Checkpoints manned by civilians armed with heavy machine guns and assault rifles have
received official backing in Christian villages on the Ninevah plain in northern Iraq, where their presence dates back to the missions
of St Thomas the apostle.
Read More ...
Expert Urges More Help for Christian Minority in Iraq
July 26th 2008 DW-WORLD.DE spoke with Middle East expert Kamal Sido about the fate
of the Christian minority in Iraq after EU ministers this week dropped calls to take in more Iraqi refugees.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates 2 million Iraqi refugees are living abroad, mostly in neighboring
Jordan and Syria. More than 2.5 million are internally displaced. The UNHCR has long lobbied the EU to take
in more Iraqi refugees.
In April this year, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble urged European countries to do more to provide
shelter to Christian Iraqis who have fled the country to avoid ethnic strife after the 2003 war. But Iraqi Prime Minister
Nuri al-Maliki, on a visit to Berlin earlier this week, urged Germany to abandon this initiative. He said security in the
country had improved and refugees were needed to rebuild the nation.
DW-WORLD.DE spoke with Kamal Sido of the Society for Threatened Peoples in Goettingen about the troubles faced by the Christian
minority in Iraq and their future in the country.
Read More ...
Iraqi Christians urged to return
July 25th 2008 (BBC News) Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has urged Christians
who fled the country after the US-led invasion to return home to help rebuild the country.
Speaking after meeting Pope Benedict XVI in Italy,
Mr Maliki said he asked the pontiff to encourage Christians to rejoin Iraq's
social structure.
Read More ...
Will the Iraqi Constitution Protect Christians?
July 23rd 2008 Most of the stories of Christians -- even
children -- being crucified or cooked alive are acts of Al-Qaeda, not of
indigenous Iraqis.
"WASHINGTON, DC (Inside Catholic) - Two weeks ago I spoke with
Bishops Mar Sarhad Jammo and Mar Bawai Soro about their plan to
protect Iraqi Christians from violence and ensure religious
liberty. The bishops expressed hope that one day the provisions of
the Iraq Constitution protecting all religious minorities from
discrimination and persecution could be implemented. Read More ...
Iraqi president rejects provincial elections law
July 23rd 2008 BAGHDAD (Reuters) - President Jalal Talabani on Wednesday rejected a provincial election law as unconstitutional after Iraq's Kurdish lawmakers boycotted the parliament session that ratified it.
The controversial law must now be subject to another parliamentary vote and pass by even greater majority, raising the prospect that elections scheduled to be held on October 1 may have to be delayed until 2009. Read More ...
Maliki appeals to Germany to increase investment in Iraq
July 22nd 2008 - IHT: While Maliki made a sales pitch, saying Iraq was "a rich country" endowed with lucrative energy sources, he also asked that Germany reconsider its policy on refugees.
The German government, particularly Wolfgang Schäuble, the conservative interior minister, has said priority should be given to Christian refugees. Iraq's small Christian community suffers heavy persecution and intimidation, according to the Interior Ministry and churches here.
Schäuble's position has been welcomed by Christian churches, which have expressed alarm at sectarian violence, the bombing of churches and killings of clergymen. Read More ...
The New Lebanese Equation: The Christians’ Central Role
July 15th 2008
After decades during which they saw their influence consistently decline, Lebanon’s Christians are in a position to
once again play a decisive political role. The May 2008 Doha agreement, coming in the wake of Hizbollah’s takeover
of West Beirut, provides the Christian community with the opportunity to regain an important place on the political
map and to advance demands that have long been ignored. Already, Christians have obtained key positions in the new
government, which was formed on 12 July. But the Doha agreement goes well beyond.
Read More ... -
Lire plus ...
Iraqi Christians Under Attack says Pew Report
July 11th 2008 Iraqi Christians have been in Iraq since the
time of Christ.The majority of them are Chaldean Catholics.They are our
brethren.
BAGHDAD, IRAQ (Chaldean.org) - Senior research fellow, Brian J. Grim, paints
a harrowing picture of the ongoing persecution of Iraqi Christians.
The research expert on religion and world affairs with the Pew Forum on
Religion & Public Life in Washington, D.C. reports that the situation for
Christians in Iraq is worsening.
Read More ...
Y a-t-il encore un avenir pour les coptes en Egypte ?
8 Juillet 2008 Les Coptes sont des vrais Egyptiens et sont identifiés à l’Egypte puisqu’ils
la portent dans leur nom. « Copte » provient du mot grec « Aiguptoi ». Les Coptes s’honorent d’être les
authentiques descendants de la nation pharaonique et les dépositaires de sa culture . En effet, entre la
culture copte et celle de l’ancienne Egypte, il y a des liens qui dépassent le seul lien ethnique.
Après des millénaires de présence sur la terre de leurs ancêtres, les coptes sont aujourd’hui dans une
situation nouvelle, plus cruelle que les massacres et humiliations endurés au fil des temps : celle d’une
extinction programmée.
C’est une certitude. Les coptes, qui constituent encore la plus importante minorité chrétienne au Proche-Orient sont,
de fragiles, devenus extrêmement vulnérables. Leur destin bascule sans que nul ne paraisse en mesure ou n’ait le désir
d’empêcher l’accomplissement d’une tragédie.
Lire plus ...
The disaster for Christians in Iraq
July 4th 2008 (Timesonline) They used to live peaceably with other faiths but now they have been driven out and become refugees
When American and British-led forces invaded Iraq in 2003, neither George Bush nor Tony Blair, devout Christians both,
can have imagined that one consequence of their action would be the extinction of Christianity in a land where it had
survived for nearly 2,000 years.
