His Excellency the Iraqi Ambassador talks to the protestors.
The Iraqi Ambassador meets the protestors.

Iraqi Christians are valued, the Iraqi Ambassador told a group of Christians earlier today.

His Excellency Faik Farik Abdul Aziz Nerweyi crossed Queens Gate in central London to speak with protesters opposite the Iraqi Embassy.

The witness, for Christians in Iraq, was organised by Christian Voice.

The Ambassador pledged to recover all territory lost to Islamic State, and said he was asking the British Government for help.

He said the ancient Assyrian Christian community made a valued contribution to modern Iraq.

His Excellency rejected any idea of negotiation with Islamic State.

‘You cannot negotiate with a wild animal,’ he said. ‘Either you kill it or it kills you.’

Over twenty believers came from around London and from as far as Canterbury, Cheltenham, Manchester, St Leonards, Stevenage, Walsall and west Wales to stand for their brothers and sisters.

HAMMOND WON’T WORK WITH ASSAD

The Iraqi Embassy is in Queen's Gate, London SW7
The Iraqi Embassy is in Queen’s Gate, London SW7

In other developments, UK Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond disappointingly rejected a call from former army chief and committed Christian Lord Dannatt and ex-Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind to work with President Assad of Syria to defeat Islamic State.

Lord Dannatt told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think whether it’s above the counter or below the counter, a conversation has got to be held with him.”

Sir Malcolm, the chairman of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, said history had shown that “sometimes you actually have to make an arrangement with some nasty people in order to get rid of some even nastier ones”.

Christian Voice has held a consistent view that only President Assad stood between Christians in Syria and a blood-bath, that the UK Government was wrong to support the Islamic militants trying to oust him.  Our Government are responsible for a colossal loss of life and property.  They now have a face-saving opportunity to switch sides.

Over twenty Christians came from as far afield as Canterbury, Manchester and Wales to stand for their brothers and sisters.
Over twenty Christians came from all over England and Wales to stand for their brothers and sisters in Iraq.

FRANCE TAKING IRAQI REFUGEES

Iraqi Christians with connections to France are being offered asylum.  About 40 Iraqi Christian refugees flew to Paris from Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan earlier today to be welcomed by Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

The British Government has yet to offer asylum to Christians from either Iraq or Syria.

It could of course be argued that it is better to stay and fight, and we expect Christians in the Qaraqosh Protection Committee and other militias will be of that mind.  But we have to realise that they will return home to nothing.  Buildings will be torched by the retreating forces, fields plundered and livestock slaughtered to feed Islamic State militants.  It will take a massive aid effort to provide for people just to get through this winter, let alone to restock them and help them to get up and running again.

Christian Voice has asked members to pray that the UK Government will respond with aid, arms, air cover and offers of asylum for Christians in Iraq and to contact their members of Parliament.

PERSECUTION ELSEWHERE

We need also to recognise that it is not just Islamic State who are persecuting Christians.  The Christian minority are under intolerable pressure in areas under Iraqi Government control and even in the Kurdish autonomous region.  In a letter delivered to the Ambassador, we have urged the Iraqi Government to safeguard real religious freedom.

Persecution.net reports:

A car bomb targeted believers in Baghdad on Christmas Day 2013.

Canon Andrew White reported that ‘scores’ of Christians were being killed daily in October 2013.

Gunmen opened fire on an Assyrian Church in Baghdad in June 2013.

Christian-owned businesses were burned in December 2011 in the Kurdish region.

Since 2003, the Christian population of Iraq has halved from their number in 1991.

 

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15 COMMENTS

  1. 100% for your message above.
    I prayed for over a year for Assad, because I knew he stood between the slaughter of Christians and keeping the status quo.
    I understand he was an eye surgeon on London but was called to Syria when his brother was killed in a car crash.
    Before the Parliament decision not to aid rebels in Syria I prayed that David Cameron should be ‘confused’ over this issue. He subsequently said we would ‘never’ fight in Syria – meaning send in bombers.

    Now, it seems as in many other things, like a referendum on Europe, he is changing his mind and will break his word.

    Philip Hammond is blatantly wrong to refuse to work with Assad. He was content to allow weapons to be sent to ISIL without making this very public – now they are being used against us.

    Prayer is our part, and is all powerful in the will of God.

    I remembered your vigil at the Iraqi embassy, and God blessed your work. As I said before, it is not the strength of your work which will be blessed, but that you displayed your faith. I also saw the BBC covered your work in last night’s news.

    Praise God for Lord Dannatt. Praise God for the work of Christian Voice.

  2. RT.com is reporting that Assad is well able to deal with ISIS if the culprits who created it would stop arming and supporting it.

    The SUNNI army of ISIS was created by the USA, UK, Israel, Qatar and Saudi Arabia with a view to destabilizing the SHIITE controlled Iran-Syria-Hezbollah crescent in a classic divide and conquer strategy.

