By SIR
“Iraq must grant equal opportunities to all its religious groups”; “Christians have the same rights as their Sunni or Shiite sisters and brothers”.
Jerzy Buzek, president of the European Parliament, commented the situation of the presence of Christian minorities in the Middle East, in the light of his today’s meeting with a few bishops coming from that part of Asia. “The European Parliament – added the Polish politician – knows the terrible situation of the Christians in Iraq. With horror, we got to know about the terrible loss of human lives caused by the attack on the Cathedral of Baghdad on 31 October. After this atrocity, attacks went on anyway”, against churches, and “both priests and laymen were targeted”, with further victims: Buzek believes there are “fundamentalist elements trying to create sectarian divisions within the Iraqi society, of which Christianity has been an integral part for two millennia”. The president of the Assembly denounces the fact that Christians were forced to escape Iraq as well as other countries "for security reasons". The European Parliament will go on monitoring the situation, said Buzek to bishops visiting Strasburg, and has already “invited Foreign Policy High Commissioner Catherine Ashton to tackle the question as a priority issue”.