AMBASSADOR'S JULY 9 MEETING WITH CHALDEAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 002175 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2018 TAGS: KIRF PGOV PHUM PREL IZ SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S JULY 9 MEETING WITH CHALDEAN PATRIARCH CARDINAL DELLY REF: BAGHDAD 1953 BAGHDAD 00002175 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: By Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) . SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Emmanuel Karim Delly thanked the Ambassador for all he has done for Iraqis of all religions. He noted the security situation had perceptibly improved for minorities over the past months, although fear remained pervasive. Delly emphasized the need to focus on the interests of all Iraqis, that Christians do not want special treatment, but only to be considered Iraqis like all others. He deplored the marginalization of Christians, specifically in public sector employment, certain laws that discriminate against Christians, and inadequate public services for villages in the north. Delly praised PM Maliki's statements in support of minorities, but said that concrete action is needed. Delly suggested that the trial and conviction of the alleged kidnapper of the Archbishop of Mosul this year was a charade and that the GOI had not pressed its investigation. As for upcoming provincial elections, Delly believes Christians should be allotted a quota of 3.5 percent of seats, which he claimed would be proportionate to their population. Delly also advocated self-administration for Christian villages, but stressed he did not want to bring about a Christian "ghetto." Delly was critical of U.S. Forces, claiming they had damaged religious facilities during searches and did not intervene when Church properties were vandalized and looted. END SUMMARY. SECURITY IMPROVED, BUT SITUATION STILL DISMAL -------------- ¶2. (C) In a July 9 meeting with the Ambassador, Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Emmanual Karim Delly observed that circumstances for Christians were difficult, but that there was improvement, especially with regard to security. In spite of that, Delly said there was still pervasive fear, which was exacerbated by a lack of economic opportunity, driving people to flee the country. Delly, who was accompanied by his assistant, Bishop Shlaimoon Wardouni, said the time had come to focus on the public interest and not individual interests; the improvement in security had to be accompanied by improvement in services. Throughout the meeting, Delly repeated that Christians wanted to be regarded as Iraqis and wanted to cooperate and work towards an Iraq for all Iraqis. "Religion is for God, but the homeland is for everybody," he said. The Cardinal expressed his gratitude for freedom of worship in Iraq, but he argued there was in reality only limited religious freedom, due to the marginalization of Christians. MARGINALIZATION RESULT OF UNJUST LAWS, CORRUPTION -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Delly believes Christians are emigrating because they are being marginalized. According to Delly, 25 percent of educated Iraqis are Christians, but they are dealt with as though they were "illiterate Iraqis from the Marshlands." Claiming that Christians had been purged from good jobs in two unspecified GOI ministries (he declined to name which ministries),Delly said that whenever an official gets a high government position, he appoints subordinates only from his own religion or political party. He railed against the ceilings limiting the number of Christian doctors in public service. With ebbing work opportunities, the wealthier Christian population had taken flight and was waiting to return. Christian parishioners had once been self-sufficient, Delly suggested, but now the churches needed to organize support networks. Barred from more established trades, many could only count on ad hoc employment, like construction, restaurant work, or selling alcohol. Saying his own vocation was to speak on behalf of beleaguered Iraqi Christians, the Patriarch nonetheless volunteered that many Iraqi Muslims were enduring worse hardships. ¶4. (C) Delly deplored a 1972 law which stipulates that if either partner in a marriage converts to Islam, all children borne of that marriage under the age of 18 automatically become Muslim. Delly claimed that 1,800 such cases exist, adding that minors should keep the religion they were born into and be given the chance to decide whether they want to convert upon reaching the age of 18. (Note: In May 2008, Delly appealed to Minister of Human Rights Wijdan Salim to attempt to get the law repealed. Salim wrote to the Council of Ministers (CoM) in June; the CoM acknowledged her letter this month. Whether further action will be taken remains to be seen. End note.) Delly also referred to a