Erbil (AsiaNews) – Recently, a Christian cemetery was desecrated in Harmota, a village in Koya District, Iraqi Kurdistan, with headstones smashed and graves broken into. So far nothing is known as who the perpetrators might be.
Following the incident, the Chaldean Patriarchate issued a statement strongly condemning the sacrilegious act against Iraqi Christians. It was signed by Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, and sent to AsiaNews.
In it, the head of the Chaldean Church slammed “the attack on the Christian cemetery”, noting that such a “criminal attack on the dead is morally and religiously unacceptable."
"We Christians have already paid a high price for conflicts in which we are not involved,” reads the statement. “We demand that Kurdistan regional authorities conduct a thorough and professional investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice, so that they receive their just punishment.”
Patriarch Sako's call for justice joins the chorus of indignation and condemnation of the attack on a sacred site, in an area where Christians and mostly Kurdish Muslims have lived peacefully.
In recent weeks, the Iraqi Kurdistan region has seen attacks and violence, from rockets fired at the Khor Mor gas field to protests forcibly quelled in the Erbil area, which resulted in several casualties.
“We want to assure Christians," the statement from the Chaldean Patriarchate adds, "that they are protected and safe; otherwise, a new wave of emigration will begin.”
More than a hundred Christian families live in Harmota and approximately 60 in the centre of Koya, for a total of over 700 people.
Harmota represents approximately 9 per cent of Koya's population; the district has two churches, the largest of which is Maryam Pakiza.
"We have faith that the regional government will deliver justice and punish those behind this heinous crime,” Cardinal Sako says at the end of the statement.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has also condemned the desecration of at least a dozen tombs in the Christian cemetery in Harmota, Koya District, in the eastern province of Erbil, which sparked anger and indignation among local Christians.
At present, there is no information about who was carried out the attack and why.
The office of KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani released a statement condemning a "destructive and inappropriate act" against "our Christian brothers and sisters”. The statement goes on to say that "necessary investigations” will be launched “to identify and punish the perpetrators.”
Meanwhile, dismay and concern are spreading among the local Christian population.
“A large number of graves have been vandalized, some with hammers, others with different tools, and several graves were left uncovered,” said Hawzhin Silewa, a Christian community member and lecturer at Koya University, speaking to Rudaw, a Kurdish media outlet.
Given the extent of the damage, it was likely carried out by more than one person. “We do not know who did this or why,” he added.
After the attack, some community representatives gathered at the cemetery to express their outrage. They are not alone. The attack prompted widespread condemnation from religious, political, and civic leaders and groups.
The Assyrian Democratic Movement (ZOWAA) said that attack represents “a new link in a chain of similar incidents that Christian cemeteries and sacred sites have faced in recent years in several areas of the region, including Shaqlawa, Tel Keppe, Zakho, and Simele.”
The group added that such acts reflect extremist ideas hostile to religious and ethnic diversity and undermine the very foundations of civil peace in the region.
In fact, the Khor Mor gas field in Sulaymaniyah, also in Kurdistan, came under attack as well, triggering a power outage and subsequent damage to vital structures in the region, raising deep concern, as well as causing serious inconvenience to civilians.
For Cardinal Sako, commenting on this incident, “These senseless attacks and these demonstrations of force only complicate the situation in Iraq and do not solve the problems.”
The Khor Mor gas field is the main source of liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas used for electricity generation in the Kurdistan Region.
According to Ministry of Electricity spokesperson Omid Ahmad, the overnight attack on 26 November cut power output by 80 per cent.
The field, located in Chamchamal District, is operated by Pearl Petroleum, a consortium of Dana Gas and Crescent, which is based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
