JANUARY 2010

Attendees watch
a Power Point
presentation
diplomatic call
Kurds say they want solidarity with Iraq’s Christians
By Weam Namou
Insisting they want to strengthen
their relationship with
Christians, representatives of
Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government
(KRG) held a dinner meeting
of some 200 guests at Shenandoah
Country Club on December 18.
“We want to strengthen relationships
and partnerships with
our colleagues here in matters that
serve our collective interests,” said
Qubad Talabani, KRG representative
to the United States and the
son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
Accompanying Talabani was Dr.
Fuad Hussein, chief of staff to the
president of the KRG, and Falah
Mustafa, director of foreign relations
of the KRG.
The meeting, hosted by the
Chaldean Federation of America
and the Chaldean American
Chamber of Commerce, was an opportunity
to highlight policies of
the Kurdistan regional government
while addressing the concerns of
the Christian community. One of
Abu Azad and Essam Bacall
which was, are the Kurds killing
Christians?
“Christians from all over Iraq
come to Kurdistan to be protected
and we’re happy about that,” said
Hussein.
Hussein noted that despite having
110 churches in Kurdistan,
there has not been a single Christian
killed or church burnt in the
region. He also noted that the draft
of the Kurdish Constitution, which
they hope to complete by next year,
guarantees the rights of all minorities.
“I’ve visited families from every
ethnicity and nationality in Kurdistan,”
said Nidhal Garmo, president
Photos by David Reed
of For Victims of War and Poverty,
“and I can vouch that Kurdistan is
a good place for Christians.”
But Amir Denha, publisher
and editor of the Chaldean Times,
pointed out that the governor of
Mosul, Atheel Al Najafi, blames the
armed Kurdish fighters called peshmergas
for the problems occurring
in Mosul.
“Atheel Al Najafi blames the
Kurds for every problem,” responded
Hussein. “That’s his problem.”
He added that Christians are
being killed everywhere in Iraq,
whether by terrorists or those implementing
an ethnic cleansing policy.
And it’s not just Christians, he said;
all ethnicities and religions have
been targeted.
“Kurdistan is an easy but rare
success story of Iraq,” said Talabani.
“Enemies of the state wish to find
reasons to blame Kurds for things.”
Talabani credits their “unity” for
such success.
“When we were not united, we
fought each other and our development
slowed down,” he said. “Enemies
used this division against us.
Christians need unity.”
“Part of our ability to unify is because
we are a tolerant culture who
does not believe in retaliation and
revenge,” said Mustafa.
Nabil Roumaya, president of the
Network of the Iraqi American Organization
(NIAO), said that people
need the Kurdish government to
work harder and do more.
“Your government is very crucial,”
said Roumaya. “You have a
debt to pay for all the people who’ve
died for you. We’re disappointed
you’re not doing enough.”
While Hussein said that they
too want to do more, he noted that
democracy is not a mechanism that
can be imported. It is, he said, a process.
“Democracy didn’t exist in Iraq
before,” he said. “Saddamism was
there for 30 years. To change Saddam’s
culture to democracy is not
easy.”
Another guest disagreed with
Roumaya.
“You [the KRG representatives]
being here today says that you are
doing a lot,” he said, but wondered
why the government doesn’t try to
bring back date production — Iraq
was once the world’s largest date producer
— and tourism, a billion-dollar
industry, to help Iraq’s economy.
22 CHALDEAN NEWS JANUARY 2010