New York City, N.Y., Dec 4, 2019 / 04:01 pm (CNA).- The largest protests in Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein signal the rejection by most Iraqis of the country’s post-2003 structure and government, the Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil told the UN Security Council Wednesday.
Since the beginning of October, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis has been protesting government corruption. They have also objected to Iran’s influence over their country’s internal affairs. More than 420 have been killed by security forces.
The protests are “a rejection of a sectarian-based Constitution, which has divided Iraq and prevented it from becoming a unified and functioning country. Instead of bringing hope and prosperity, the current government structure has brought continued corruption and despair, especially to the youth of Iraq,” Archbishop Bashar Warda said at a Security Council meeting on Iraq held in New York City Dec. 3.
He added that Iraqi youth “have made it clear that they want Iraq to be independent of foreign interference, and to be a place where all can live together as equal citizens in a country of legitimate pluralism and respect for all.”
Archbishop Warda noted that Christians and other minorities “have been welcomed into the protest movement by the Iraqi Muslims,” which “demonstrates real hope for positive changes in which a new government in Iraq … will be much more positive towards a genuinely multi-religious Iraq with full citizenship for all and an end to this sectarian disease which has so violently harmed and degraded us all.”
He also highlighted the non-violent nature of the protests, especially in the face of the crackdown by security forces.
“At stake is whether Iraq will finally emerge from the trauma of Saddam and the past 16 years to become a legitimate, independent and functioning country, or whether it will become a permanently lawless region, open to proxy wars between other countries and movements, and a servant to the sectarian demands of those outside Iraq,” the archbishop stated.
He said that if the protests lead to a new government with a new constitution “not based in Sharia but instead based upon the fundamental concepts of freedom for all … then a time of hope can still exist for the long suffering Iraqi people.”
“If the protest movement is not successful, if the international community stands by and allows the murder of innocents to continue, Iraq will likely soon fall into civil war, the result of which will send millions of young Iraqis, including most Christians and Yazidis, into the diaspora,” he added.
Archbishop Warda urged the international community not to support “false changes in leadership which do not really represent change.” He chared that “the ruling power groups do not intend to give up control, and that they will make every effort to fundamentally keep the existing power structures in place.”
He said Iraq’s government has a a “broken nature,” with a “fundamental need for change and replacement.”
“The first step must be the initiation of early elections,” stated the archbishop. He call for freedom of the press before and during the elections, as well as UN monitoring and observation “by all major parties in Iraq so that the elections are legitimate, free and fair.”
For Archbishop Warda, “only in this way can a new government set a course for the future of an Iraq which is free of corruption and where there is full citizenship and opportunity for all.”
Marginalized Iraqis look to the international community for “action and support,” he added. “We hold you all accountable for this. Iraq, the country which has so often been harmed, now looks to you all for help. We believe we have a future, and we ask you not to turn away from us now.”
After his briefing of the Security Council, Archbishop Warda said that Christians and other minorities in Iraq stand with “Muslim protestors as together they seek a better life, based on equality regardless of religious belief. Either Iraq will develop as these protestors hope, moving away from political violence and the current sectarian power structure and taking its rightful place among nations who respect the rights of all regardless of their faith, or it will slide backwards, a fate previewed in the killing of protestors and most notably with the genocide and other carnage at the hands of ISIS. In this latter case, Iraqi sovereignty too will be undermined as its strong neighbors meddle in its internal affairs.”
Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako, Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon, said his community will not have public Christmas celebrations, “out of respect for the dead and wounded among protesters and security forces, and in solidarity with the pains of their families,” The New Arab reported Dec. 3.
“There will be no decorated Christmas trees in the churches or streets, no celebrations and no reception at the patriarchate,” he stated.
The Iraq protests, which began Oct. 1, are largely in response to government corruption and a lack of economic growth and proper public services. Protesters are calling for electoral reform and for early elections.
Government forces have used tear gas and bullets against protesters. Some 17,000 protesters have been injured. According to the BBC, at least 12 security personnel have died amid the unrest.
Prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi announced Nov. 29 he would resign, though he will remain as interim PM until his successor is chosen. The announcement came shortly after Ali al-Sistani, the most influential Shia spiritual leaders in Iraq, called on parliament to withdraw its support from the government.
