ICC Note:

As Kurdish leaders begin pursuing steps to make them independent of Iraq, they are reassuring Christians that they will be protected if Kurdistan gains independence. Thousands of Christians have fled to the Kurdish region in the wake of ISIS and found relative safety. The Kurdish leader said an independent Kurdistan wants to protect all religions so “social harmony” can continue.              

08/09/2017 Iraq (Christian Today) –  The Iraqi Kurdish leader has sought to assure Christians in the region that they will be protected in the wake of the independence referendum coming on September 25.

Masud Barzani said that as Kurdistan ‘is taking steps towards independence, the needs and the rights of our Christian brothers and sisters will be protected at all levels, and so brotherhood and social harmony in Kurdistan will be strengthened,’ according to the news agency Fides.

The comments come after Barzani, who is president of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), announced the forthcoming vote in June. According to Fides: ‘Clearly Barzani’s intention is to gain the support of the Christians in those territories for the proclamation of the independence of Kurdistan.’

On Sunday, Barzani issued a statement saying: ‘The sole medicine for all our suffering and the only guarantee that these disaster do not happen again, is to walk towards independence.’

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