Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am gravely concerned about the recent upsurge in attacks against Christians in Iraq including the horrific attack against defenceless worshippers at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad on 31 October. I also condemn unreservedly the deplorable attack on 18 January against an Iraqi police recruitment centre in Tikrit which killed more than 50 people and wounded many more, most of whom were police recruits intent on improving security for all Iraqis. Those who perpetrate such violence are intent on destabilising Iraq as a whole. Ireland, together with the EU, is committed to ensuring that such efforts to fragment and undermine the pluralistic and democratic state of Iraq do not succeed. These attacks are a gruesome aberration from a general trend in recent months of decreasing violence in Iraq and must be stopped.

The formation of a new government in Iraq in December 2010 was an important step in the democratic development of a pluralistic Iraq in which Iraqi Christians, Muslims and people of other religions can peacefully co-exist. I strongly endorse the statement of the EU High Representative Ashton on 21 December welcoming the formation of the new government and pledging the EU's continued support to Iraq in its efforts to reconstruct the country and to build and consolidate its democratic political system. The new government has many challenges ahead, including the pressing need to tackle the continuing violence in Iraq, and respecting and promoting the human rights of all Iraqis regardless of creed or ethnicity.

I call upon the new Iraqi government to take urgent and effective steps against terrorism so that all Iraqis can live in peace and security in their homeland. It is deeply regrettable for Iraq as a whole that its Christian community has decreased significantly in recent years because many Iraqi Christians have felt forced to emigrate from their home country due to fears for their safety. Iraq has had a Christian community since the early days of Christianity. The overall situation of Christian communities in the Middle East may be addressed as part of a wider discussion on the issue of freedom of religion and belief planned for the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 31 January.