Read More ...

ESU Newsletter 13 is released ...
Issue 13
Go here to
see all the previous ones.
"Les chrétiens d'Irak ne veulent pas de la protection américaine"
30 Juin 2008 - Monseigneur Georges Casmoussa, l'archevêque catholique syriaque de Mossoul, en Irak,
était ces jours-ci de passage à Paris, ambassadeur involontaire et malheureux de ses frères chrétiens, aujourd'hui
persécutés dans leur propre pays. Depuis le début de l'invasion américaine, environ 400 000 chrétiens irakiens ont dû fuir leur pays.
Assassinats de prêtres et attentats contre les églises se succèdent. Le 13 mars dernier, notamment, l'archevêque chaldéen de Mossoul
était retrouvé mort, deux semaines après son enlèvement..
Lire le témoignage ...
For Iraqi Christians, Money Bought Survival
June 26th 2008 - MOSUL, Iraq — As priests do everywhere, Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho,
the leader of the Chaldean Catholics in this ancient city, gathered alms at Sunday Mass. But for years
the money, a crumpled pile of multicolored Iraqi dinars, went into an envelope and then into the hand of
a man who had threatened to kill him and his entire congregation.
Read More ...
Cardinal Cormac to celebrate Mass for people of Iraq
June 4th 2008, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor is to celebrate Mass in Westminster Cathedral
(Monday 16 June, 5.30pm) in support of Iraqi Christians and all those still suffering violence in the country.
At a time when many of Iraq's Christians have been forced to flee the volatile and dangerous situation in their
homeland, the Mass will offer an opportunity for bishops and worshippers to come together to stand in solidarity
with Iraq's Christians.
Read More ...
Germany may act alone to rescue Iraqi Christians, Merkel aide says
June 3rd 2008, Berlin - Germany may act alone to
rescue Iraqi Christians if fellow European Union nations continue to refuse
a joint welcome to the refugees, according to Chancellor Angela Merkel's top
adviser on immigration Tuesday.
Maria Boehmer said in Berlin that members of
the ancient Christian minority were regularly being threatened by Islamist
gangs, who were giving households a choice of converting to Islam or leaving
the country within 24 hours.
Read More ...
SITUATION DES CHRETIENS D'IRAK
REPONSE DU MINISTRE DES AFFAIRES ETRANGERES
ET EUROPEENNES, M. BERNARD KOUCHNER, A UNE REPONSE D'ACTUALITE AU SENAT
29 Mai 2008, Paris - Monsieur le Sénateur,
Vous avez raison d'attirer l'attention sur le sort cruel qui est réservé aux chaldéens et à l'ensemble des chrétiens d'Irak.
Toutes les communautés du pays sont visées, mais plus particulièrement celle-ci, puisque les chrétiens d'Irak,
qui étaient environ 1,3 million en 1980, ne sont plus que 400.000 aujourd'hui !
Lire plus ...
Iraq Compact Annual Review Conference
Welcome to the
first annual review conference of the International Compact with
Iraq (ICI), Stockholm, 29 May 2008.
Press Release
Read More ...
The ICI website
UNAMI's website
ICI Final Report - Report published after the conference in
Stockholm (Sweden)
European Syriac Union is organising a demonstration in Sweden regarding the Christians in Iraq
On May
25th 2008, ESU took again the initiative
to organise, with the help of other oganizations and associations, a demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden.
This time the aim was to warn and draw the attention of all participatns to the
International Compact
with Iraq
(see event and links above) on the tragedy and ethnic cleansing going on against the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian Christians in Iraq.
Among the guests, Mrs. Mona Sahlin (SAP leader), Anders Lago (Major of Södertälje,
and different church representatives were present and made a speech.
Read More ...
European Parliament resolution of 21 May 2008 on Turkey's 2007 progress report
21 May 2008,
The Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted the own initiative report by Ria
OOMEN-RUIJTEN (EPP-ED, NL) on the 2007 report on Turkey's progress
towards accession, welcoming the commitment of Prime Minister Erdogan that
2008 is going to be a year of reforms. MEPs now urge the Turkish government
to fulfil its promises and to transform Turkey into a modern and prosperous
democracy based on a secular state and a pluralistic society. ...
