21/07/2022

Former Syriac Member of Iraqi Parliament Sliwa: Peaceful coexistence is a lie promoted by the governments of Erbil and Baghdad

GENEVA, Switzerland — During his speech at the Peaceful Coexistence Conference held at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, former Syriac member of Iraqi Parliament Joseph Sliwa stated that the slogan of peaceful coexistence is a lie promoted by the governments of Erbil and Baghdad.

He highlighted the violation of fundamental human rights of Iraqi Chaldeans–Syriacs–Assyrians throughout the conference.

“In front of the governments of Erbil and Baghdad, who always talk about democracy and peaceful coexistence, the lands of Chaldeans–Syriacs–Assyrians are robbed, their properties are seized, and their political will is stripped,” Sliwa said.

He added that the two governments created groups of some Christian clergy and self-proclaimed representatives of the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people, similar to the previous regime, to embellish the image of the tyrannical authorities against the original owners of this land, whose history dates back to 7,000 B.C.

Sliwa stressed that the actual representatives and political parties of the Chaldeans–Syriacs–Assyrians are persecuted, marginalized, and suppressed economically, politically, and socially.

A falsification of history of peoples of the region is taking place, he said, and it is being taught in the national and regional educational curricula.

“Some religious platforms spread hate speech towards the others,” Sliwa stated. “Because we practice freedom of expression and tell the facts as they are without embellishing on social media, we became subjected to imprisonment, oppression, and lawsuits, myself included.”

“A lawsuit was filed against me because I expressed my opinion through a simple comment via Facebook,” he added.