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Dallas Baptist Standard, TX
July 29 2005
House amends funding bill to help Iraqi Christians
By Analiz Gonzalez
Associated Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (ABP) - The U.S. House of Representatives has amended a
funding bill in an attempt to focus attention on the postwar plight
of Iraqi Christians.
The amendment, which was added to the Foreign Relations Authorization
Act on a voice vote, also asks the Bush administration to work with
the United States Agency for International Development and use
funding for welfare, education and resettlement of Iraq's Christian
minority.
The House then passed the bill, H.R. 2601.
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) offered the amendment. Eshoo is of
Assyrian and Armenian descent and is the only Chaldo-Assyrian
Christian in Congress. Iraqi Assyrian and Armenian minorities are two
of several indigenous Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian groups
with long histories in Iraq - histories that, in many cases, predate
the advent of Islam in the nation.
Estimates of the number of Christians in Iraq vary, but the nation
has long had one of the largest Christian populations in the Middle
East. Under Saddam Hussein's regime, they enjoyed a relatively high
level of religious freedom. However, the political instability that
has engulfed Iraq since American forces deposed Hussein in 2003 has
led to an increase in anti-Christian attacks. Christians in Iraq also
have complained of being overlooked as U.S. officials attempt to
rebuild the fractious nation and broker peace deals and power-sharing
agreements among competing factions of Iraqi Muslims.
`If a fully functioning and sustainable democracy is to emerge in
Iraq, the basic rights and needs of all minority groups must be
safeguarded,' Eschoo said while offering the amendment.
Up to 80,000 Iraqi Christians have fled Iraq since Hussein's fall.
`This ongoing exodus is deeply disturbing, and unless action is taken
now to address the pressing needs of these indigenous Christians, we
may well witness the complete loss of the Iraqi indigenous Christian
community,' Eshoo said.
A lack of Christian representation on the committees drafting Iraq's
new constitution has caused additional fears in the Christian
communities there, she added.
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), who represents a large Assyrian
community in central California, supported Eshoo's amendment by
saying he believes the United States has an obligation to `guarantee
that the rights of all Iraqis, particularly women and Christians, are
not overlooked in the constitutional process.'
`Throughout history, the Assyrian people have suffered greatly in
their attempts to obtain greater freedom and recognition,' Cardoza
said. `The Assyrians were essential partners in the Iraqi opposition
movement, and paid dearly with the assassination of many political
leaders under Saddam Hussein's regime. We must make certain that the
ethnic and religious groups that suffered and sacrificed under
Saddam's regime are afforded human-rights guarantees in the permanent
constitution.'
July 29 2005
House amends funding bill to help Iraqi Christians
By Analiz Gonzalez
Associated Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (ABP) - The U.S. House of Representatives has amended a
funding bill in an attempt to focus attention on the postwar plight
of Iraqi Christians.
The amendment, which was added to the Foreign Relations Authorization
Act on a voice vote, also asks the Bush administration to work with
the United States Agency for International Development and use
funding for welfare, education and resettlement of Iraq's Christian
minority.
The House then passed the bill, H.R. 2601.
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) offered the amendment. Eshoo is of
Assyrian and Armenian descent and is the only Chaldo-Assyrian
Christian in Congress. Iraqi Assyrian and Armenian minorities are two
of several indigenous Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian groups
with long histories in Iraq - histories that, in many cases, predate
the advent of Islam in the nation.
Estimates of the number of Christians in Iraq vary, but the nation
has long had one of the largest Christian populations in the Middle
East. Under Saddam Hussein's regime, they enjoyed a relatively high
level of religious freedom. However, the political instability that
has engulfed Iraq since American forces deposed Hussein in 2003 has
led to an increase in anti-Christian attacks. Christians in Iraq also
have complained of being overlooked as U.S. officials attempt to
rebuild the fractious nation and broker peace deals and power-sharing
agreements among competing factions of Iraqi Muslims.
`If a fully functioning and sustainable democracy is to emerge in
Iraq, the basic rights and needs of all minority groups must be
safeguarded,' Eschoo said while offering the amendment.
Up to 80,000 Iraqi Christians have fled Iraq since Hussein's fall.
`This ongoing exodus is deeply disturbing, and unless action is taken
now to address the pressing needs of these indigenous Christians, we
may well witness the complete loss of the Iraqi indigenous Christian
community,' Eshoo said.
A lack of Christian representation on the committees drafting Iraq's
new constitution has caused additional fears in the Christian
communities there, she added.
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), who represents a large Assyrian
community in central California, supported Eshoo's amendment by
saying he believes the United States has an obligation to `guarantee
that the rights of all Iraqis, particularly women and Christians, are
not overlooked in the constitutional process.'
`Throughout history, the Assyrian people have suffered greatly in
their attempts to obtain greater freedom and recognition,' Cardoza
said. `The Assyrians were essential partners in the Iraqi opposition
movement, and paid dearly with the assassination of many political
leaders under Saddam Hussein's regime. We must make certain that the
ethnic and religious groups that suffered and sacrificed under
Saddam's regime are afforded human-rights guarantees in the permanent
constitution.'