Last month, Archbishop Asadourian was in Amman, Jordan, to address the World Council of Churches at its international conference 'Churches together for peace and justice in the Middle East'.
Below is Archbishop Asadourian's blunt and open account of the situation in Iraq, described in an interview with the World Council of Churches' Juan Michel.
Why did Baghdad's church leaders establish this council?
To take care of our faithful in these difficult times and to keep in touch with other Christian bodies. The council presents the needs of our people to humanitarian organisations and channels their help.
What is the situation of Iraqi Christians today?
The situation is the same for all Iraqis, Christians or Muslims, and it is a tragic one. Bullets do not discriminate between religions. Every day terrorist attacks are targeting people who could be the cornerstone of a new Iraq: professionals, physicians, and engineers. And this is resulting in an across-the-board brain drain, which is a shame since it takes decades to train qualified people.
Are Christians being targeted because of their religion?
Not as such, except lately when Christians living in a certain area of Baghdad have been ordered to leave or be killed. The violence is targeting everyone in the same way. Of course, in a context of complete lawlessness, some thugs do whatever they want. They can threaten you, kidnap or kill you.The situation is the same for all Iraqis, Christians or Muslims, and it is a tragic one.
Archbishop Avak Asadourian
Recently, two Christian priests, one Orthodox and the other Chaldean, were killed. In my church, 27 members have died because of the violence since 2003. Although not personally targeted, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Another 23 members have been kidnapped. Since many Christians are relatively well off, they become targets for possible ransom, just like well-off Muslims do.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, some 1.2 million people have fled Iraq since the start of last year. What about the Iraqi Christians?
Before the war, Christians made up some 7 to 8 per cent of the population. Today, they are 3-4 per cent. Christians are also moving north within the country, to relatively safer areas. The churches are emptying. In my own church, we used to have some 600 to 700 faithful worshipping every Sunday. Today, they are 100 to 150. The reasons are several: they might be afraid of going out, but they also might simply not have petrol in their cars - queues at gas stations are three to five kilometres long - or they might have moved out of Baghdad.
