Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BAGHDAD1988
2009-07-23 11:14:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

CHRISTIAN LEADERS DISCUSS JULY 12 CHURCH BOMBINGS

Tags:  KIRF PGOV PTER IZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4540
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1988/01 2041114
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 231114Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4048
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 001988 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2019
TAGS: KIRF PGOV PTER IZ
SUBJECT: CHRISTIAN LEADERS DISCUSS JULY 12 CHURCH BOMBINGS

REF: A. BAGHDAD 1891

B. BAGHDAD 1957

C. BAGHDAD 1890

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Robert Ford for Reason 1.4 (d).

-------
Summary
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 001988

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2019
TAGS: KIRF PGOV PTER IZ
SUBJECT: CHRISTIAN LEADERS DISCUSS JULY 12 CHURCH BOMBINGS

REF: A. BAGHDAD 1891

B. BAGHDAD 1957

C. BAGHDAD 1890

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Robert Ford for Reason 1.4 (d).

--------------
Summary
--------------

1. (C) In the wake of the July 12 church bombings in Baghdad,
we have met with representatives of the four largest churches
in Iraq, including the heads of the Chaldean, Assyrian, and
Syriac Catholic denominations as well as the Christian
endowment and various Christian political leaders to express
U.S. concern and solidarity. Church leaders tell us that the
GOI has increased security around churches since the bombings
and has promised additional financial support. At the same
time, Christian religious leaders emphasize that the recent
bombings are only a symptom of wider issues with regard to
security, unemployment, and discrimination. In turn, we have
stressed our continued commitment to the security and
economic development of Iraq through our assistance programs
to the Iraqi Security Forces and USAID. We have also pledged
to raise with the GOI the need for effective security at
Christian facilities and are exploring ways to establish a
direct liaison between Christian religious leaders and ISF
officials. End summary.

--------------
Latest on The Bombings
--------------


2. (C) On July 12, six churches were bombed in simultaneous
attacks throughout Baghdad resulting in four deaths and over
20 wounded (ref A). On July 13, a bomb also detonated in the
vicinity of a church in Mosul, although it is not clear
whether the attack was directed specifically against the
church as a Shia mosque was also in the vicinity and suffered
greater damage. Church leaders remain unsure of who is
responsible for the bombings and have told us that they find
it strange that no one has claimed responsibility. With
respect to the Baghdad attacks, only one, a car bomb located
at the Church of the Virgin Mary, resulted in casualties.


3. (C) Georges Bakoos, the Prime Minister's Advisor on
Christian Affairs, told Poloff on July 16 that he thought
al-Qaida was responsible for this attack. He also stated
that the MOI investigation into the car bombing revealed that
there was a guard at the church at the time of the attack.

According to Bakoos, the attacker parked his car with the
bomb in front of the church, claimed he had broken down and
told the guard he was going to find a mechanic. Rather than
insist that the driver push his car away from the church or
arrest him, the guard allowed the man to walk away and the
bomb exploded some time later. Bakoos argued that this
showed that security at churches was present, but that it
needed to be better trained to prevent further attacks.
Separately, Bishop Wardouni told the Charge on July 20 that
after the first attack on July 12 against the Church of St.
George, he had contacted the 11th division of the ISF which
has responsibility for security in the area, but that they
could not respond in time to prevent the other bombings.

--------------
Embassy Outreach
--------------


4. (C) Since the attacks, the Embassy has met with Christian
religious leaders to emphasize our strong interest in
ensuring the safety and well being of Iraq's minority
communities. On July 15, Ambassador Hill met with Patriarch
of the Chaldean Church, Cardinal Emmanuel Delly (ref B) and
on July 14, Poloff met with the Patriarch of the Assyrian
Church Mar Addai. On July 20, the Charge hosted a lunch for
group of Christian leaders including Archbishop Matti Matouka
(head of the Syriac Catholic Church),Monsignor Rafael
Qutaymi (Syriac Catholic),Bishop Shlaimon Wardouni (deputy
QQutaymi (Syriac Catholic),Bishop Shlaimon Wardouni (deputy
to the Chaldean Patriarch),Monsignor Nimat Benjamin and
Father Youhanna Ayoub (Syriac Orthodox Church),and Raad
Shammaa, the head of the Christian Endowment. During these
meetings, we have sought to ascertain whether, in the opinion
of Christian leaders, the GOI has taken sufficient steps to
improve security as well as what actions we can take to
assist.

--------------
GOI Response
--------------


5. (C) All of the leaders whom we met confirmed that the GOI
has increased security around churches in Baghdad since July

12. Assyrian Patriach Addai told Poloff that the Christian
community was pleased with the GOI's rapid response to the

BAGHDAD 00001988 002 OF 003


attacks by placing extra guards at churches and increasing
patrols in predominantly Christian neighborhoods. Monsignor
Benjamin told the Charge that the increased presence of ISF
at churches was a mixed blessing. He said that a number of
churches now have humvees parked at the entrances and that
while this may deter some attacks, it may also increase the
likelihood by giving terrorists an opportunity to attack two
targets (Christians and the ISF) at the same time. Benjamin
and the other religious leaders also stated that some of the
ISF guards placed at their churches were making a nuisance of
themselves demanding that the churches provide them with food
and shelter. Christian Endowment Director Shammaa responded
that the Endowment had made clear to the ISF that if they
could not provide for themselves, then the churches would
rather not have them around.


