AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 001539

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IZ KIRF PGOV PREL SOCI
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS

REF: A. BAGHDAD 1426

B. BAGHDAD 235

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Summary
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1. (SBU) In their first meeting with Ambassador Hill,
Christian religious leaders emphasized that continued
emigration of Iraqi Christians abroad remains their primary
concern. They stressed that, although security remains
worrisome, the motivation behind current departures was
economic, coupled with the allure of living in Europe. The
leaders requested U.S. support in helping to create job
opportunities for Christians in Iraq and assisting in the
reconstruction of schools and hospitals within their
communities. The leaders noted that they are receiving
adequate financial support from the government for their
churches, as well as "moral support" from their Iraqi Muslim
counterparts, including Grand Ayatollah Sistani. Ambassador
Hill told the leaders that he too would defend Iraqi
Christians publicly and encourage Iraqis to as well. End
summary.

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Emigration is the Key Concern
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2. (SBU) On June 9, Ambassador Hill hosted a lunch for
representatives of each of Iraq's largest Christian
denominations, including the Patriarch Mar Addai II of the
Assyrian Church, Bishop Shlaimon Wardouni of the Chaldean
Church, Archbishop Jean Sleiman of the Roman Catholic Church,
Father Pere Thaer of the Syriac Church, and Pastor Maher
Fouad Daoud of the Evangelical Church. (Note: The head of
the Armenian Church, Archbishop Avak Asadourian, was also
invited, but was traveling outside the country. End note.)
The five leaders agreed that the emigration of Iraqi
Christians remains their primary concern. Archbishop Sleiman
characterized the flow of Iraqi Christians abroad as an
"exodus." Bishop Wardouni stated that what had happened
since 2003 was the worst emigration in over 100 years.
Pastor Daoud complained that approximately 85% of his
congregation had gone abroad in the past year.


3. (SBU) In their discussions of emigration, the Christian
leaders agreed that security was only one concern and that it
had improved markedly. Bishop Wardouni noted that the Church
of St. Peter/St. Paul had been restored in the Doura
neighborhood of Baghdad and was drawing more than 150
parishioners for Sunday Mass. Wardouni told the Ambassador
that during the past Sunday's Mass he had performed three
baptisms and 15 First Communions. Although he did not fail
to mention the issue of security, Wardouni said that the lack
of jobs in Iraq, not persecution, was driving Christians to
leave. He complained that Christians could not get
government jobs because the hiring at various ministries was
conducted in a sectarian fashion. Patriarch Addai and Father
Thaer described the problem more broadly, saying that
Christians lacked not only economic opportunities, but also
adequate schools and health facilities. Father Thaer also
emphasized that Iraqi Christians were generally well
educated, but had been forced to take jobs for which they
were over-qualified. (Note: The lack of economic
opportunities for Christians and the impact this has on
emigration was one that religious leaders living in the
Kurdistan region also raised with Poloff in the past month
(REF A). Poloff noted during these conversations the
millions of dollars in U.S. government spending to assist
these minority communities in the areas of education,
infrastructure, and micro-loans. End note.)


4. (SBU) The Iraqi Christian leaders were equally critical of
liberal Western immigration policies, arguing that the
resettlement of Iraqi Christians to Europe and the United
Qresettlement of Iraqi Christians to Europe and the United
States only encouraged more people to leave Iraq in search of
better opportunities abroad. Patriarch Addai told the
Ambassador that he had had a meeting with the German Foreign
Minister in which the FM had proposed to help 10,000 Iraqi
Christians move to Germany. The Patriarch said he had told
the FM not to follow through with the plan, as it would
encourage yet more emigration. Bishop Wardouni was equally
adamant that European countries were only encouraging Iraqi
Christians to look abroad rather than focus on how to improve
the situation in Iraq. All five religious leaders emphasized
that, rather than focus on resettlement, Western countries
should focus on helping to rebuild churches, schools, and
hospitals as well as create job opportunities for Christians.


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Support from the GOI and Sistani?
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5. (SBU) When the Ambassador inquired about how the
Government of Iraq was responding to their concerns,
Patriarch Addai was surprisingly laudatory. He said that the
Assyrian Church does not have any problem with the government
and that the resources provided to the Christian endowment at
the Ministry of Awqaf were sufficient. Bishop Wardouni
praised Prime Minister Maliki's efforts to protect the
Christian community in Mosul last October, saying that his
actions had allowed the Christians displaced by the violence
to return to their homes. He was also happy that the
Christian endowment had been able to provide guards for Babil
College, the lone Christian seminary in Baghdad, and the
"heart" of the city's Christian community. Only Pastor Daoud
of the Evangelical Church dissented from the praise for the
GOI, arguing that the Christian endowment of the Ministry of
Awqaf had placed impossible conditions on his church to be
officially recognized and be able to receive government
support. Specifically, he said that in order to be
recognized, the Evangelical Church had to receive the
agreement of all of the officially recognized Christian
churches in Iraq, something that was not forthcoming.
Daoud's comments led to an argument over what the
e6rnQ%=91 micro-loans, and church restoration.
HILL