Christian exodus from Syria, Iraq to have negative implications for Middle East - Dolgov
MOSCOW. Dec 29 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Ministry Special Representative for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Konstantin Dolgov has expressed his profound concern about the fate of Christians in the Middle East amid the activity of ISIL, a terrorist group outlawed in Russia.
"We are seriously concerned about the future of the 2,000-year-long presence of Christianity in the Middle East, its historical area. Since the beginning of the armed conflict in Syria, the Christian population in the country has reduced from 2.2 million to 1.2 million. Christian holy sites are being attacked, and militants are taking Christian hostages. Orthodox Metropolitan Paul Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim have been held captive since April 2013," Dolgov told the newspaper Izvestia in an interview.
ISIL operations in Iraqi lands have been catastrophic for Iraqi Christians, he said. Dolgov noted that the problems of Iraqi Christians started "much earlier, actually right after the U.S. invasion in 2003."
"During the years since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Christian population of that country has reduced ten-fold, from 1.5 million to 150,000. Entire cities, such as Mosul, have fully lost the Christian presence," Dolgov said.
"The Christian exodus from the Middle East is a process that may have the most negative implications for the structure of Arab societies and preservation of a historical and spiritual legacy significant for all mankind," he said.
"Currently, the Middle East region is facing a critical humanitarian and human rights situation, and this is not an exaggeration. Radicalized extremists follow a misanthropic ideology and subject to mass reprisals everyone who does not share their views, they blow up schools, mosques and churches, they drive people away from their homes, they destroy thousand-year-old holy sites and monuments of history and culture, and they imprison clerics," Dolgov said.
Religious violence has been rapidly rising in Europe, as well, he said. "It is a common opinion of experts that intolerance towards Jews, Muslims, Christians and people of other religions has been rising a lot in the OSCE space in recent years," the Russian Foreign Ministry's representative said.
"For some reason, it has become politically incorrect in a number of Western countries to indicate one's belonging to the Christian religion. People begin to feel embarrassed about Christian values which are the cornerstone of European civilization. Aggressive secularism is gaining strength. Notions of morals and traditional national, cultural and religious identity are being washed out. Cases of vandalism and desecration of churches, cathedrals, holy sites, cemeteries and Christian symbols are growing in number. It is increasingly difficult for believers to openly defend their views," Dolgov said.