law that BAGHDAD 00002175 002.2 OF 003 requires non-Muslim religious institutions to pay a 10 percent tax on their properties, whereas Muslim religious institutions do not. According to Delly, Minister of Education Khudair Al-Khuzai (Da'wa Party),whom he termed "a fanatic," does not allow Christian teachers to instruct Christian children, and deprives Christian children from receiving religious instruction in school, as do Muslim children. If there is one Muslim child, then Islam must be taught in the school. Let us do the same for Christians, he argued. ¶5. (C) On another legal matter, Delly commented that the May 2008 trial and conviction of the alleged kidnapper of the Archbishop of Mosul, Paulus Faraj Rahho, who died in captivity, was a charade, pointing out that many others must have been involved, but only one man was put on trial and sentenced. POLITICAL REPRESENTATION FOR MINORITIES -------------- ¶6. (C) Cardinal Delly claimed that 3.5 percent of Iraqis were Christian and called for political representation commensurate with their numbers. Delly said he had warned UNAMI SRSG de Mistura that no Christian candidates would win seats in upcoming elections. He appealed for a quota, whether elected or not, suggesting five representatives each for Baghdad and Mosul and two for Basrah. He asked the Ambassador to raise the question with the GoI. (Note: Delly was presumably referring to Provincial Council representation but he did not clarify. End Note.) With regard to the Turkoman and Arab proposal to allocate Kirkuk Provincial Council seats 32-32-32-4 among Kurds, Turkomans, Arabs, and all minorities, Delly complained that such an arrangement would effectively leave Christians with only a single seat. BAGHDAD PREFERABLE TO REMOTE AREAS -------------- ¶7. (C) Delly claimed that one-half of all Christians in Iraq reside in Baghdad, because that is where they have the best chance of finding work. He said that Christian villages in the north lack adequate educational and medical facilities adding that in the village of Tel Kaif, a hospital was built, but not opened. Villages in Ninewa similarly lacked schools and clinics, with women forced to take a taxi to Mosul to give birth in proper conditions. Delly appealed for assistance in assisting these impoverished villages. MALIKI, ELECTIONS, POLITICAL REPRESENTATION -------------- ¶8. (C) Delly praised PM Maliki's May 16 Mosul speech in which he promised to stand by and support Iraq's minorities, but qualified his praise by saying that words needed to be followed by deeds. Delly said that he had had no contact with PM Maliki's new Minorities Committee (reftel),observing that its members were competent individuals, who said the right things in private, but that he doubted they could work together for the benefit of Iraq's minorities, suggesting that the dynamics of the group would prove anti-Christian. SELF-ADMINISTRATION IN THE NORTH -------------- ¶9. (C) Delly advocated self-administration for Christian villages in northern Iraq, stressing, however, that Christians do not want a "ghetto." He remarked that Muslims and Yezidis comprised half the area's population, and he rejected the notion of an autonomous territorial enclave. Delly proposed however, that in places where the population is predominantly Christian, there should be some form of self-administration in local matters, through appointment of local officials, with oversight either by the federal government or governorate authorities. (Note: Delly mentioned Dohuk in the north, but also Karada in Baghdad as areas where there should be some form of local Christian representation. End note.) He argued there needed to be a central mechanism for these Christian representatives, which would then engage with the national government. He then proposed that this grouping be allocated 3 percent of national oil revenues, commensurate with their numbers. Delly believes that KRG Finance Minister Sarkis Aghajan has the political acumen to implement this proposal, and further praised Sarkis for his attention to the needs of Christian communities. COALITION FORCES IN THE DOG HOUSE -------------- ¶10. (C) Both Delly and Wardouni were intermittently critical BAGHDAD 00002175 003.2 OF 003 of Coalition Forces, claiming they had at times damaged religious sites during searches and did not intervene when Church properties were vandalized and looted. At the same time, he insisted CF should not take on the role of protecting Church properties, since this would brand the Christian minorities and CF as "crusaders." Delly related he had had an unfortunate experience at a checkpoint, where he had been stood up against a wall, told to remove his cassock, and subjected to a search. (Note: Cardinal Delly regularly complains about CF, but routinely declines to provide specifics which would allow MNF-I to follow up. End note.) CROCKER