Christians of Iraq can live with the Kurds

Christians of Iraq can live with the Kurds

Source: Elaph.com

Thursday, August 3, 2006
From Eatidal Salama - Berlin/Germany

Following a court's decision of “not having the right to stay”, the department of foreigners and political refugees is in principle allowed to deport all the Christian Iraqis who had taken refuge by the thousands in Germany. With this decision, the files of all Iraqi refugees who had fled Iraq to Germany either because of the war or the former regime will be closed as they will be deported.

As per yesterday's decision of the Administrative Tribunal judge in the city of Manheim, the State of Baden Fortenberg, all Christians of the "Chaldean-Assyrian" denomination are not threatened with any risk and therefore they can live in the calm Kurdish areas of north Iraq, and they must not fear political persecution there.

The judge's argument is that even if the Christians are in Baghdad or in southern Iraq, and if they face any threats, but they have the alternative of escaping to other areas inside Iraq and the relationship between the Kurds and Christians is good.

Thus the Administrative Tribunal has dismissed a lawsuit by one of the Christian Iraqis who had fled Baghdad in 1996 because of the former Iraqi regime, and was already granted political asylum. However, following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, the Federal bureau for migrants and political refugees rejected his political asylum claiming that the threat of prosecution was eliminated.

The Iraqi refugee claimant had asked to stay in Germany because he belonged to the "Chaldean-Assyrian denomination” which is an Iraqi minority and as per his claim at present there is no protection for this minority due to attacks on minorities by Islamic groups. However, the German judge based his decision on the situation in the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq which is actively working on integrating the Christians in that area. For that purpose the Kurds have established 30 new camps to house eighteen thousand “Chaldean-Assyrians” who have fled from many Iraqi areas. The Kurds have also provided water supply systems and built roads, social assistance is also available, and they can also buy lands and acquire building materials for houses. The judge also stated that this (denomination) has schools and media outlets using its own language.

This same Tribunal is looking into 450 similar cases, however, the judge's decision will not be implemented at this time and the Iraqi Christians (most have temporary residence permits) will not be deported for now.
On another note, the Organization for Threatened Peoples says that there are about 700.000 Chaldean-Assyrians living currently in Iraq.

ANA – Translation and Media desk

ANA - Commentary:

A German judge sends Assyrian refugees to concentration camps

It’s not enough for the “civilized” world that the Assyrians are forced to live as refugees on their own lands in North of Iraq the heartland of Ashur that a German judge decides that those who are refugees in Germany don’t deserve to live and that they should be sent back to war torn Iraq.

This German judge knows that those Assyrians will be living in camps so why he’s not asking his German government to build them homes?

This German judge isn’t only short sighted but bluntly blind that he can’t see how those Assyrians already fled a past oppression and now he wants to send them back to face more oppression?

This German judge and the Federal government of Germany will be responsible for every single Assyrian life whether child, woman, man or elderly for any harm that will befall them if they are deported.

If this behavior comes from a “civilized” individual who calls himself a judge, one should wonder what is the rest of the “civilized” world doing???

As calls and actions are mounting to protect the persecuted ethnicities and religious minorities around the world through the different governmental and non-governmental organizations we see that the indigenous Assyrians are facing a worse fate as days go by without any intervention on the part of the “civilized” world which remains silent as if nothing is happening.

Other religious and ethnic minorities of Iraq such as the Yizidis, Turkomen and others are working through different channels in order to bring attention to their people while the indigenous Assyrians are being further deprived from the most simple of rights including that of living with dignity.

The days to come will reveal what sort of fate is awaiting those Assyrian refugees, their families and children.

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