Zealand – tvnz — Several hundred Iraqi Christians have rallied in Auckland to try to highlight the persecution they suffer in their homeland.
The Chaldean Catholic community held a special mass to draw attention to the killing and kidnapping of their priests and the bombing of their churches.
“I’m here on behalf of the New Zealand government to say to the Iraqi people living in New Zealand that we want peace in Iraq. We understand that all communities in Iraq are suffering through the tragic civil war that’s now raging there, but the Christian community particularly has been effected by the increase in terrorism,” says Minister of Ethnic Affairs Chris Carter.
After the mass, Carter joined the Iraqi Christians on a peaceful protest march.