Iraq’s constitution, adopted in 2005, establishes Islam as the state religion and the foundation of the country’s laws, though freedom of religion is guaranteed. The constitution was largely backed by Shia Arabs and by Kurds (most of whom are Sunni), and opposed by Sunni Arabs.
This post-2003 settlement includes a quota system based on ethnicity and sect, which has fostered corruption and patronage.
In the Fund for Peace’s Fragile States Index 2019, Iraq ranked 13th out of 178 countries, placing it in an alert category for state vulnerability and in the company of Haiti and Nigeria.
And Iraq was ranked 168 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2018, in the company of Venezuela.
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So much for the great pro life president ever! Like that other fake, riki lake, they promise everything and yet provide only molehills!
Mr. Trump promised to nominate prolife judges and he did exactly that. There’s a lengthy list of his prolife accomplishments online.
That’s all I can go by in selecting a candidate:past results.
I was with ya until your last sentence?
Trump is as pro-life as Biden is Catholic. Will never vote for either of them. Glad for any good that the Good Lord brings out of this.
America is finished.
Doomed.
How can God bless a nation so intent on destroying its own children?
Without even an organized opposition to the evil?
I am so disgusted.
Utterly, totally, vehemently, violently sickened.
By my country.
My state.
My political party.
The “pro-life” movement.
*And* my church.
*Especially* my church.
The end is near.
Here, probably.
We deserve whatever we get.
In the past fifty-one years, we have crucified Jesus more than a billion times.
The “pro-life” movement is a fraud.
America’s war on children is only gaining in intensity.
Sounds like you have a disagreement with Our Lord when He promised that “the gates of Hades would not prevail against it.” His church is forever and when it is in serious danger His return is eminent. Keep watch.
The Church has a lot of work to do, because the work probably won’t be done anywhere else. The overturning of Roe v. Wade was the overturning of one injustice in the law, and this legal event is now giving cover to many Republicans including the likes of Trump who is already pro gay marriage & pro IVF, and now pro-abortion as is everyone who believes that abortion is to the “will of the people” and can be decided by referendum. Trump is basically saying I gave you what you wanted, so stop complaining. He hasn’t a clue about what “pro-life” means (or pro-family for that matter).
We cannot compete in the metropolitan areas. we spent a lot to defeat Prop 3 in that last election in MI and we were soundly defeated with Big Gretch and her media working to get out the vote to save abortion rights. One of the churches in Detroit area had pro life signs around it to defeat 3 and a Ford family heir that lives nearby was all bent out of shape about it.
Meanwhile, regular healthcare is being rationed.
Let’s keep bending them over time into the right shape.
Trump is merely keeping with the Dobbs Decision, which makes abortion an issue for the states.
Exactly. That’s how federalism works. I think a national ban would actually backfire and produce more negative than positive consequences. Leave it to the states.
That’s fine if you are happy with the way things are just want a “game manager” to preserve the current American paradise.
If you want someone who will use the bully pulpit to advocate your principles and priorities, then the question is whether this guy’s principles and priorities are the same as yours.
Exactly. He is correct in this decision of his, as much as I am pro-life, I have zero doubt that if Trump were to support a federal ban on abortion of any type, it would guarantee defeat of him and Republicans. At this point, leaving it to the States as per the SCOTUS decision is the most moderate statement anyone can make. And, frankly, at this point, I have to choose between Republicans and Democrats to lead this country, and I know which of the two is the worst for the future of this country in all ways. Not voting for Trump or any Republican because s/he is not perfect is simply a vote for Biden and and every other yet more imperfect Democrat.
OK, in what sense exactly is this “correct”? That he acknowledges that he lacks the authority to force change? Sure, it would be a nice change if he were to begin acknowledging that he is not omnipotent, that he is not an absolute monarch, and that he is not omniscient. It would be a nice to see some humility, but let’s be sure this is not merely indifference.
But here’s the thing: One need not be an absolute monarch of unlimited authority to insist that some things are absolutely wrong and should be universally illegal. Sorry, but it is clear that Trump fundamentally does not consider abortion to be one of those things.
You seem to think that if he kicks abortion way back to the back burner and concentrates on the “really important issues”, like money, then maybe he can gain power. Maybe that is true, but if so, his money perish with him.
The most pro-life president in American history, amiright?
Donald Trump’s presidency got us a Supreme Court that overturned Roe. Now it’s up to each state’s voters to enact laws protecting human rights. Our state did that and so can can yours.
🙏
Unfortunately, the opposite is happening in blue states with blue governors.
