Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako has stated his opposition to Christian militias. Reuters
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christiantoday.com
Carey Lodge, Christian
Today Journalist, 26 May 2016
Assyrian
leaders have hit back at the Chaldean patriarch who last week urged the US not
to arm Christian forces fighting ISIS in the Middle East.
In a
statement sent out on Thursday, the Assyrian Confederation of Europe (ACE) said
it was concerned by Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako's comments.
"There
is broad agreement between Assyrian organisations in Iraq and the diaspora that
Assyrians must actively participate in the military campaign to liberate the
Nineveh Plain and secure the area after the liberation," the statement
said.
"The
Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU), which is tasked with that mandate, is
officially recognised and supported by the Iraqi government, in direct
contradiction to the Patriarch's claims."
The
importance of so-called 'Christian militias' was made "abundantly
clear", the statement continues, following the abandonment of the
Assyrians in the Nineveh Plain by the Kurdish Peshmerga.
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Assyrian
Christians are among a number of religious minorities who have suffered
immensely under Islamic State over the past two years.
"Mar
Sako's urging of the United States to support the Peshmerga instead of Assyrian
forces is a clear illustration of how utterly at odds his ideas are with the
real needs of Assyrians in Iraq. Assyrian-led military participation is
essential if displaced Assyrians are to return to Nineveh, as Patriarch Sako
claims that he wishes them to," ACE said.
"Patriarch
Sako has on several occasions expressed a desire to separate religion from
state in Iraq. It is therefore embarrassingly inconsistent of him to continue
to interfere in the political affairs of his people. We urge Louis Sako not to
confuse his role as a religious figure with that of a political leader, just as
political and secular leaders refrain from passing comment on theology or
ecclesiastical affairs."
In a
May 20 interview with Vatican Radio, Sako stated his opposition to Christian
militias.
He
told Fides news agency that supporting Christian forces would be "a bad
idea".
"There
are no 'Christian militias', but only politicized groups and simple people who
are in desperate need of a salary," he said. "The remaining
Christians in Iraq are only the poor and those belonging to the middle class,
and among them, there are 100 thousand displaced people."
"It
is a total mess!" Sako added. "Everyone wants to exploit Christians
of Nineveh Plain for their ambitions and political interests. It is an area
with different ethnic groups and religious communities... I am afraid that all
these talks will turn Nineveh Plain into a continuing conflict region, and in
this case, no Christian will return to their homes.
"Christians,
if they want to have a future, must integrate themselves with the institutions
and follow the legitimate authorities that govern the place where they
live," he said. "And if the US really want to defeat Daesh [ISIS],
they have to support the regular armies that are part of the central government
and the autonomous Kurdistan government, instead of creating sectarian
militias".
The
Patriarch was responding to a defence spending bill currently headed for
authorisation by the US Congress and Senate. It specifically refers to
Christian security forces as a group that should be supported. A report says:
"The committee believes that the United States should support
appropriately vetted, effective indigenous groups such as Iraqi Christian
militias, with a national security mission."
Steve
Oshana, executive director of A Demand for Action – a campaign group that has
pushed for the legitimacy of Christian militias to be recognised – previously
told Christian Today the move was a "huge step forward".
"This
is significant because Christian forces in Iraq and Syria have spent the past
18 months building capacity, and in Syria one group has already received
support from the US," he said.
"It's
significant because it shows a greater US commitment to supporting Christians
and more importantly acknowledging their legitimacy as fighting forces in Iraq
and Syria."
Congressman
Jeff Fortenberry last week commended the bill for expanding protections for
religious minorities in Iraq.
"Two
months ago, Congress declared that ISIS is committing genocide against
Christians, Yezidis, and other minorities. The House of Representatives has now
taken concrete steps to support the victims," he said.
"Christians,
Yezidis, and others should remain an essential part of the Middle East's once
rich tapestry of ethnic and religious diversity. They now have new cause for
hope."
ACE
called on the international community to support Christians fighting ISIS
"with arms, training and other resources".
It
also said that political statement made by religious figures in the Middle East
should be disregarded "as they are not democratically elected by the people
and do not represent the Assyrian people politically."
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