Baghdad: With a gesture of “solidarity” towards the “Shiite and Sunni comrades”, the Chaldean patriarchate asks all the churches of Iraq to “raise prayers” during the masses for “the martyrs of Nassiriya, Najaf, Baghdad ”. This is what is stated in a note, sent to AsiaNews, by the office of card Louis Raphael Sako, confirming the attention of Christian leaders to the events that, since October 1st, have caused about 400 deaths and thousands of wounded. A tribute, the message continues, to those who have lost their lives between “demonstrators and security forces” and the hope of “a rapid recovery for the wounded”.
The Chaldean Patriarchate, the note continues, “hopes that this bloodshed” paid “in defense of freedom and the right to live in dignity and security” maybe “seed” of a “solid and radical solution”. The goal, Christian leaders emphasize, is to “build a strong, independent, free and just homeland” in which no one “is wronged” to avoid “slipping into an unknown abyss”.
The new appeal of the Iraqi Church confirms the concern about the violence linked to the anti-government protests, exacerbated in recent days with the assault on the Iranian consulate in Najaf, set on fire, and the harsh response – also in terms of human lives – of the police. An escalation that culminated with the announcement, yesterday afternoon, of the imminent resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, one of the main targets of the protest.
The Prime Minister’s words, which he intends to present in Parliament in the coming days, were followed by festive scenes in Tahrir Square, the heart of the protest in the capital. However, the times of the crisis are not clear and there is no official resignation date. An extraordinary session of the Parliament is scheduled for tomorrow and Mahdi could take the opportunity to remit the mandate, giving the possibility to the deputies to start the procedures for the formation of a new executive. However, in this increasingly dramatic crisis, it is difficult to find certainties. AsiaNews.it