11. Encourages the Turkish government, following the positive step taken
with the adoption of the Law on Foundations, to fulfil its commitments
regarding freedom of religion by establishing, in line with the ECHR and the
case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, a legal framework enabling
all religious communities to function without undue constraints, in
particular as regards their legal status, the training of clergy, the
election of the hierarchy, religious education and the construction of
places of worship; calls for protection of the religious and cultural
heritage; reiterates its call for the immediate re-opening of the Greek
Orthodox Halki Seminary and the public use of the ecclesiastical title of
the Ecumenical Patriarch; shares the concern expressed by the Council on 24
July 2007 over the ruling of the Turkish Court of Cassation on the
Ecumenical Patriarchate, and expects that this decision will not further
impede the exercise by the Patriarchate and other non-Muslim religious
communities of their rights guaranteed under the ECHR;
15. Reiterates its earlier calls upon the Turkish government to come up
with a comprehensive master plan to boost the socio-economic and cultural
development of the south-east of Turkey, where over half the population
still lives below the poverty line; is of the view that this master plan
should also address the social, ecological, cultural and geopolitical
problems stemming from the Southeastern Anatolia Project; asks the
Commission to link the regional component of assistance given under the
Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) to the speedy drawing-up of
such a strategy;
17. Takes note of the process under way to prepare a new, civilian
constitution; regards it as the key opportunity to place the
protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the core of
the constitution; reiterates that a system of checks and balances
needs to be established, guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law,
social cohesion and the separation between religion and state;
stresses also that the new constitution should ensure gender
equality, avoid the use of vague criteria such as general morality,
refrain from perceiving women primarily as family or community
members and reaffirm women's human rights, including their sexual
and reproductive rights, as their individual rights;
21. Is concerned about the hostility, strongly present in certain
parts of society, shown to minorities and about politically and
religiously motivated violence; calls on the Turkish government to
take action against organisations and groups which stir up such
hostility, to protect all those who are threatened and fear for
their lives, and to make sustained efforts to create an environment
conducive to full respect of fundamental human rights and freedoms;
25. Takes note of Prime Minister Erdogan´s assessment of
assimilation, as expressed during his recent official visit to
Germany; is therefore of the opinion that the Turkish government
should take steps to enable all citizens to develop their cultural
identity within the democratic Turkish state; points out in this
regard the commitments set out in the Negotiating Framework
concerning respect for and protection of minorities, and effective
access to the learning and broadcasting of, and to public services
in, languages other than Turkish;
Read the full Resolution ...
EN -
FR
Cardinal says keep religion out of Iraqi visa decisions
19th May 2008, PARIS
(Reuters) - Iraqi Christians seeking asylum in the West should not receive
special treatment based on religion, a Roman Catholic cardinal said on
Monday, contradicting French and German calls for priority to be given to
Christians.
These meetings were related to the Christians in Iraq and the demonstration
organized in Brussels on 19th April 2008 to support the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrians
in Iraq.
Read More ...
E.S.U. delegation received by the European Parliament and European
Commission regarding the Christians in Iraq
On May 6th and 7th 2008, an ESU delegation composed by Mr. Fikri Aygur (ESU Vice-chairman) and Mr. Suleyman Gultekin (ESU Belgian Representative)
had different meetings at the European parliament with most of the Political Groups, followed by a meeting at the European Commission.
These meetings were related to the Christians in Iraq and the demonstration
organized in Brussels on 19th April 2008 to support the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrians
in Iraq.
Read More ...
USCIRF Names 11 Countries of Particular Concern
May 2, 2008, WASHINGTON-The U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today announced its 2008 recommendations
to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on "countries of particular concern," or CPCs.
The 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) requires that the United States designate
as CPCs those countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic and egregious
violations of the universal right to freedom of religion or belief. ...
Serious, Targeted Violence in Iraq
The Commission has been concerned about the particularly dire conditions
affecting non-Muslims in Iraq, including ChaldoAssyrian Christians, other
Christians, Sabean Mandaeans, Yazidis, and other minority religious
communities, who face widespread violence from Sunni insurgents and foreign
extremists, as well as pervasive violence, discrimination, and
marginalization at the hands of the national government, regional
governments, and para-state militias, including those in Kurdish areas. The
Commission also concluded that Iraq's government was failing to curb the
growing scope and severity of other religious freedom violations. In 2007,
the Commission placed Iraq on its Watch List, citing escalating unchecked
sectarian violence, mounting evidence of collusion between Shi'a militias
and Iraqi government ministries, and the severe plight of the country's
smallest religious minorities.
Read More ...
E.S.U. delegation received by U.S.A. Embassy in
Brussels
23 April 2008 -
Following the demonstration of 19th April in Brussels, an E.S.U. delegation
has been received at the U.S.A. Embassy in Brussels.
The E.S.U. delegation explained the reason of the demonstration and the urgent need to help
the Christians (Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrians) of Iraq who are facing systematic attacks and are
forced to flee their country.
During this meeting it has also been stressed that an autonomous region under international
protection is needed for the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrians.
The E.S.U. delegation also provided the U.S.A. Embassy representative with
a folder containing detailed information about the situation of the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrians
in Iraq and their needs in order to continue to live in their homeland.
The U.S.A. Embassy assured the E.S.U. delegation that all information will be communicated
to the ad hoc government people in Washington DC and as well as in Iraq.
European Syriac Union
Iraqi Christians Struggle With Fear After Slayings
22 April 2008 - Washington Post -
BAGHDAD, At the Rev. Thair Abdal's church, where on Sunday mornings sweet
songs of prayer stream from the doorway, the congregation's fear of death leaves the sanctuary half-filled. ...
In March, Paulos Faraj Rahho, archbishop of Mosul's Chaldean community, was
found dead after being abducted. This month, Youssef Adel, an Assyrian
Orthodox priest, was fatally shot in a drive-by attack in Karrada, one of
Baghdad's safest neighborhoods and home to Abdal's Holy Catholic Assyrian
Church.
Read More ...
Thousands march in Brussels to protest attacks on Christians in Iraq
19 April 2008 -
More than 5000 Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrians from many
European countries organized a march and a meeting in
Brussels. The aim of the meeting was to draw the
attention of the USA, the European Union and the UN to the ongoing
terror, violence and especially the killings of the clerics of the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian
Christians in Iraq.
Read More ...
Mr. Ali Yurttagul (EFA adviser) attended the meeting and made a speech.
ESU also got a
statement
from the MEP Dr. Charles Tannock who apologized to not be able to attend as
he was not in Belgium during the demonstration.
Photo
Gallery of the Demonstration ...

