Rex Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be U.S. secretary of state in Washington. Reuters
ishtartv.com - christiantoday.com
arry Farley , 11
January 2017
Donald
Trump's nominee for secretary of state allegedly "exacerbated" the
already perilous situation of Christians in the Middle East, a top Democrat has
claimed.
Rex
Tillerson, the president-elect's choice for secretary of state, is the former
chief of oil giant Exxon Mobil.
Rep.
Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) accused the ex-tycoon of marginalising Iraqi Christian
communities and acting against the US policy of the time.
In
2011 Exxon Mobil signed a deal with the unofficial Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) prompting fury in both the American and Iraqi government.
But
as well as undercutting governments, Tillerson's deal also threatened the Iraqi
Christian community on the Ninevah Plain, according to Schakowsky.
"The
number of Christians in Iraq has declined from 1.2 million residents in 2003 to
less than 250,000 today," she wrote in a letter to the Forerign Relations
Committee.
"The
deals Mr. Tillerson signed exacerbated an already perilous situation for those
beleaguered communities. He helped further marginalise the
Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Christians and embolden the territorial expansion into
their ancestral homeland ― all with neither consent or input from nor
compensation to the indigenous communities of the Nineveh Plain."
Schakowsky's
letter urged the Senate Foreign Relations committee to quiz Tillerson on the
deal and whether he will promise "to uphold United States policy of
protecting indigenous communities such as the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac
Christians in the Ninevah Plain?"
She
also asked whether Tillerson would, as secretary of state, "protect
vulnerable communities such as those in the Ninevah Plain from private
companies and governments who put profit over human safety and security?"
The
controversial deal caused outrage among US officials because it was signed with
the semi-autonmous Kurdistan region rather the main Iraqi government,
undercutting US foreign policy.
Then
US-ambassador to Iraq, James Jeffrey, "dropped a few F-bombs" when he
learnt of the deal, according to a Reuters report.
The
Kurdish authorities have encroached on the Christian's land on the disputed
Ninevah Plain and subject the local believers to "pervasive discrimination
and marginalization," according to the US Commission on International
Religious Freedom.
Demand
for Action, a charity fighting on behalf of Middle Eastern Christians, have
urged US politicians to press Tillerson on his role in the deal and whether any
compensation was offered to the local villages.
Chief
executive Steve Oshana told Christian Today: "As CEO of ExxonMobil Rex
Tillerson showed a pattern of disregarding American foreign policy and putting
profit ahead of all else. While some may argue this was his duty as a CEO, he
also has a duty as an American.
"As
our nation's top diplomat, if confirmed Mr. Tillerson will be charged with the
Holy task of defending the rights of my people, and we will never waiver in
holding anyone accountable when their actions, whether in the public or private
sector, harms our people in our ancestral homeland."
He
added according to Huffington Post: "Here is a situation where, with the
machinery of an American company, more Assyrian resources are being taken ...
what this action does is it says to our community and the world that our
indigenous rights are secondary to the oil rights of everyone else."
He
said: "We're not trying to stop the confirmation. However, as he's rapidly
going into his role, this is our opportunity to remind Mr. Tillerson that the
actions that he took as a CEO had serious ramifications in marginalizing
Christians, which is a group Donald Trump has vowed to help.
"He's
somebody who has had an active role in marginalising our communities. That's
something people have forgiven [of him] as a CEO, but as secretary of state, he
has to live up to Trump's promise," Oshana said.
"If
[Trump] really cares about helping our people, then this is a slam dunk."
|