Albert Yelda has no difficulty understanding the plight Christians experience in Iraq — he’s a Christian himself.

But Yelda said that despite the troubled situation in his war-torn country, Iraq’s current government is sensitive to the problems facing Christians.

You attended a requiem Mass for Father Ragheed Ganni, a Catholic priest killed by insurgents June 3. He is reported to have said before the United States invaded that Iraq would implode into chaos if the invasion went ahead. Is this what we’re now seeing?

No, I don’t think that is the right description for what is actually happening in Iraq. In Iraq we had 35 years of dictatorship, of oppression, of a family controlling the masses with an iron fist, as well as the mass graves, people killed on a daily basis. But they went unreported.

Unfortunately, the media are not reporting the truth from Iraq. We have unfriendly neighboring countries, they have certain motives and certain agendas, and the agendas are not our own. And they are creating trouble, and we are urging these countries [to stop], without naming any one of them.

But I think the world and the international community are well aware they must do their utmost to help the Iraqi people who have suffered 35 years of a dictator, tyranny, oppression and suppression and persecution on a daily basis.

Now, the situation in Iraq is different. We have a national unity government in which everyone is represented for the first time: Christians, Turkmen, Sunnis.

We cannot stop terrorists and extremists who are funded by foreign elements and by the former regime agents who have billions and billions of Iraqi oil put somewhere in European countries and who are trying to stir up things in Iraq.

What is the Iraqi government doing to protect Christians who are fleeing?

The Christians of Iraq are not strangers to Iraq. They are actually the seed of the land, seed of Mesopotamia. They are a peaceful people who lived side by side with the Arab Kurds, Muslims, Sunnis, Shi’ites, the rest, and on a peaceful basis.

But unfortunately, the same evil people with evil intentions who lost their privileges are trying to commit systematic crimes, not only against Christians. You hear on many days that holy Shi’ite places, or you know, places of worship for all the religious in Iraq, have been attacked and people killed.

But believe me, the Christians of Iraq will not leave their land. It is a temporary measure and ethnic cleansing is happening elsewhere, and not only Christians are targeted.

Obviously as a peaceful, small minority we are very much concerned. The government is very much concerned, and it’s trying to reassure the Christians as well as the others that with time, things will get better, hopefully.

What is the Iraqi government doing at a practical level to help?

Our country is occupied, there are occupation forces, there are 150,000 or more Americans and multinational forces and we greatly appreciate their support and help. We regret their sacrifices, and the sacrifices are for a good cause and that cause is to stabilize Iraq with a strong economy and a very strategic country.

It’s important for the international community and multinational forces and the United States of America to understand that if Iraq remains destabilized and tensions remain — sectarian or other tensions — then the security and the stability of other neighboring countries, even the Gulf states, will be in danger.

So I think what we’re trying to do at the moment is move ahead, step by step. First of all we need to have the reconciliation, and the efforts of my government have stated that everyone who hasn’t committed crimes against Iraqi civilians can join efforts of my government, the Iraqi national unity government, to go ahead, to rebuild Iraq, to have stability in Iraq and peace and security for all, including Christians and others.

What can the Vatican do to help?

I think the Iraqi government, as well as many Islamic and Arab nations, look on the Vatican as a very important state and look to the Holy Father with much respect because whatever the Holy Father says — any declaration that comes out of the Vatican and especially from the Holy Father — the Arab world and Islamic nations do listen very carefully to this statement because most of the Islamic world would like to have a peaceful co-existence with Christianity and other religions.

Hopefully the Holy Father and the Vatican will play the continuous role of bringing together all religions and try to close that gap of difference — close it enough so all of them can sit in peace and discuss the future of mankind as well as to have the same respect of human dignity and human rights among all nations, among all people, regardless of their religion or culture or nationalities.

Edward Pentin writes

from Rome.