Amid protests, Iraqi Archbishop calls for ‘equal rights and dignity’ for Christians

Washington D.C., Jan 30, 2020 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Iraqi Christians must take an active role in the country’s future if they want a unified, multi-religious Iraq, the Archbishop of Erbil said during a discussion of the country’s future with a U.S. congressman.
Archbishop Bashar Warda of the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil made the call as months of large-scale protests against Iraqi government corruption and perceived Iranian influence continue in the country—one protest last week in Baghdad was estimated to be around 200,000 strong.
“In the midst of all of this, as a Church, we would like to really support this call for change,” Archbishop Warda said in a meeting Jan. 28 with Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.).
CNA was granted exclusive access to the meeting, held in Washington, D.C.
The archbishop had addressed the United Nations Security Council in December, saying that the protests were a rejection of the post-2003 government, particularly its “sectarian-based constitution.”
Christians, he said, had been welcomed into the protests, a sign of growing demand for a “genuine, multi-religious Iraq” built on a constitution that did not reflect Sharia law, but respected religious freedom.
Warda said on Tuesday that younger Iraqis are a major part of the anti-corruption protests.
“The corruption is at its high. There are no jobs, no security, the future is not there,” he said. “So young people, they see that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, so they said ‘okay, enough is enough, and we need reform.’”
Pope Francis met with Iraq’s president Barham Salih on Saturday to discuss the need for stability in the country’s future, as well as the importance of Christians to maintaining the “social fabric” of Iraq.
The Church, Warda said, supports this call for “change” and he encouraged citizens, especially the youth of Iraq, to show solidarity and push for a unified Iraq where Christians can enjoy equal rights and dignity.
“There is a will by the political parties to end these protests,” he said. “As I said, politicians, everyone—when you ask them about the situation, they will tell you there is a need for change, there is a need of change.”
The archbishop this week also reiterated his call for early elections.
“I do think we need to see more pressure on this issue of making elections happen. When it comes to the change, realistically speaking, we will not see that much of change in the next parliament. But probably 15% of the change, which is good,” he said.
Another critical development, he said, must be the integration of Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities into the national security and police forces.
In the wake of the ISIS genocide, security for displaced Christians returning to their homes in Northern Iraq has been a primary concern. Christians in the area have reported harassment and violence at the hands of local militia groups. There have been allegations of Iranian influence of these militias to gain influence in the area through proxy conflicts.
If the local towns are policed by local residents, it would do much to re-establish order in the region once ravaged by ISIS and sectarian conflict, Archbishop Warda said.
“It’s important to integrate all the people of Iraq into the army, into the police force, train them, especially in areas like the Nineveh Plain where they have so many young people ready and willing to protect and defend their villages,” he said.
“That’s a right. That’s a right, and a request. We’ve been requesting this, as Church leaders.”
“Every community has a militias now, which is not good for the country. You need the unified army,” he said.
During the Tuesday meeting, Rep. Fortenberry said that such integration “would help rid the country of the shadowy militia quasi-military movement that is causing such instability.”
Fortenberry successfully worked to include language in a budget bill passed by Congress last year, that the Secretary of State work with the Iraqi government to make sure that security forces “reflect the ethno-sectarian makeup of the areas in which they operate by integrating local populations into such forces.”
USAID has also been working to ensure U.S. humanitarian assistance reaches ISIS genocide victims in Iraq, telling CNA last summer that around $367 million had been provided by the agency and the State Department under Vice President Mike Pence’s initiative.
In September, USAID awarded $6.8 million to Catholic Relief Services, which partnered with the Archdiocese of Erbil to provide housing assistance for displaced families.
“In some ways, it’s turning an aircraft carrier around in a canal,” USAID administrator Mark Green told CNA last summer of the process of helping the genocide victims rebuild.
This week, Archbishop Warda said that the USAID money was starting to make a difference in the region.