Christians attending church in Iraq, Source: REUTERS
ishtartv.com - trunews.com
March
17, 2017
On Friday a bipartisan delegation sent Rex Tillerson and
Nikki Haley a letter warning that ISIS may eradicate Christianity from the
Middle East
(VERO BEACH, FLA) The letter included the signature of its
author, Representative Sean Duffy (R-WI), and that of Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ);
Anna Eshoo (D-CA); Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE); and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
“Christians are at-risk of being wiped away from the lands
where they have lived since the first century,” a copy of the letter provided
to the Washington Free Beacon reads. “They are entitled to justice as much as
the other religious and ethnic minority groups that ISIS targeted for
destruction.”
The letter, which was sent to the offices of Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, requests an update on what
actions the United States has taken to investigate and hold perpetrators
accountable for Christian genocide in the Middle East.
“The U.N. must stop waiting for and relying on the
government of Iraq to approve prosecuting ISIS perpetrators who committed their
crimes in Iraq,” the letter said. “The need for action is urgent.”
The letter quoted the State Departments international
religious freedom annual report, which states that less than 250,000 Christians
remain in Iraq as of 2016. This is down from an estimated 800,000 to 1,400,000
in 2002, prior to the invasion of Iran, and 500,000 in 2013, after the
withdrawal of US troops and the year before ISIS began its genocidal march.
“According to those same reports, in Syria before the
conflict began in 2011, Christians were an estimated eight to 10 percent of the
21 million person population and as of 2015 is considerably lower,” the letter
said.
The lawmakers did note however their encouragement by
President Donald Trump’s comments during the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast,
where he said:
“We have seen a campaign of ISIS and genocide against
Christians…All nations have a moral obligation to speak out against such
violence. All nations have a duty to work together to front it.”
The letter ended with the promise of “strong support” from
Congress, in the efforts of both the State Department and the U.S. diplomatic
mission to the United Nations, to ensure that “ISIS perpetrators are investigated,
tried, and convicted for the genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes
they have committed.”
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A copy of the letter:
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