Ours had ads out and still thinks, that reproductive freedom will get young professional women to stay or move to MI.
Are you in N Mexico? How did your state do it?
No, New Mexico’s a beautiful state though.
Our own state is extremely prolife. Even many Democrats here are, too. We don’t get every issue right but we have the safety of unborn lives covered 100%.
Mrs Cracker –
Nobody who is genuinely pro-life uses phrases like “abortion rights” and (in commenting on the Arizona law) “Do what’s right for your family and do what’s right for yourself”. Trump’s only enduring principle is that he is awesome and people who acknowledge his awesomeness are great human beings (even, Kim Jong Un).
This doesn’t mean go support Joe Biden. But stop pretending Trump is pro-life or pro-anything other than himself.
People who will take whatever position is needed to ‘get elected’ [“And then, you guys, he will be super-duper pro-life!!!”] are not worthy leaders.
I’m not in charge of Mr. Trump’s conscience, I’m only concerned whether he can slow the cultural tailspin our nation’s experiencing or not. In his previous administration he did much good. My hope & prayer is that will happen again if he’s reelected.
Whether effecting good is more of a business deal for him, I don’t know but I’m just looking at the results. Not the motivation. I have quite low expectations of all politicians. It’s always a pleasant surprise when they carry through with their campaign promises. We’ll just have to wait & see.
Now that the “pro-life” movement has agreed to permit some abortions under certain circumstances, they have forfeit any basis on which to object to any abortion.
If you accept the killing of one child, then you have no moral compunction about the killing of any and all children.
The pro-life movement is dead in America.
It’s not dead where we live, Brineyman.
Please expound.
Our own state has been 100% free of legally enshrined feticide since Dobbs. Every single clinic that committed feticides has been shuttered & closed.
Our state prolife organizations are active, pregnancy help centers have lots of community support, & both Democrats & GOP here tend to be prolife.
It’s not perfect. We have higher rates of poverty, crime, chronic disease, & illiteracy. We have IVF clinics operating because prolife people have not not educated about IVF’s destruction of embryos. But overall, we’re in a very good prolife place considering all that.
See, in our state a simple majority got it enshrined in the state’s constitution. the college kids who never cared about voting were lined up and voting till the end for prop 3 and Whitmer and her cronies. the next few days were blue for the pro lifers. didn;t the same thing happen a couple months ago in OH? The media played Dixon over and over saying about cases of incest and rape not exempt – it was brutal
You can’t paint up everyone like that. What good is it. Yes pro-death is very astute and iron-handed! For that! – and for love, those who would have faltered should come on back to the true fold and let’s make the righteous heard with more determination.
No politician, in no historical context, can ever be sincere, otherwise they cannot hope for an election. They must promise, lying. In this regard, Trump is at least less hypocritical than before. Unlike ordinary people, who make mistakes out of ignorance, above all, a politician will never, ever not lie. Unless he is a saint.
Machiavelli lives on. At least in the minds of politicians. Perhaps I’m naive. Would Diogenes perhaps find an honest one?
Trump is trying to get re-reelected.
He was extremely favorable to “Catholics” while in office.
He is the only President to participate in the DC March for Life.
He made a very succinct and even reverent address there on the sanctity of Life.
Our devious ecclesiastics never supported Trump – they receive hundreds of millions in government funds for their efforts to undermine our nation.
It is reported that 60% of “Catholics” are pro-choice.
The term ‘pro-choice’ is a Luciferian lie of language that claims murder in the womb is acceptable.
“Catholics” have voted in the majority for the corrupt DemoncRats in all the past presidential elections since the Clintons.
Trump felt betrayed by the “Catholic” church so he modified his stance to hide behind the cowardice of the Supreme Court – 5 “Catholic” “Justices” who could not even protect the lives of 9 month old babies in the womb.
All the people trashing Trump for his decision should rather pray for the conversion of their pope and bishops.
If the Barque of Peter had not gone adrift post VatII it is very possible “Catholic” votes could have prevented this horrible maelstrom.
How many priests do you see outside Planned Parenthood in surplice and stole leading parishioners in Rosaries and exorcism prayers?
The greatest massacre in human history gets little attention and some eejit Vatican favorite Cardinals publicly minimize it.
Trump ain’t half as bad as they are.
Least we forget that the democrats are far more devoted to abortion now than the democrats then were devoted to slavery.
