U.S. Iraqi-Christian leaders encouraged by White House

The Obama administration Thursday called on the Iraqi government to employ measures to protect religious minorities under assault from the insurgent extremist group Islamic State in Iraq.

The call came in a statement issued after Deputy National Security Adviser Benjamin Rhodes met with leaders of Iraqi Chaldean and Assyrian groups in the United States, including San Diego businessman Mark Arabo.

“We encourage government officials in Baghdad and Erbil (in northern Iraq) to take all possible measures to assist Iraq’s vulnerable populations,” the statement said.

Activists and observers in Iraq have reported a ferocious campaign against religious minorities waged by the Islamic State, which declared the establishment of a “caliphate” in the lands it controls. The militants, who espouse a puritanical, intolerant brand of Sunni Islam, have instituted strict religious law.

Arabo emerged from the more than two-hour White House session Thursday saying huge strides were made in an effort to speed relief, which includes a call by the advocates to allow more of those facing persecution to come to the U.S. to escape the violence.

“It was a tremendous day for progress and a possible game-changer,” said Arabo, a leading advocate for the Chaldeans and the head of the Neighborhood Market Association in San Diego. “We talked about strategies on how we can assure safe passing of Christians out of Iraq by increasing the regional immigration ceiling and reallocating more to Iraq. This is by far the most promising approach and it gives us some hope that the White House is going to act.”

The White House statement said the issue “demands the continued attention of the international community.”

“The United States continues to urge Iraq’s leaders to form an inclusive government that can address the rights and legitimate concerns of all of Iraq’s diverse communities, including Iraq’s Christians,” the administration said.

Arabo said about 10,000 of 70,000 special U.S. visas issued each year to Middle Easterners are now allocated to Iraq. Thursday’s discussion included suggestions on increasing that number for Iraqi Christians.

The White House gathering came after the Iraqi advocates met earlier in the day with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and had a similar session with Middle East affairs representatives at the State Department.

The high-level talks came one day after the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously approved a resolution sponsored by Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, that expresses an urgent need to protect Iraqi religious minorities from attacks by the Islamic State.

More than 500,000 Iraqis have been displaced since the militant group launched an offensive in the Anbar region several weeks ago, and there are widespread reports its fighters are harassing and killing Iraqi Christians, according Vargas’ office.

“Religious freedom is the cornerstone of any free society and we must do everything in our power to provide immediate protection and humanitarian assistance to Iraqi civilians fleeing persecution,” said Vargas, whose resolution asks the U.S. and the United Nations to help secure safe havens for those claiming amnesty.

It also calls on the new government being formed in Iraq under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to include a special representative for religious minorities.

Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, also urged the Iraqi government take that step.

The ongoing drama in Iraq has captivated San Diego County’s large Chaldean population, estimated at nearly 70,000, with most concentrated in and around El Cajon. Many came here in the wake of the 1990-91 Gulf War and in recent days have told stories of relatives still in Iraq facing Nazi-like attacks, including demands that they pay extortion, convert to Islam or leave and have their passports and identification taken.

There also have been reports of killings and other violent attacks on Chaldeans, leading the U.S. Conference of Bishops this week to urge the administration to provide humanitarian relief.

“The Islamic State has taken control of large swaths of territory in northern Iraq, leaving a trail of destruction, burning and looting ancient churches and mosques, homes and businesses,” said a statement from Bishop Richard Pates, chairman of conference’s committee on international justice and peace.

“I ask the U.S. government to do all that it can to provide this critical assistance to those in desperate straits and to work with other governments in an effort to stop the violence.”

The city of Mosul, an ancient hub for Christianity, has been particularly hard hit by the insurgent group, with the United Nations estimating that just a handful of families remain among an estimated 35,000 people that once lived there. There have been some recent reports that city residents are fighting the militants and trying to defend religious structures.

Arabo said he hopes that the U.S. follows the decision by France this week to take in fleeing Iraqi Christians.

“France is leading the effort to give these folks a chance to live and I hope we follow suit,” he said. “I think President Obama is now a lot more engaged and we are urging the president employ both short-term tactics and long-term strategies. This was the beginning and not the end.”

Arabo also said that House Speaker John Boehner’s office has given assurance that the Vargas-led resolution that was adopted in committee Wednesday will come to the House floor.