Iraq: Christians Say Targeting By Extremists Amounts To Genoide
17 April 2008 - UNHCR: At least 10 churches have been bombed
this year, two leading clergymen have been killed, and scores of worshippers targeted for
practicing their religion. Though they make up only 3 percent of the population, Christians
comprise nearly half the refugees fleeing Iraq, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
...
Unlike other groups in Iraq, Christians do not have militias or tribes to protect
them. In their absence, they have relied on coalition and Iraqi forces for protection, and say they
have been let down. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to increase protection for the Christian
community following the March killing of Mosul Archbishop Bulus Faraj Rahhu, but it does not appear
that he has followed through on his pledge.
Read More ...
Germany to press EU over Iraqi Christian refugees
16 April 2008 - BERLIN: Germany will appeal to other European Union countries
this week to take in more Christians from Iraq and attempt to reach a common policy toward Iraqi refugees,
officials said Wednesday.
The government here is already considering granting Christians preferential treatment
over other religions and groups. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble stated his intention to open Germany's
doors to Iraqi Christians during interviews last weekend and expects full agreement Thursday when interior
ministers from the 16 states meet near Berlin.
Read More ...
A nouveau, un prêtre chrétien abattu dans le centre de Bagdad
5 avril 2008 - Un prêtre chrétien irakien a été abattu par des hommes
armés dans le centre de Bagdad, annonce la police.
Adel Youssif a été tué près de son domicile dans le quartier résidentiel de Karrada.
Le cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, patriarche chaldéen de Bagdad, a précisé à Reuters
que Youssif appartenait à l'Eglise orthodoxe syrienne.
Delly a ajouté que les chrétiens irakiens étaient sous le choc de cet assassinat,
qui survient trois semaines après la mort de Mgr Paulos Faraj Rahho, archevêque chaldéen de Mossoul.
Lire la suite ...
Syriac Orthodox Priest killed at Bagdad home.
Read More ..
"Religious Cleansing" In Northern Iraq; "Christians in Life Danger"

5 April 2008 - MOSUL/AMSTERDAM (BosNewsLife)-- A Dutch parliamentarian investigating
reports of persecution says about 100,000 Christian refugees in northern Iraq are in life danger
as Islamic militants have launched a "religious cleansing campaign" in the region, an influential
Dutch Christian news site reported Saturday, April 5.
Read More ...
Related article
L'Orient a besoin de ses chrétiens
4 avril 2008 - A n’en pas douter, un Orient sans chrétiens n’aurait pas d’avenir.
L’islam seul s’ennuie et se déchire. Souvent, lorsque les communautés ne se parlent plus,
les chrétiens jouent un rôle d’intermédiaire, parfois de stabilisateur. Cette place a été
chèrement acquise. L’histoire nous montre que d’une situation majoritaire – antérieure de
plusieurs siècles à la conquête islamique – les chrétiens d’Orient sont devenus les minoritaires
d’un monde oublié. Qui sait encore la place prépondérante des chrétiens dans l’édification
des empires musulmans ? Ils se sont adaptés à la nouvelle donne politique.
Lire la suite ...

ESU Newsletter 12 is released ...
Issue 12
Go here to
see all the previous ones.
LE LOUVRE - Expositions thématiques: BABYLONE du
14 mars au 2 juin 2008
Sont évoqués le rayonnement et les étapes fondatrices de la ville antique et la manière
dont le concept ultérieur d’une Babylone imaginaire prend son origine dans cette réalité historique.
Cette nouvelle approche est rendue possible grâce à des études permettant de retracer une histoire qui
ne dépende plus fondamentalement des sources bibliques ou classiques tardives.
http://mini-site.louvre.fr/babylone/FR/index.html
Cette exposition est organisée par le musée du
Louvre et la Réunion des musées nationaux, Paris, les Staatliche Museen zu
Berlin, Berlin, et le British Museum, Londres.
Avec le concours exceptionnel de la Bibliothèque nationale de France.
En partenariat média avec RTL et Paris Première.
Informations pratiques
Lieu: Hall Napoléon
Horaires:
Ouvert tous les jours, de 9 h à 18 h, sauf le
mardi.
Nocturne jusqu’à 22 h les mercredi et vendredi.
Tarifs:
Billet spécifique à l'exposition : 9.50 euros.
Billet jumelé (collections permanentes et exposition Babylone) : 13 euros avant
18 h, 11 euros après 18 h.
La tragédie des chrétiens d'Irak
24 mars 2008 - Mais que se passe-t-il ? Que nous arrive-t-il ?
Pourquoi sommes-nous si sourds, si aveugles, si indifférents au sort des chrétiens irakiens ?
Notre société si prompte à commémorer les crimes d'hier n'a-t-elle rien à dire pour les crimes du jour ?
Ou bien notre silence serait-il le reflet de notre perplexité pour cet Orient compliqué où il n'y aurait
que des Arabes et des Persans qui s'entre-tuent depuis la nuit des temps ?
Lire la suite ...
Les larmes des chrétiens d'Orient
24 mars 2008 - Dimanche, les chrétiens célébraient la résurrection
du Christ ; les enfants ont fait la chasse aux œufs en chocolat dans les jardins ; tout le monde a savouré
un week-end prolongé : c'est ainsi, en France ...
À quelques milliers de kilomètres de là, en Irak, le pays d'Abraham, des
chrétiens payent dans leur chair le prix de l'intolérance. Leur calvaire ne
suscite guère d'émoi. Le 13 mars, Mgr Rahho, évêque de Mossoul, était
retrouvé mort. L'information a été publiée. Et après ? Il est la figure
symbolique du martyre enduré par les chaldéens depuis cinq ans.
