A Yazidi child who survived a massacre of the religious minority plays at an orphanaage in Duhok, Iraq
ishtartv.com - churchtimes.co.uk
by Adam Becket, 19
January 2018
THE
Bishop of Coventry, Dr Christopher Cocksworth, has said that the protection of
religious and ethnic minorities, including Christians, in Iraq is crucial for a
“secure and politically stable” future for the country.
Dr
Cocksworth led a debate in the House of Lords, on Thursday of last week, on the
rights of religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq. Unless the causes of
violence were rooted out, he said, it would return, and minorities would be the
first to be targeted.
He
argued that “the UK has both a moral responsibility and a strategic interest to
help secure a stable and flourishing Iraq,” and urged the Government to use its
influence to secure aid for minority groups, and empower the Iraqi and Kurdish
governments to protect all members of their societies.
“Iraq
may have become a land where Yazidis, Christians, Turkmen, and other minorities
have suffered unspeakable brutality; where tensions between Shia and Sunni
Muslims have spilt blood that has run deep into the soil of the nation; and
where the aspirations of Kurds and Arabs divide the country. But it is also a
land with a longer history of religious and ethnic coexistence.”
He
told peers that “if that tradition could be harnessed in a renewed political
and civic culture”, then the region would flourish and the world would become a
safer place. Action needed to be taken to give “Christians, Yazidis, Turkmen,
Sabeans, Yarsanis, Shabaks, and other vulnerable religious and ethnic
communities in Iraq confidence that they have a future in their own land.”
Responding,
Baroness Anelay (Conservative) said: “Now is the time to stand shoulder to
shoulder with the Iraqis until the dream of a secure and prosperous future
becomes a reality.”
Lord
Glassman (Labour) called on the Government to show some “special solidarity”
with Iraq’s Christians. “Christians have been established in the region since
before Islam, having been there for 2000 years. Given what they have been
through, it is right that there should be some solidarity with them.”
Baroness
Goldie, a government whip, told peers that it was vital that rebuilding efforts
in Iraq take into account all citizens and minorities, and that the Government
welcomes the Iraqi government’s position to protect all; but it was “concerned
by reports of continuing religious persecution”.
She
said: “The Government firmly believe that religious freedom is not just an
important right in itself but a vital foundation for a stable and prosperous
society. That is why we are working so hard to support a truly inclusive and
representative process of reconciliation in Iraq.”
The
number of Iraqi citizens returning back to their home regions has exceeded
the number of those internally displaced for the first time since Islamic State
took over parts of the country in December 2013, the United Nations migration
agency has said.
Almost
six million people were displaced by the conflict, and 3.2 million are
returning to their home region, while 2.6 million people remain displaced, the
International Organization for Migration reports.
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