by Nicola Comparato
Tension remains alive in Iraq, a country split between sovereignists, eager for a state centered on rights, the value of institutions and justice, and “individualists”, interested only in making their social influence stronger and willing to unleash chaos to get it. Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Chaldean patriarch of Baghdad, describes the current situation in these, who on the eve of the feast of the Assumption denounced the battle for the survival of the Iraqi Christian community with heavy words.
A few weeks ago the headquarters of the patriarchate of Baghdad was temporarily transferred to the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan, to Erbil, which the Patriarch himself described as a safe and dignified place, following the annulment of the decree which recognizes its role and authority from part of the President of the Republic Abdul Latif Rashid.
A political, violent and discriminatory act, according to Patriarch Sako, who decided to transfer the headquarters in protest against the state. But among the protagonists in this affair there is also the name of the Christian leader of the armed group “Movimento Babilonia”, Rayan the Chaldean, supported by pro-Iranian militias made up of Christians, Shiites and Sunnis, who are considered a threat to the stability of the village.
The questionable Rayan the Chaldean, protagonist of controversial episodes over the years, was in the past engaged in the front line in the fight against the Islamic State, and over time he has established himself more and more in the country on a political and economic level. The intentions of the Chaldean are very clear to the patriarch, who has publicly declared that Rayan with his armed group wants to form an autonomous region. The Babylon movement is to all intents and purposes a Shiite militia and currently has the Ministry of Immigration and four deputies. The Chaldean also accused the patriarch of having stolen numerous assets from the Church and of having appropriated millions of dollars, which were then transferred to a secret account in Canada. No evidence about it, but on balance this turns out to be a real attempt to destabilize the Christian Church in Iraq.
In addition to this, tensions are also feared in Iraqi Kurdistan, but the worst threat is seen from the friendship between Rayan the Chaldean and Israel, especially after his alleged visit to Tel Aviv. Again according to Patriarch Sako, who recently floated the idea of wanting to boycott the next elections, President Rashid’s annulment of the decree is to be linked to alleged flatterers who tricked him with deceit and pressure of various kinds to take this decision. On balance, there is no trace of “surprise” decision-making power in the Iraqi constitution regarding any revocation or annulment of decrees. Chronologically, these events in Iraq are happening exactly nine years after the flight from Mosul and the Nineveh plain to Iraqi Kurdistan due to the advance of the Islamic State. It was August 2014 when the ISIS jihadists conquered much of the north of the nation.
