Assyrian organizations in the entire world are now demanding protection of the Christian minorities in Iraq. Two weeks ago the Swedish Metro reported that Södertälje receives as many Iraqi refugees as the United States. The majority of the refugees that arrive in Södertälje are Christians, refugees from systematic persecution. Several of the human rights organizations consider this a way to eliminate ethnic and religious group.

Because of Swedish Metro, Södertälje has now been visited by media from all over the world. Italian, Japanese, German and Argentine reporters are just some who have raised the issue of the municipality's refugee problems.

In a mail to Metro, the United States Foreign Affairs Department confirmed that it is open to possibility of creating a protection-zone, which has raised great expectations amongst Assyrians

Assyrian organizations world wide have written to the governments of the United States and Iraq, and to the United Nations, with the demand to have a protection-zone in northern Iraq , south of the Kurdish areas, where the majority of the population consists of Assyrians.

Members of the Swedish Parliament have also taken action. Lennart Sacrédeus (Christian Democrats Party) wrote in a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt that "articles written in Metro indicate that within the large group of Iraqi refugees that live in Sweden, there are a number of personal testimonies and reports of how Christian churches are bombed, Christian girls got raped, priests got decapitated, Christian children got kidnapped".

Yilmaz Kerimo (Social Democrats) wants Sweden to promote this issue in the UN, in order to have a protected zone for the Christians established in Iraq with supervision from the UN, because that will "relieve the pain and reduce the stream of refugees and at the same time give the Christian refugees who wish to return a place to return to."

Carl Bildt has answered that he now has discussed the issue with the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs and that the Swedish government will continue to draw attention to the Iraqi minorities' vulnerable situation and their need for protection in the EU, UN and in conversations with Iraqi representatives.

The situation of Christians in Iraq

People of the Christian faith probably constitute, when they are in minority in a nation, the group that meets most persecution in the world today. We are now receiving alarming report that the Christian Syriacs, Assyrians and Chaldeans in Iraq experience persecution that resembles ethnic and religious cleansing.

In the shadow of the war in Iraq, the city of Sodertalje is receiving the same amount of Iraqi refugees as the whole of the United States do together. Every fifth inhabitant of this Swedish city today is a Christan Syriac, Assyrian or Chaldean from the nations of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq. The journalist Nuri Kino has in the newspapers "Journalisten" (March 13th) and "Metro" (March 14th) pointed our attention to the fact that within this group of Iraqi refugees there are testimonies and reports on how Christian churches are bombed, Christian girls raped, priests beheaded, Christian children kidnapped etcetera. Islamic leaders have had an interest in making the Christians appear as enemies, allied with the United States.

The largest part of refugees from Iraq goes to Syria, Turkey and Jordan. According to UNHCR a third of those are Christians, despite the fact that this group some years ago only represented three percent of the Iraqi population. This means that Iraq is being cleansed religiously and ethnically of the Christian groups of the population. The minority cultures and minority groups run the risk of vanishing.

As Sweden is receiving refugees seeking asylum from persecution and oppression, we are expressing our will to be an international place of shelter. At the same time our nation wants to work preventive so that the need of leaving ones home country as a refugee will not arise. It is towards this background I ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt:

What measures is the Minister intending to take preventing an ethnic and religious cleansing of Christians to take place in Iraq?

Answer on question 2006/07:878
March 21

Answer on question
2006/07:878 The situation of Christians in placecountry-regionIraq

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Carl Bildt

Lennart Sacrédeus has asked me what measures I intend to take to prevent an ethnic and religious cleansing of Christians from taking place in Iraq.

The Swedish Government views the developments in Iraq with concern. The security situation has deteriorated and the violence has increasingly assumed sectarian characteristics. Members of all ethnic and religious groups in Iraq suffer from this violence. Minorities such as the Mandeans, Syriacs, Assyrians and Chaldeans are particularly at risk. The situation has led to large flows of refugees, both internally and externally.

Last year, some 9 000 persons from Iraq applied for asylum in Sweden, which is half of all Iraqi refugees who come to the European Union. The Swedish Migration Board estimates that up to 25 000 Iraqi persons will apply for asylum in Sweden this year. Sweden is taking a large responsibility, but is also promoting discussion within the European Union about the importance of an improved security situation in Iraq.

It is in our interest as well as the rest of Europe to work for a democratic, stable and united Iraq. That is why the European Union, and thus also Sweden, fully supports the declared position of the Iraqi government to create an Iraq where all citizens of all ethnic backgrounds and religions can live in security. I myself stressed this in my conversation with the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs during his recent visit to Sweden. Even the Swedish country strategy for Iraq states that development cooperation should participate to counteract all kinds of discrimination.

The Government will continue to call attention to the issue of the vulnerability of minorities in Iraq within the European Union, the United Nations and in discussions with Iraqi officials.

Translation of question (for written answer) 2006/07:878
by Member of the Swedish Parliament Yilmas Kerimo (the Social Democratic Party)

Yilmas Kerimo, member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, writes in an open letter to the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt, how important it is that Sweden, through the UN, draws attention to the difficult situation of the Assyrians (also called Chaldeans and Syriacs) in the entire Middle East . Kerimo wants to know what Bildt intends to do to promote the issue of a safe haven for the Assyrians (Chaldeans and Syriacs) in Iraq under the protection of the UN.

The situation is especially urgent in Iraq, where the Christians have been persecuted for a long time. The terror against the Christians has increased after the US led occupation of Iraq. The hate of Muslims against the coalition forces is channelled to acts of terrorism against Christians, e.g. church bombings. Many innocent Christians have been victimised as a result of these terror actions. There are other groups in Iraq that also have been persecuted and provided a safe haven under the protection of the UN, so that they can live under safe conditions.

The Christians of Iraq need protection and a recognition as a persecuted nation with one language and one culture. Now also the US State Department is recognising the issue and discussing the possibility to create a protected area for the Christian minority.

I think that Sweden should respond positively to the American signals by encouraging within the UN the establishment of a safe haven for the Christians in Iraq, under the protection of the UN, writes Mr. Kerimo in his letter.

According to Kerimo, Sweden and especially Södertälje, a small Swedish town, is receiving as many Iraqi refugees as the entire USA is receiving in total. Therefore a Christian safe haven in Iraq could relieve the suffering and also decrease the numbers of refugees, and at the same time give Christians that want to return a place to return to.

By Nuri Kino
EasternStar News Agency