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Added on the 14/10/2021 10:50:48 - Copyright : EFE Inglés
Many Iraqi Christians displaced by the advancement of Islamic State say they have no means or desire to celebrate Christmas and new year this year. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.
Pope Francis meets Christians in an ancient Iraqi church torched by the Islamic State group when it swept into the northern town of Qaraqosh in 2014. After the jihadists were ousted in 2016, the Al-Tahera (Immaculate Conception) Church's marble floors and columns were restored and the faithful gathered there on Sunday to welcome the pontiff. IMAGES
Baghdad (Iraq), Feb 5 (EFE / EPA), (Camera: Ahmed Jalil).- The plan of Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to return the properties that were seized from the Christians during the most brutal years of sectarian violence in the country has been well received. However, it also raises concerns since it is not a governmental decision and because this community still fears reprisals. Al-Sadr announced at the beginning of the year the formation of a special committee to analyze the cases and return the properties that were confiscated, under the supervision of the Sadrist movement that will punish the ones who were responsible for the seizures even if they do not belong to the political group that laid down their arms. The deadline is until the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, in mid-May, but it is not clear how it will be done. FOOTAGE OF HAMMURABI'S HEADQUARTERS IN BAGHDAD. SOUNDBITES OF PASCAL WARDA, PRESIDENT OF THE HAMMURABI ORGANIZATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS:-" I heard a few days ago that Mr. Muqtada Al-Sadr wanted to set up a committee, it is a good and lofty initiative. But I was hoping that this commission and this initiative would be by the government so that the government would take responsibility for it because when there's no security and there's no protection for citizens' property, is there anyone on this land who would leave thousands of dunums or hundreds of meters or houses and gets out that easily to sits on the streets looking for bread?Of course not. (They did it) because they left looking for safety in his life and their children's lives and because they were threatened even while they were inside their homes. And this is what they found at the Hammurabi Organization for Human Rights. I saw not one incident but several (incidents) about which Christian people came and complained. I asked one of the governors, who kicked out two brothers from a Christian house when he was working for a government agency after they seized it and he said it was his house.The governor was a sophisticated person and acted as a government and authority and kicked out these two brothers.""Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr's initiative lacks a legal framework. Yes, it is a good initiative, but the government must embrace it. The initiative must also be followed by legislation, laws that control this phenomenon. Yes, Mr. Muqtada Al-Sadr is right when he launched this initiative, but the State is the primary official and trustee of citizens' rights. Therefore a legal framework must be placed for this initiative. That is why Mr. Muqtada is right when he formed this committee and it is true that he is part of the state, but these ideas must be framed in a legal framework and Mr. Muqtada's initiative has alerted the authorities to their duties and I see it as an initiative for the defence of human rights."Our statistics change year after year, when we review our reports. We have full reports and others that are not ready yet. We have hundreds of archives from Baghdad, Mosul and other cities. These documents must be analyzed and complaints must be filed to be sent to the judiciary."
Baghdad (Iraq), Dec 25 (EFE / EPA), (Camera: Ahmed Jalil).- Christians attended a Christmas mass at the Saint Joseph Catholic Church in central Baghdad on Friday.FOOTAGE OF THE MASS IN THE SAINT JOSEPH CATHOLIC CHURCH
Mosul (Iraq), Dec 17 (EFE / EPA) .- (Camera: Gailan Haji) Internally displaced Iraqis (IDP) hope to obtain personal identification cards and birth certificates for their children, who were born in Hassan Sham refugee camp east of Mosul, under the rule of Islamic State militants.FOOTAGE OF PEOPLE WAITING FOR THEIR CARDS.
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