On Sunday, September 28, crowds of Christians protested after church services in the northern city of Mosul against a parliamentary decision to stop setting aside seats for minorities on provincial councils.
Last week, Iraq’s parliament passed controversial legislation setting a January 31 deadline for elections in 14 provinces, excluding the three Kurdish provinces and the disputed oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
Christian leaders said the legislation failed to represent the interests of the minority community as it does not guarantee their representation in the councils that would be formed after the vote.
SHOUTING SLOGANS
Protestors were seen shouting slogans against Baghdad’s Shiite-led government and against the law in the town of Al-Kosh near the restive northern city of Mosul, carrying Iraqi flags and banners that said "No! No! to dictatorship".
Christians believe more political representation will help ease tensions following years of attacks by Muslim militants, in which church leaders and other Christians have been killed.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki therefore urged the election commission to ensure that the rights of minority communities are protected in the law. "We are committed to guarantee a fair representation of all Iraqi components and defend their rights," he said in a published statement issued by his office.
MANY FLEE
Most of Iraq’s pre-war 750,000 strong Christian population are believed to have fled the ongoing violence, and many stay in neighboring countries Jordan and Syria.
In one of the latest incidents in Baghdad, a series of explosions struck mostly Shiite areas, killing at least 32 people and wounding nearly 100, police said Sunday, September 28. Observers said the attacks appeared aimed at reviving sectarian tensions that once threatened to plunge the nation into civil war.
Sixty percent of Iraq’s 27 million people are Shiite Muslims with Sunni Arabs and Kurds accounting for most of the remaining 40 percent, according to estimates.