Lire la suite ...
L'évêque qui veut sauver les chrétiens d'Irak
22 mars 2008 - La communauté chrétienne de la région autonome kurde
s'apprête à célébrer Pâques dans le deuil et l'incertitude. Mgr Rabban se bat pour endiguer les départs
massifs.
Lire la suite ...
Kouchner : "La France va accueillir 500 chrétiens d'Irak"
19 mars 2008 - La France tend la main aux chrétiens d'Irak.
"Nous allons, j'espère, en accueillir près de 500 dans les semaines qui viennent, et on verra après",
a déclaré Bernard Kouchner sur RMC et BFM-TV. "Nous ne refuserons pas d'accueillir des musulmans",
mais "le problème, c'est que personne n'accueillait les chrétiens", a-t-il pris soin de préciser.
"Plus menacés que les autres"
Le
ministre des Affaires étrangères a "confirmé" que cette opération s'effectuerait
en faisant valoir que les membres de la communauté chrétienne chaldéenne d'Irak
"sont plus menacés que les autres".
Lire la suite ...
President Bush Saddened by Death of Archbishop Rahho
13th March 2008 - I send my condolences to the Chaldean community and the people of Iraq on
the death of Archbishop Rahho. I deplore the despicable act of violence
committed against the Archbishop of Mosul. The terrorists will continue to
lose in Iraq because they are savage and cruel. Their utter disregard for
human life, demonstrated by this murder and by recent suicide attacks
against innocent Iraqis in Baghdad and innocent pilgrims celebrating a
religious holiday, is turning the Iraqi people against them. We will
continue to work with the Iraqi government to protect and support civilians,
irrespective of religious affiliation.
The White House ...
The Archbishop of Mosul (Iraq) Paulus Faraj Raho's body has been found
We are very sad to inform you that the Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul Paulus Faraj Raho's body has been found
on Thursday morning in Mosul.
The Archbischop Rahho, 65, was kidnapped on February 29 after a shootout in which three of
his companions were killed.
Read more ...
ESU will hold the second Book Exhibition in Sweden on March 16th 2008
On 16th March 2008 EESU will organize in Sweden the second Book Exhibition in order to introduce
the existing and new released books and publications about the Syriacs, as well as their authors.
Like for the first exhibition there will be authors, scholars
and publishers from different countries of Europe to present their books and publications.
ESU Sweden - Read More ...
New compaign to collect money for helping TMS (Taw Mim Semkath) in Beirut - Lebanon
European Syriac Union (E.S.U.) and Syriac Union of Lebanon (S.U.L.) started a new compaign to collect
money for helping TMS (Taw Mim Semkath) students.
This compaing aim to help all Syriac students by collecting money for buying a bus. Like this the students from different
locations will be able to come to the TMS centre in Beirut and driven back to their home after the courses.
Read More ...
 
The Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul
(Iraq) Paulus Faraj Raho has been
kidnapped
On 29th February 2008
the Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul Paulus Faraj Raho was
kidnapped by unknown persons in Mosul - Iraq.
At around 17:00 pm local time, after performing the evening service, while the
Archbishop Paulus Faraj Raho was leaving the Church of the Holy Spirit in
Al-Nour district of Mosul, his vehicle in which he was accompanied by his
driver and two guards was ambushed by some unknown persons.
Read more ...
Pâques avec les chrétiens d'Irak 2008
Opération : Pâques avec les Chrétiens d'Irak 2008 -
Proposée par Pax Christi France, l'opération oecuménique d'information, de sensibilisation et de soutien aux Chrétiens d'Irak, appelée "Pâques avec les Chrétiens d'Irak", est animée en partenariat avec Justice et Paix, la Fédération Protestante de France, l'Oeuvre d'Orient et Chrétiens de la Méditerranée.
Lire la suite ...
Bishop Marc Stenger with Pax Christi in solidarity with Iraqi Christians (15/02/2008) -
The Italian religious news service SIR reported on 12 February 2008 that Bishop
Louis Sako of Kirkuk, Iraq, met with a delegation from Pax Christi France that
came to Iraq on 11 February 2008 for a solidarity visit to the Christian
community.
Read more ...
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TURKEY: SITUATION OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES
February 2008
In contemporary Turkey, the status of religious minorities has been stipulated in
the Treaty of Lausanne signed on 24 July 1923. The Government interpreted the
Lausanne Treaty as granting special legal minority status exclusively to these three
groups, although the treaty text refers broadly to "non-Muslim minorities" without listing
specific groups. The Treaty of Lausanne is a founding text of the Republic of Turkey
since it is defining the fundamental rights of all linked to the state by the link of
citizenship and puts forward the obligation for the Turkish State to protect the Non-
Muslim communities. ... According to the Government sources, 99 % of the population
is Muslim, the majority of which is Sunni. The Christian and Jewish
minorities are less than 1% of the population. In addition to the country's
Sunni Muslim majority, academics estimated
there are 15 to 20 million Alevis. The religious groups include
approximately 65,000 Armenian Orthodox Christians, 23,000 Jews, and up to
4,000 Greek Orthodox Christians. ... Despite laicism, the Turkish state has not been able to overcome the
segregation of non-Muslim minorities and to integrate them into the nation
as citizens with equal rights. While the Muslim Turks have been the “we”,
the non-Muslim minorities have
been categorized as “the other”. ... There are also some other non-Muslim minorities such as Syriacs who are not
included to the criteria defined by the Treaty of Lausanne. First of all,
because of the nationality criteria the Syriacs faces difficulties to work
for certain churches. But, similar to the problems of other non-muslim
minorities, the Syriacs are not permitted to establish schools and the
election of the heads their churches is subject to strict conditions. Their
clergy continue to have difficulties ...
