ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Friday welcomed a recent US State Department report which praised the government for taking great measures to ensure religious freedom in the Region.
"The Kurdistan Region has always been a haven of peace and security for all communities," Dindar Zebari, the KRG's coordinator for international advocacy said in a statement to Rudaw English.
In an annual report on international religious freedom in 2021 published on Thursday, the US slammed Iraq for not taking appropriate measures to curb religious persecution but applauded the Kurdistan Region, with the report showing no incidents of violence by sectarian armed groups recorded in the Region.
Zebari highlighted last year's Pope Francis visit to Erbil as a reflection of the Region’s coexistence between the different religious groups.
"After 2005, out of the 111 seats in the Kurdistan parliament, 11 were allocated to the [minority] components, five to the Turkmen, five to the Chaldeans, Assyrians, and Syriacs, and one for the Armenians," Zebari continued as he further detailed the Region's coexistence, adding that the Christians and Turkmen each hold a ministerial position while the parliament secretary is Turkmen.
Christians in the Kurdistan Region are also allowed to apply for the construction of new churches under appropriate guidelines without facing discrimination, according to Zebari, also mentioning the name change of the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs to the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs as another step in promoting coexistence.
The US report also stated that religious groups including Christians and Yazidis have denounced the presence of forces affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as well as Turkish airstrikes, which put locals in danger and prevent the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes.
The KRG official blamed the destabilizing situation in Shingal on "the presence of foreign armed forces," likely referring to the PKK, saying their existence in the region lures Turkish airstrikes and puts the locals in danger of being caught in the crossfire.
Ankara frequently carries out cross-border air and ground operations against the PKK, a Kurdish armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey and designated a terrorist organization by Turkey. The group maintains a presence in the Kurdistan Region's mountains – areas where minority groups like Christians have inhabited for centuries but have been forced to evacuate due to security concerns.
The Iraqi army in April attempted to re-control the Yazidi heartland of Shingal from the PKK-affiliated Shingal Resistance Units (YBS), who controlled parts of Shingal after its invasion by the Islamic State (ISIS). The clashes led to the deaths of an Iraqi soldier and a YBS fighter.
An agreement to normalize the situation in Shingal following the defeat of ISIS was signed between the KRG and the federal government under UN supervision, Zebari said. However, the agreement has failed to materialize due to the presence of "illegitimate forces" in the area.
The normalization agreement, which included the withdrawal of all PKK-affiliated forces from the city, has been rejected by the group and its proxies.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment