suicide attacks and news that a kidnapped Christian politician pleadedfor his life to avoid beheading. Just before the five member delegation arrived in Iraq, transcripts were published of a video message in which the Secretary General of Iraq’s Christian Democratic Party, Minas al-Yousifi, urged the king of Sweden and the Roman Catholic Pope to save his life.
"I appeal to King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Pope John Paul II, the international union of Christian parties and the Association of Muslim Scholars…to work for my release and enable me to complete my national mission," he said.
59-year old Al-Yusufi, who also has Swedish citizenship, was reportedly seized from the northern city of Mosul January 28. His captors are part of the extremist group Martyr al-Isawy Brigades or "Iraqi Vengeance Batallion", whose name was on a black banner behind him in the video.
MULTI MILLION RANSOM
The kidnappers want a $4 million ransom, a timetable for a pullout of United States troops and their replacement by United Nations personnel, news reports said.
The videotape added to concern among Iraq’s roughly 700,000 Christians that they are not welcome in Iraq’s political process, amid fears of growing Islamic extremism and ongoing suicide attacks.
On Saturday, February 19 alone, at least 23 Iraqis were killed dozens wounded in a string of attacks as Iraqi Shi’ites observe Ashura – the holiest day of their religious calendar.
BAGHDAD BOMBING
The deadliest explosion happened on a Baghdad bus, when a suicide bomber boarded and detonated his explosives, news reports said. The Voice of America (VOA) network quoted authorities as saying that at least 17 people were killed and more than 40 injured.
Since Friday, roughly 50 people died in several attacks, blamed on Islamic insurgents opposed to the political changes and the U.S.-led coalition.
Yet Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was part of the delegation, suggested the kidnapping and a string of attacks would fail attempts to sow sectarian strife and destabilize the country. She said she was "cautious" optimistic about the future.
CHALLENGES AHEAD
"Cautious because there are so many challenges ahead," she said. "Cautious because there are neighbors of Iraq that are not necessarily enthusiastic about the success of the Iraqi people in creating and sustaining a multi-ethnic, multi-religious democracy. But optimistic, because the results of the election are a strong rebuke to those who didn’t believe the Iraqi people would take this opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to their own future."
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said U.S. troops would remain in Iraq until the job is done.
"Not one minute longer, not one minute less," he said. "And what is the job? The ability of this country to have the capacity to maintain its freedom. That just doesn’t mean numbers [of people] with guns, it means institutions that work."
FAMILY FRIGHTENED
Al-Yusufi’s family back in Sweden, which is home to about 60,000 Iraqis and where he sought asylum 20 years ago, seemed to have little faith in the international community and complained about their country’s alleged indifference. "If his name were Kalle Svensson it would have been on the cover of lots of Swedish newspapers today," his son Avin, one of al-Yusufi’s five children, reportedly said at the family home in southern Sweden.
"We’re frightened about what could happen," the Reuters news agency quoted him as saying. "It’s shocking. You don’t want to see your father in a situation like that," daughter Nalin said. His family said that in contrast Italy was in uproar over the kidnapping of a woman journalist.
(With: Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife News Center, reports from Iraq and Sweden).