Read more ...
De Gilgamesh à Zénobie
Arts anciens du Proche-Orient et de l'Iran
au
Musée du Cinquantenaire
"Les Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire peuvent se vanter de posséder une
collection renommée d'art ancien du Proche-Orient et de l'Iran. Outre la
célèbre plaquette de Gilgamesh qui prête son nom à cette exposition,
rappelons une collection de bronzes du Louristan (Iran) unique au monde, de
somptueux sceaux-cylindres et de nombreux témoignages de l'écriture de
l'époque pré-islamique. Tant de trésors dont le public ne pouvait admirer
qu'une sélection jusqu'à la fermeture des salles en 2002. Comme les travaux
de rénovation n'ont pas encore pu être entamés depuis, nos richesses
archéologiques ne quittent nos réserves qu'à l'occasion d'expositions
temporaires, le plus souvent à l'étranger et cela au compte-gouttes. Voici
une occasion unique pour venir admirer ce patrimoine, ainsi qu'une douzaine
de chefs-d'œuvre que le Musée du Louvre a bien voulu nous prêter afin de
donner encore plus d'éclat à cet événement."
Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire
INFORMATIONS
PRATIQUES
Musée du Cinquantenaire
1000 Bruxelles
Heures d'ouverture
Du mardi au dimanche de 10:00 à 17:00
(la caisse ferme à 16:00)
Fermé le lundi, le 25/12 et le 01/01
Chaque dernier jeudi du mois, sauf en décembre, l'exposition est ouverte
jusque 22h, soit les 31/01, 28/02, 27/03 et 24/04.
Attentat meurtrier dans un quartier chrétien de Beyrouth
25 Janvier 2008 -
Au moins quatre personnes ont été tuées, dont un
officier de la sécurité libanaise, dans un attentat qui a visé, vendredi 25
janvier, peu après 10 heures, heure locale (9 heures, heure de Paris) un
convoi de la sécurité dans un quartier chrétien de la banlieue de Beyrouth,
ont indiqué des sources de sécurité et militaire libanaises.
Lire la suite ...
L'APPEL DE JEAN D'ORMESSON
18 Janvier 2008 -
Le Figaro - En Irak, dans un pays déchiré par les conflits ethniques et par le terrorisme, les chrétiens sont isolés. L'écrivain appelle les Français à leur manifester leur solidarité.
"n'abandonnons pas les chrétiens d'Irak "
- par Jean d'Ormesson, de l'Académie française -
Lire la suite ...
LA FOI SOUS HAUTE SÉCURITÉ
18 Janvier 2008 -
Le Figaro - Assassinats de prêtres, attentats contre des églises, pressions islamistes : ceux des chrétiens d'Irak qui n'ont pas choisi l'exil vivent dans le danger permanent.
- par Sébastien De Courtois
Lire la suite ...
Colère de l'Egypte après l'adoption au Parlement européen d'un texte sur les droits de l'homme
Jeudi 17 Janvier 2008 -
A quelques jours d'une rencontre bilatérale qui s'annonce désormais houleuse, les députés européens ont adopté, jeudi 17 janvier, un texte critiquant la situation des droits de l'homme en Egypte, malgré les menaces émanant du Caire - Egypte.
Lire la suite ...
Iraq: USCIRF Alarmed by Series of Bomb Attacks Against Churches, Monasteries
14th January 2008 -
WASHINGTON - The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is alarmed by the coordinated bomb attacks against churches and monasteries in Iraq last week. At least six people were reportedly wounded in seven separate attacks in Baghdad and Mosul as Christians were celebrating Christmas and the Epiphany on Jan. 6; three days later, bombs targeted three churches in Kirkuk.The attacks were the latest to target Iraq’s shrinking non-Muslim population, many of whose members have fled the country in the wake of violence directed against their communities.
- ... -
Chaldo-Assyrian Christians, Sabean Mandaeans, and Yazidis make up a
disproportionately large number of refugees from Iraq; nearly half of these
communities’ members fled abroad between 2003 and 2006, according to Iraqi
government estimates.
Read More ...
L'appel de Jean D'Ormesson pour sauver les chrétiens d'Irak
Dimanche 13 Janvier 2008 -
L'écrivain et académicien Jean d'Ormesson est l'invité exceptionnel de
"C'est
aussi de l'info" dans l'Emission "Le jour du Seigneur"
sur France 2.
Voir la Vidéo (Real Player)
Page consacrée aux chrétiens d'Irak sur le site de "Le
Jour du Seigneur"
Lire la suite ...
Churches and Monasteries bombed in Iraq
Sunday 6th January 2008 -
On the Epifany day, 7 churches and monasteries were
bombed in Bagdad and Mossul - Iraq.
Read More ...
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Archives 2007
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Turkish Police foil plot to kill priest
Monday, December 31, 2007 -
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish police have foiled a plot to murder a priest, in a case that recalls other attacks this year against Christians in Muslim but secular Turkey, newspapers reported on Monday.
Read More ...
ESU Newsletter 11 is released ...
Issue 11
Go here to
see all the previous ones.
