Middle East News

Jul 2, 2008, 16:23 GMT

Germany pledges help for Iraqi Christians as bishops visit Berlin

Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier pledged increased German help for Iraqi Christians after meeting Iraqi bishops in Berlin on Wednesday. Steinmeier also said the legal status of Iraqi Christians living in Germany would be reviewed with a view to facilitating the reunification of families. The bishops from the cities of Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk said the lot of Christians in Iraq had 'worsened dramatically' since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Christians were being attacked by extremists and criminals, they said, adding that their main aim was to prevent Christian emigration. The bishops - from the Roman, Syrian Catholic and Chaldean communities - estimated the number of Christians living in Iraq at between 350,000 and 400,000, down from 1.4 million in 1987. The German Foreign Ministry has provided aid amounting to around 12 million dollars over the past two years. Suggestions in Germany that Iraqi Christians should be given priority when granting asylum have run into objections in Germany and the European Union that this would amount to discrimination. Monthly official statistics indicate that Iraqis currently form the largest group seeking asylum in Germany.

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