    The testimonies of U.S. General Wesley Clark and French Foreign minister Roland Dumas (both on you-tube) provide ample evidence that what started in Syria in 2010 was NOT a civil war but a planned destabilization in which London and Washington played key roles.

    So the best we can do is to force the dismantling of U.S.A.–U.K. foreign policy in the Middle East which has nothing to do with U.S.A.–U.K. national interests and which is instead being driven by the A.I.P.A.C.–NEOCONS–ISRAEL ethnic-lobbying matrix.

    Finally we should remember that both Saddam Hussein and President Assad were secular bulwarks against SUNNI AL QAEDA (which was apparently public enemy No 1 until superseded by the USA–UK created SUNNI army of ISIS) and that both leaders were strongmen and therefore alone had the necessary qualities to stop their ARTIFICIALLY CONSTRUCTED nations from flying apart into ethnic strife. We had no reason to treat them as enemies!

  3. We had a reason to overthrow Sadam Hussein.
    He was withholding information about having any nuclear involvement.
    TV pictures showed streets of the dead bodies of Kurds gassed by his regeime.

    Can we tolerate that behaviour?

    When we were told about Assad gassing rebels in Syria, how did we know? Didn’t the rebels break into munition stores and use the arsenals to fight one another. Did they obtain poisonous gas?

    The technologies and weaponry are created in the West. The West buys oil from the East and the East buys arms from the West and it comes around to bite us. If we did not sell arms and poisonous gas, then Russia or China would manufacture and sell them. It would take a world leader to bring this lucrative and deadly trade to an end.

    Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

  4. Partly in reply to Peter Terrel’s question re Saddam Hussein
    The West seems to be tolerating thousands of refugees, thousands of brutal murders of Christians and other minorities, forced conversions to Islam etc. and daily killings in Bagdad still intermittent water, electricity etc with little or no response in contrast to the major and unnecessary war against Saddam Hussein which left 100000 to 120000 Iraqis civilian dead. (dismissed no doubt by the Americans as “collateral damage”)
    Assad, Gadafi, Hussein and Mubarak did not match up to Blair/Bush/Obama ideas of democracy but kept their countries and peoples in one piece with a reasonable economic life and the conveniences of regular utilities. Only when the bombings and atrocities start in London (not just one brutal murder of a soldier), New York, Paris, etc will the west realize it has opened a Pandora’s box which will be impossible to close.
    Saddams nuclear ambitions were never proved in contrast to Iran’s where the west allows it to proceed apace. The Israelis would have sorted that one any way.
    Talking about Israel – it is vilified for its stand against Hamas (which is worse than Assad, Gadafi, Hussein and Mubarak in terms of atrocities on its own)
    But Hamas = Muslim Brotherhood= ISIS= al Qaeda=Hisbollah= Koran. They all favour a strict, conservative interpretation of Islam.
    The Muslim Brotherhood wrecked Egypt in a year, Hamas has wrecked Gaza, ISIS is wrecking Syria and Iraq but Israel is a “threat to peace in the Middle East” !?
    Draw your own conclusions.

    Come soon Lord Jesus only you can destroy the evil which abounds!

  5. ” Assad, Gadafi, Hussein and Mubarak did not match up to … ideas of democracy but kept their countries and peoples in one piece with a reasonable economic life and the conveniences of regular utilities”. And with no horrific civil war.

    Like it or not, you could add Tito to this list. He was a communist but he did no great harm. It’s a funny old world, as I have remarked before,

  6. To quote Paul Marshall from his article ‘Gladstone or Chamberlain? Our leaders must choose’ (Times, August 25th), ‘Prioritising democracy has been a disaster, from Iraq to Libya to Syria, as it has led the West to topple dictators who were keeping a lid on almost impossible fissures within their national borders’.

    This has got to be one of the USA’s great failings: plant democracy everywhere and all will be well. Perhaps, ironically, this is what has led to world-wise resentment against it.

    Why must this country follow, necessarily, where ‘Uncle Sam’ leads?

  7. Alternative media is now reporting that——alleged USAF plans to bomb ISIS in Syria— are just the latest exercise in Western deceit

    What is really planned is the “accidental” bombing of Syrian government positions and assets so that ISIS can advance and depose the Syrian regime!!

    All that has changed is the alleged pretext to overthrow President Assad—last year it was the (Washington-fabricated) Chemical weapons story whereas this year it is the (Western created) ISIS threat.

    Only President Assad, Russia and China now stand in the way of the Syrian tragedy (190,000 dead) being turned into a blood-bath. The 1st victims will be Christians.

    Hopefully Mr Cameron will finally realize that British foreign policy in the Middle East should be about advancing British interests. What is good for the A.I.P.A.C.-NEOCON matrix is a disaster for the rest of the world.