Egyptian prosecutor releases 7 Muslims arrested in attacks on Coptic Christian property
18 December 2007 - CAIRO, Egypt: Seven Muslims were ordered released Tuesday, two days after their
arrest in attacks on shops owned by Coptic Christians in a southern Egyptian town that has recently witnessed increasing
sectarian tensions, an official with the prosecutors office said.
The attackers had hurled stones and set fire to several shops, smashed windows of a Coptic church and damaged two cars
in the early morning hours Sunday in Isna, about 560 kilometers (350 miles) south of Cairo.
Read More ...
New report on minorities' quest for equality in Turkey
10 December 2007 - Millions of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities remain unrecognized by the Turkish state, face discrimination and are now increasingly under threat as a result of a growing wave of violent nationalism, Minority Rights Group says in a new report.
The report says that whilst the accession process to become a EU member state has forced Turkey to make significant strides in minority rights, much more remains to be done.
Read More ...
Vicar: Dire Times For Iraq's Christians
Tells 60 Minutes Most Of Iraq's Christians Have Fled Or Been Killed
(CBS) From the time of Jesus, there have been Christians in what is now Iraq. The Christian community took root there after
the Apostle Thomas headed east.
But now, after nearly 2,000 years, Iraqi Christians are being hunted, murdered and forced to flee -- persecuted on a biblical
scale in Iraq's religious civil war. You'd have to be mad to hold a Christian service in Iraq today, but if you must, then the vicar of Baghdad is your man. He's the Reverend Canon Andrew White, an Anglican chaplain who suffers from multiple sclerosis and from a fanatical determination to save the last Iraqi Christians from the purge.
Read More ... -
Watch the Video
Syriac monk - Father Daniel Savci - kidnapped in South-Eeast Turkey has been released
The monk kidnapped in Tourabdin - South-East Turkey - on Wednesday was
released unharmed on Friday.
Father Daniel Savci, 55, was taken hostage Wednesday afternoon by unidentified people who stopped his car as he was travelling
to the Mor Yakup Monastery in a village near the town of Midyat in South-East Turkey's Mardin province.
A representative from the Mardin Governor's Office said the priest had made his way to a workplace in the town of Batman
from where he had telephoned his friends.
Father Daniel (Edip) Savci, a monk of the Syriac Orthodox Church, has been kidnapped in
Tur Abdin - South-East Turkey
Wednesday 28th November 2007 -
at around 14:00
pm, Father Daniel (Edip) Savci, a monk of the Syriac Orthodox Church, was kidnapped in
Tur Abdin region which is in the South East of Turkey.
The monk Rev. Father Edip (Daniel) Savci is the abbot and residing at the Monastery of
Mor Jacob in the Village of Saleh (Bar tepe in Turkish), which is situated only about 15
minutes driving distance from Midyat.
-
Read More ...
European Parliament resolution of 15 November 2007 on serious events which compromise Christian communities'
existence and those of other religious communities

More info ...
Conférence "L’Avenir des Chrétiens au Liban et en Orient" le 21 novembre 2007 à l'Université Catholique de Louvain en Belgique
Organisée par Le Mouvement Chrétien Libanais et présidée par Mgr Béchara El Rai
(Archevêque de Jbeil / Byblos - Liban)
BUT: Promouvoir toutes activités et/ou projets sociaux, économiques, pédagogiques ou humanitaires en vue de sauvegarder l’héritage
Chrétien au Liban et
au Proche-orient.
Entrée libre le 21 nomvembre à 19h30 Auditoire central C - Faculté de médecine, UCL
Avenue Mounier 51- 1200 Bruxelles
Renseignements: Père Ghassan Nasr (+32-475.54.58.54)
Plus
d'info ...
Colloque "Quel avenir pour les chrétiens d’Orient ? " les 16 et 17 novembre 2007 à l’Alliance Française et à l’Institut du Monde Arabe à Paris
Organisé par l’Institut Européen en Sciences des Religions (IESR) et l’Ecole
Pratique des Hautes Etudes - Sorbonne (EPHE), sous le parrainage du
ministère des Affaires étrangères
Comité d’organisation : Régis Debray, président d’honneur de l’IESR et Bernard
Heyberger, EPHE-IUF, conseiller scientifique
Entrée libre -
inscription obligatoire
sur le site
www.iesr.fr
Renseignements à l’IESR - tel. 01 40 52 10 00 -
Plus d'info
...
Iraqis who fled homes in fear face new terror as Turkey targets PKK rebels
When Youssef Toma and his family fled their home in Baghdad's perilous Dora
neighbourhood and found refuge in the peaks and valleys of Kurdistan, they
assumed their fear had been left behind with their furniture.
...
Last weekend, however, Mr Toma's rural idyll was brutally disrupted. The
dread he felt in Baghdad returned. For about 45 terrifying minutes, a
barrage of Turkish artillery shells rained down from the clear night sky
upon Anishky.
Read More ...
Iraqi Christians forced to flee homes or risk death
BAGHDAD, IRAQ — Nabil Comanny and his family endured the dead bodies left to decompose along the road in their southern Dora neighborhood.
...
At least a dozen churches in Baghdad have closed. For those still open, like the Church of the Virgin Mary shown here, attendance at Masses is down by more than half, officials said. - JAMES PALMER
Read More ...
(same article from the
Washington Times)
Barack Obama’s Letter to Protect Iraqi Christians
September 17th -
Barack Obama wants answers.
He wants to know what the State Department is doing in coordination with the
Iraqi Government to protect Christians and other religious minorities in
Iraq. The Brody File has a copy of the letter Senator Obama sent to Secretary State Condoleezza Rice.
