Iraq: Christian church spurns call to head north

Baghdad, 19 Nov. (AKI) – Christians have lived in Iraq for thousands of years and should not be confined to the northern part of the country as Iraq’s president recently suggested, according to a priest from one of Baghdad’s most important churches.

"Even though I appreciate his noble intentions, I believe the idea of Iraq’s president Jalal Talabani to move Christians to the northern Kurdish region of the country is wrong," Salim Qiryaqous said.

He is a priest at the Syriac Catholic cathedral in Baghdad where 58 people died in an attack in October claimed by an Al-Qaeda linked group. Some eighty people were injured.

"Christians represent the whole Iraqi territory and not only the north. There are Christians who live in the south and in the centre of Iraq," said Qiryaqous.

Talibani, a Kurd, had "noble intentions" but suggestion that Iraq’s Christian minority take refuge in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, could put country’s social stability at risk, he said.

According to the Chaldean Christian church in Baghdad, 120,000 Christians have fled to the Kurdistan region.

There are approximately 500,000 Christians remaining in Iraq but the 31 October attack on Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad and a spate of bombings this month targeting the Christian community have left its members in fear of their lives.

Talabani’s proposal, which he floated on Thursday, has drawn a mixed reaction from Christians in Iraq.

"I think Talibani’s plan is a positive one, also to create a special security force," said aChristian member of parliament, Yunadim Yusuf said.

He said he hoped the new Iraqi government would take office "as soon as possible, to restore security to the country."