The Catholic Church needs to abandon politics and walk alone. The man-made government in Washington DC is not part of God’s plan. The Catholic Church and the Word of God are the tools God gave us to change people’s hearts. Anyone who pledges allegiance to a man-made government is worshipping a Golden Calf.
With today’s overwhelming publicity and controversy, we are over Trumped.
Trump is a duplicitous paradoxical anomaly and has displayed a significant danger to society, especially his incessant lying poisoning the minds of our innocent children. His niece Mary Trump has the whole story in her book “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man”. Moreover, his MAGA puppeteer influence has “in-your-face” snookered many devoted Catholics, Evangelists and Protestants and their prelates and cowardly politicians. He exploits lying cables TV of Fox News and Newsmax. Amazingly, in Catholic Vote in March 2024 the Catholic Bishop organized a group to go to Mar A Lago to genuflect at Trump’s altar. Stunningly, the CV website has become a funding port to elect Trump. Pure hypocrisy!
Trump’s “moral” position on abortion he stated that there should be “some sort of criminal consequence of an abortion, regardless of a life threat to the mother.
He would not support a national ban on abortion. He would leave the decision to the states. That is exactly where we are today and it is a disaster. Red and blue states with a competing attitude and its widening. Arizona using an 1864 draconic abortion law that is causing MAGAs to reverse their position.
The chants by the radical left have become deafening. There MUST be a nationwide “ban” on abortion with the medical exceptions. The only issue is “how we morally manage” abortion on demand? Political hacks have stumbled and failed. How can we be monitoring and adjudicating a “violation” of a law. Whose law? God’s law!
Not is Trump only an anomaly, he is a unique study. His recent expose’…
“I am your retribution. I will expand the power of POTUS. I will invoke Marshall law to attack demonstrators, I am absolutely immune”…. In his campaign of 2016 Trump said “anyone who invokes the 5th he is guilty”. Then in the NYS indictment held by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office in its probe into the Trump Organization’s illicit NY business practices, Trump invoked the 5th 450 times answering only once to acknowledge his name. WOW!
Let us enhance our attack on abortion on demand.
Let’s be honest. Trump is no idiot. If he said he would sign a universal abortion ban, he would be handing the Democrats a club to be him over the head with. There is no way the Congress and Senate will pass a law making abortion illegal that he needs to veto. It is a fantasy to believe this could ever be a realistic event. Trump is starting this to keep the Democrats from making this an issue. If you don’t support Trump, you’ll get Biden and you know what Uncle Joe believes about abortion.
You are rignt that Trump is not a idiot. He has hoodwinked my entire GOP!
A nationwide abortion ban, with exceptions, is the only reasonable solution. When SOCTUS overthrew Roe and gave each state the sole responsibiity to deal with the iasue, a patchwork disaster occurred. Arizona and Texas are examples of restricted abortion law. Political hacks have created a veritable nightmare. We will never win when we praise polticians.
We must clearly state our case and increase our war on abortion. .
DT has done and is doing more for prolife than any president before him. A) he has nominated more prolife judges than any president b) he follows that Constitution, which leaves to the people and their states all powers not enumerated; so abortion should be left to the States c) his stance lessens the ace in the sleeve the pro abortion Democrat party had for the coming election d) his election will assure more pro life judges. I could go on. Don’t vote for him in November and you will see not only abortionists win the country but the anti Christian left win the country for ever because they will add twenty million illegals to the voter rolls and they will consolidate power forever.
I agree mostly but the Democrats miss that many migrants are socially conservative and hold traditional values on family matters.
I have a bridge to sell for anyone who believes Trump.
Onward, Christian soldiers, All! Hope is found in my Traditional Latin Mass church pews full of families and elders, singles, older couples, with smiling faces and dressed in Sunday best. Private Catholic citizens and their churches are hard at work donating time and baby needs to pregnancy resource centers in multiple cities. Be encouraged, Church!
Mrs. Cracker, I agree that this election we must vote for helpful, formerly kind-to-pro-life-views Trump. (He’s our hope federally to clean up the swamp! Please VOTE- our duty as Catholics. And become involved in State and Local Republican events esp. now to get out the vote! We must be stronger as Democrats’ illegals are stealing our resources and could dilute our votes as our country becomes united to the unholy world order agenda!
A nun joked with me: “Hilary played the female card;
Obama played the race card; God played the Trump card”!