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Iraq moving towards division, says bishop
of Kirkuk 16.1.2007
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Mgr Louis Sako voices
his concerns over the growing split between Shiites,
Sunnis and Kurds. A divided Iraq will not have peace
but may confine Christians in their own ghetto.
January 16, 2007
Kirkuk, Kurdistan-Iraq , -- As the effects of
Sunni-Shia clashes and Saddam Hussein’s execution
gather momentum, Iraq is moving towards a terrible
division with the US doing nothing to stop it, says
Mgr Louis Sako, Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk.
“Internet sites and papers are already publishing
the new political maps with the Kurdish north, the
Shia south and the Sunni centre,” he said. The real
problem lies in multiethnic areas like Kirkuk and
the Church.
For Mgr Sako, natural gas-rich Kirkuk is a
time-bomb, “a source of dangerous tensions”.
For Christians there is the danger of ending up in a
regional ghetto, when the best solution would be to
guarantee freedom of religion to everyone in every
part of the country. |
Mgr Louis Sako |
Mgr Sako, what kind of Iraq do you see emerging
this year?
Iraq is sliding towards division. Ongoing clashes
show that and the Americans are doing nothing to
stop that. The north is Kurdish (Kurdistan),
the south is Shia (Shiastan), and the centre is
occupied by Sunnis (Sunnistan). Internet sites and
papers are already publishing the new
political maps! This will have serious consequences
for neighbouring countries like Turkey, Syria and
Iran, where the local Kurdish
population is demanding autonomy or independence but
where local governments are opposed. The division of
Iraq is not a solution and will
not bring peace and stability.
What are the consequences for the country of
Saddam’s and his right-hand men’s execution?
The tragic and disgraceful execution of former
President Saddam Hussein has widened the Sunni-Shia
divide. For Sunnis Shia Iran is the
main cause of their marginalisation and for what is
happening in Iraq. Shiites have taken power but the
current government has failed to
achieve the desired reconciliation or to ensure
peace.
In 2007 a referendum in expected to be held that
might result in Kirkuk joining either Kurdistan or a
Sunni province. Some observers are of
the opinion that this might a time-bomb…
Huge interests and dangerous tensions gravitate
around Kirkul. The city is not homogeneous, nor
ethnically uniform. Residents are Muslim,
Christian, Kakai, Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen, Chaldeans,
Assyrians and Armenians. Will it be an independent
political and administrative entity?
Annexed by Kurdistan? Or by the neighbouring Sunni
province? Everyone is waiting for the referendum
which won’t be easy to pull off.
On January 13 rebels shot dead two businessmen and
blew up a Shia mosque under construction in the Nida
neighbourhood, on the city’s
east side. There are thieves or people who just
demand money without carrying out kidnappings. Five
Christian families have paid a ransom;
others are planning to move to the north or to
Syria. Things are going from bad to worse and the
population is living in fear and uncertainty,
not knowing where they will live!
What place will there be for Christians in Iraq?
Christians are confronted with increasing
difficulties. For some time, some people have been
thinking of gathering them in a specific area, the
Nineveh plain. They would have their own territory,
but to be viable the idea of a protected zone, a
safe haven, which is viewed
sympathetically by the Kurds and even the Americans,
needs an end to the violence and remains in any
event a dangerous plan. The
Nineveh plain is largely surrounded by Arabs and
Christians would serve as a useful and undefended
buffer zone between Arabs and Kurds.
In my opinion it would be preferable to work at the
constitutional level and each area to guarantee
religious freedom and equal rights for
believers of all faiths throughout the land,
including Christians who can be found everywhere.
asianews it
The former Iraqi president Saddam Huseein forced about 250,000
Kurdish residents to give up their homes to Arabs in
the 1970s, to "Arabize" the city and the region's
oil industry.
Kirkuk city lies just south border of the Kurdistan
autonomous region and it is not under the full
control of Kurdistan Regional Government
administration.
A referendum is to be held in late 2007 to decide
whether the oil-rich Kurdish province should be
annexed to the safe semiautonomous Kurdistan region
in Iraq's north.
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