-August deadline for writing a constitution, which Christian groups hope will protect their rights and end persecution against them in the mainly Islamic nation.
The United States and the United Nations have expressed hope that under Talabani, an ethnic Kurd, Iraq will move towards a more peaceful society, which will respect all religions. Human rights groups fear however that Christian groups in Iraq remain vulnerable for attacks by Islamic extremists.
Yet followers of John the Baptist, who the Bible says baptized Jesus and preached the coming of the Messiah, are among those Christians still faced with "growing persecution and threatened annihilation by Islamic extremists in Iraq," said human rights watchdog Jubilee Campaign.
The organization enabled members of that ancient religious community, known as the Mandaeans, to tell of their plight to the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) earlier this week in Geneva.
MANY ATTACKS
"Unfortunately, Iraq’s transition to democracy has given rise to hundreds of attacks and grave human rights abuses by resisting insurgents and radical Islamic clerics," said Layla Al-Roomian, an official of the Mandaeans, the UNHRC, according to a transcript received by BosNewsLife.
"Although the transitional Iraqi government enumerated constitutional guarantees for civil liberties and religious freedom, the rule of law has been disregarded. Insurgent groups have purposely targeted Iraqi religious minorities in an effort to destabilize the foundations of democracy, while the radical clerics in some public fatwas as recent as last week have encouraged their actions," Layla Al-Roomian added.
Human rights watchers say that the Mandaeans, who do not carry weapons by religious belief, have joined thousands of Iraqi Christian refugees who not seek reguge in regional countries like Jordan and Lebanon and as far away as Indonesia and Yemen.
CHRISTIANS KILLED
Those who remain, risk attacks and shooting when visiting churches, BosNewsLife established. Several Christians have been killed and injured, including women refusing to wear a veil and Christian enterpreneurs while others have been threatened and kidnapped. There are only about 750,000 Christians in Iraq, less than 3 percent of the total population, according to estimates.
Muslim militants, including insurgents and remnants of the old regime, see them as supportive of the US-led coalition efforts in Iraq and object to what they regard as the Christian’s Western values.
Despite the dangers however thousands of Christians gathered this week to mourn Pope John Paul II. A Voice Of America (VOA) repotter saw how nearly 1,000 mourners gathered under the late afternoon sun Thursday, April 7, at St. Joseph’s Chaldean church, home to some 2,000 families in Baghdad that follow this branch of the Catholic Church.
MULTI-ETHNIC GOVERNMENT
While Talabani did not mention the plight of Iraqi Christians Friday, April 8, he has made clear he wants to establish a multi-ethnic government. He has promised and the promise to name another longtime foe of ousted leader Saddam Hussein to the prime minister’s post.
Talabani’s newly-formed presidential council quickly named Shi’ite Ibrahim al-Jaafari as interim prime-minister, the country’s most powerful position. Al-Jaafari has two weeks to name his cabinet and the transitional government will then be charged with drafting a permanent constitution to pave the way for fresh elections in December.
President Talabani was elected to the largely ceremonial job of president Wednesday, April 6, with Shiite Adel Abdul-Mahdi and interim President Ghazi al-Yawer, a Sunni Arab, as vice-presidents, a move analyts say is aimed at bringing Iraq a step closer to its first democratically elected government in 50 years.
"MOMENTOUS STEP"
US President George W. Bush has reportedly called Wednesday’s parliamentary session a "momentous step forward in Iraq’s transition to democracy." UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was wouted as saying that he welcomed Talabani’s appointment and the "commitment of Iraq’s new leadership to working toward national unity through peaceful democratic means."
Government officials suggested it was unlikely that Saddam Hussein shared this opinion. He and 11 of his top aides were given the choice of watching a tape of Wednesday’s session where the president was chosen. All chose to do so, Human Rights Minister Bakhtiar Amin said. Saddam watched it by himself in his jail cell, the others saw it later tigether.
"I imagine he was upset," Amin was qouted as saying by The Associated Press (AP) news agency. "He must have realized that the era of his government was over, and that there was no way he was returning to office."
(With: Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife Research, reports from Iraq, Washington and UN).
