They are killing Christian and Muslim workers alike, they are just terrorists, Baghdad nuncio says
In the midst of mayhem elections are an essential element to bring stability.
Baghdad (AsiaNews) "They were just ordinary workers," Mgr Fernando Filoni, apostolic nuncio to Iraq, said with sadness in his voice. "They had been threatened several times before and yet they went on doing their job knowing that they were taking risks."
"They" . . . were seven Iraqi Christians killed in an ambush on Saturday October 2 at the end of their day of work. They died murdered with the Muslim driver of the van that took them to and fro work, and his son.
In an interview with AsiaNews the nuncio stressed that the dead "were ordinary working class people who had to work to feed their families, [victims of a strategy] that increasingly targets ordinary and defenceless people".
It is a worrying sign that ordinary working class people are now being targeted . . .
"It is one of the many contradictions in today's Iraq . . . No one is spared from violence and atrocities.
Why call these people 'fighters" or 'insurgents' when they are clearly nothing but common criminals?
"Well! It depends on one's point of view. This said; it is clear that whoever attacks ordinary workers and citizens cannot be called a fighter. The acts such people commit are plain terrorism. They do not constitute an opposition to armed troops or enemy soldiers . . . Their deeds are just awful crimes.
It is the clear that in the last few weeks the conflict is escalating, especially in the Sunni triangle.
Unfortunately, not only there. Clashes are taking place in the north, in Mosul, and in other parts of the country . . . The triangle gets most of the attention, but it is certainly not the only high risk area.
Could the situation disrupt the January elections or prevent them from having a normal course?
One can never use the term normal in today's Iraq, because no one knows what's normal in the country. Of course, we hope that one day the country will be able to express itself in a free and fair way. This is essential to start a phase in which things settle down and the situation becomes more stable.
A process of normalisation cannot happen without the involvement of the United Nations . . .
That is a touchy issue. There is no magic solution to the problems Iraqi face . . . their reality is too complex and many-sided.
There are still other signals that are worrisome: the attacks against the Italian battalion in Nassirya for example . . . What is the current situation for Christians in Iraq today?
Christians are the only ones affected by violence. In the attack that killed seven Christian workers two Muslims father and son died. It's a situation where tensions are boiling over into a generalised conflict and Christians are not its sole victims. Daily news bulletins tell stories of violence, but many equally bad stories go unreported. It's mayhem.
It is therefore important to stress that there is no religious conflict in Iraq, but a power struggle.
There are groups prepared to use armed force and violence to oppose the current government, coalition troops and all those whose views do not coincide with theirs. They do not seek and do not accept dialogue and interaction with others . . . Their goal is chaos in the country. (DS)
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