Read More ...
ESU meets French politicians in Paris - France
On Monday 17th September ESU and the Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac Insitute of Gonesse (Paris) meet Mr. Karim Pakzad and Mr. Alain Chenal from Socialist party in Paris regarding the issues faced by the Syriac-Chaldean-Assyrian
people in Iraq and in Turkey.
The same delegation later meet also Mr. Philippe Marini
(Senator) & Mr. Marc Le Dorh (Political Studies Institute in Paris). A very
useful and informative discussion occured about the situation of the
Syriac-Chaldean-Assyrian people in the Middle-East and more specifically in
Iraq.
Both of the meetings were very positive and the relations
will continue in the future.
Les Nations unies reconnaissent les droits des peuples indigènes
Au terme de plus de vingt ans de négociations, l'Assemblée générale des Nations unies a adopté, jeudi 13 septembre, une déclaration symbolique reconnaissant de larges droits aux quelque 370 millions de personnes appartenant aux peuples autochtones, souvent marginalisés à travers le monde.
Le texte proclame "le droit à l'autodétermination" des peuples premiers et réclame pour eux, le cas échéant, "des réparations". Il vise notamment à protéger la spécificité de leur culture, l'intégrité de leurs terres, et à les prémunir contre toute discrimination.
Lire la suite
...
ESU meets Mr. Siniora and Mr. Geagea in Lebanon
On 28th August 2007, the President of the
European Syriac Union Mr. İskender Alptekin
and the Vice-President Fikri Aygur had a
meeting with the Prime Minister of Lebanon
Fouad Siniora and the Leader of the
Lebanese Forces Mr. Samir Geagea.
Read More ...
ESU and the Project for an Autonomous Region in Iraq
The project for an Autonomous Region for our
Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people in its historical
areas in a Federal Iraq, which started officially as a
demand of our people in the Ankawa Congress,
held on 12. And 13 March 2007 has a large importance
in the agenda of the ESU.
Read More ...
USCIRF to Secretary Rice: U.S. Must Address Threats to Religious
Minorities in Iraq
“While all Iraqis are threatened by violence, the non-Muslim minorities
face particularized forms of harassment and abuse; what is more, these
groups appear to suffer a degree of violent attacks and other human rights
abuses disproportionate to their numbers,” says the letter, signed on behalf
of the Commission by Chairman Michael Cromartie.
Read More
...
So what do you do?
All over the world, ordinary women, men, and children are fighting
for the rights of their communities to be recognized. Dr Hunain Al-Qaddo
spoke to MRG's Monica Evans.
Talking fast becomes second nature when you are passionate about your
work. Dr Hunain Al-Qaddo, head of Iraq’s Minorities Council, knows time is
short: armed with facts and figures he fights for Iraq’s minority religious
and ethnic groupings.
To anyone who will listen, he talks about embattled communities
representing Iraq’s ancient cultures and religions - Armenians, Chaldo–Assyrian
Christians, Baha’is, Faili Kurds, Jews, Mandeans, Palestinians, Shabaks,
Turkomans and Yazidis – all fleeing for safe haven in other countries.
Read more
...
Rising to the humanitarian challenge in Iraq
Armed violence is the greatest threat facing Iraqis, but the population is also experiencing another kind of crisis of an alarming scale and severity. Eight million people are in urgent need of emergency aid; that figure includes over two million who are displaced within the country, and more than two million refugees. Many more are living in poverty, without basic services, and increasingly threatened by disease and malnutrition. Despite the constraints imposed by violence, the government of Iraq, the United Nations, and international donors can do more to deliver humanitarian assistance to reduce unnecessary suffering. If people’s basic needs are left unattended, this will only serve to further destabilise the country.
Read more
...
Two members of the Syriac-Chaldean-Assyrian
people murdered in Mousul-Iraq
 On
27th June 2007 at around 10AM, two members of the
Syriac--Chaldean-Assyrian Christian community in Iraq were brutally murdered
in Mousul. Zuhayr Yousef Stayfo (Born in Karemlesh 1958) the head of the
Mosul branch of the Bethnahrin Patriotic Union (HBA) and Luay Sleyman Nouman
(Born in Tel Esquf 1986) a member of HBA.
Read more
...
II ESU Congress
On the 19th & 20th May 2007, ESU organised
its 2nd Congress in Brussels. Since its foundation 3 years ago, more than
100 members were present for the 2nd Congress. During the 2nd day of the
Congress, elections have been organised to renew the ESU board members and
the President of ESU.
Read more
...
Les Vingt-Sept pénalisent le racisme et
le négationnisme
L'Union européenne s'est dotée d'une législation commune
contre le racisme et le négationnisme après plusieurs années de discussion
marquées par de fortes dissensions entre les Etats membres. Une profonde
ligne de clivage sépare en effet les pays qui donnent une priorité absolue à
la liberté d'expression, même lorsqu'elle rend possibles des discours de
haine et de violence, et ceux qui estiment nécessaire d'imposer des limites
à de tels discours. Une décision-cadre proposée en 2001 par la Commission
n'avait pu aboutir faute d'accord.
Lire la suite ...
Council of European Union (EN)
The first International Syriac Symposium
held in Turabdin - Turkey
On 30-31 March 2007, the First International Syriac
Symposium was held in Turabdin’s central town of Midyat. This symposium was
for the most part financed by the European Union and was jointly organized
by the Ulasilabilir Yasam Dernegi (Life Within Reach Association) a social
organisation from Turkey and the European Syriac Union (ESU).
Read more ...
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