November 10, 2009
Minorities in Iraq’s north seen as threatened
by Sam Dagher
The New York Times
ERBIL, Iraq -- The policies and tactics of Kurdish authorities could expose minority groups in northern Iraq to "another full-blown human rights catastrophe" unless the minorities receive better protection, according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch.
Members of the minority groups are being singled out by extremist insurgent groups and also are caught in the middle of a struggle for land and resources between Arabs and the central government on one hand and leaders of Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region on the other, said the report, which was released in the Kurdish region's capital, Erbil, and focused on Christians, Shabaks and Yazidis in Nineveh Province.
The extremist attacks have cost many hundreds of lives and, the report notes, "struck at the social infrastructure of minority communities, leaving victims and others fearful to carry on with their everyday lives."
Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said, "When you talk about wiping out a whole community that has been there since antiquity, it's a looming catastrophe."
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