6. (C) Bishop Wardouni confirmed to the Charge that the PM
had met with Cardinal Delly on July 19. Wardouni said that
the PM had promised the Cardinal both greater security and
additional GOI funding to repair and rebuild churches.
Wardouni stated that he had heard the PM make similar
promises in the past, but that he seemed more forceful this
time and had told the Cardinal to liaise with his advisor for
Christian Affairs, Georges Bakoos, to make sure that the
actions taken were satisfactory. Wardouni was clearly
displeased with the PM and wondered why he had waited a week
to make an official statement. (Note: The government's
spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh condemned the attacks on July 13
along with Iraqi Vice President Abdel Mahdi. End note.)


7. (C) In a separate conversation with Poloff, but before the
meeting between the PM and the Cardinal took place, Bakoos
questioned why church leaders never informed him of the
requests that they had made to the GOI so that he could
follow up. Bakoos relayed an argument that he had with
Christian Endowment Director Shammaa over the provision of
extra guards to churches. Shammaa claimed that he had
requested an additional 500 guards from the Council of
Ministers three months prior to the attacks. Bakoos asked
Shammaa why he had not also sent the request to him at the
Prime Minister's office so that he could follow up and stated
that if Shammaa and other Christian leaders continued to make
requests without informing him that it was their own fault
when the requests went unanswered. Poloff undertook to
reiterate this message in future conversations with his
Christian contacts.

--------------
Wider Issues Remain
--------------


8. (C) A common theme throughout the discussions with
Christian leaders was their sense that the July 12 bombings
were a symptom of wider issues that are plaguing their
community. Archbishop Matouka summed up the concerns of the
Christian community as being a lack of security, employment,
and respect from Iraqi Muslims. In particular, the religious
leaders outlined a long list of attacks that had occurred
against their respective churches and clergy. The Charge
acknowledged that security is indeed a concern for the
Christian community, but noted that the Sunni and Shia
communities also suffer at the hands of terrorists and thus
the attacks were not really against only Christians, but
against Iraqis as a whole. The Charge explained that despite
the withdrawal of Coalition Forces from the cities, we
continue to manage a robust training and equipment program
that will increase the capabilities of the ISF. He also
promised to see whether a direct point of contact could be
established within the ISF whom Christian leaders could call
Qestablished within the ISF whom Christian leaders could call
if they had particular security concerns.


9. (C) With respect to employment, Shammaa complained
bitterly that despite its substantial resources the Christian
endowment was hamstrung in its efforts to assist the churches
because of its dearth of employees and because Iraqi law
prevented the endowment from making cash payments to churches
directly (ref C). Shammaa was not certain that the PM's
promise to provide additional economic assistance to
Christian churches would amount to much given these
restrictions. The Charge advised Shammaa and the other
leaders to work directly with the Ministry of Finance to
resolve the problem as this ministry was ultimately
responsible for allowing the endowment to increase its
payroll. The Charge promised that we would raise the issue
directly with Georges Bakoos as well as the Ministry of
Finance through the Economic Section if Shammaa desired. At
the same time, he also outlined the economic assistance that
USAID and the PRTs are providing throughout Iraq that may be
of use to the Christian community.

--------------
A Ray of Hope
--------------

BAGHDAD 00001988 003 OF 003




10. (C) Despite the difficult week that they have endured,
Christian leaders were surprisingly upbeat in their
assessment of their communities' resilience to the latest
attacks. Patriarch Addai told Poloff that he was pleasantly
surprised when a class that his church conducts during the
summer was almost fully attended the day after the bombings.
Bishop Wardouni said that the morning Mass this past Sunday
at his church, which had been the site of the car bomb that
killed four persons, was full although he did notice a slight
drop in attendance at the evening Mass. Monsignors Benjamin
and Qutaymi said that attendance was down slightly at their
respective churches as well, but that the decline was not as
dramatic as it might have been. Benjamin also stated that
"people are more confident now" than they had been in the
past. Even Archbishop Matouka admitted that the level of
violence directed at the Christian church in 2009 was far
lower than in the 2004-2007 timeframe.

--------------
Comment
--------------


11. (C) The latest tragedy represented by the July 12 attacks
on Christian churches has refocused GOI attention on the
security of Iraq's Christian community. The initial analysis
of the attacks reveals that the security structure was in
place to prevent them (i.e. guards were already at churches
and the 11th Division of the ISF was contacted almost
immediately by church leaders) but that it reacted either
improperly (permitting a car to be parked in front of a
church) or could not react fast enough (the coordinated
attacks took place within two hours). The GOI also seems to
be taking the situation seriously through its deployment of
additional ISF to churches and designation of a
representative within the PM's office to liaise with the
Christian community directly to ensure that they assistance
they need is in fact received. We will continue to monitor
the situation to determine whether the GOI follows through on
its commitments and look for ways that we might be able to
assist. End comment.
FORD