US Lawmakers Send Letter Regarding Assyrians to Iraq’s PM

Washington - AINA ++ Congressman Frank Wolf (10th district, Virginia) and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (14th district, California) sent a letter (PDF) to Iraq’s primer minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is in Washington this week to meet Obama. The letter expressed concern over the latest church bombings in Iraq.

In their letter, the lawmakers state:
As co-chairs of the Congressional Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus, we have long been concerned about the plight of Iraq’s ethno-religious communities including the ancient Chaldo-Assyrian Christian community. We have written numerous letters to our own government urginh that there be a comprehensive policy to address the unique needs of these vulnerable minorities. U.S. Ambassador Chris Hill has indicated that the security of the Christian community is one of his paramount concerns, and we hope this attitude signals a willingness to develop a programmatic approach to dealing with this matter...

The letter concludes by saying:
As the U.S. presence in Iraq draws down, the burden for protecting these ancient faith communities rests increasingly with Iraqi forces. Increased security at Christian places of worship and an investigation into who is behind these most recent attacks will send a powerful signal that your government is committed to preserving nad protecting Iraq’s ethno-religious minorities.