Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq, His Excellency Mouayed Saleh, who gave a briefing to parliamentarians in this place on Tuesday in which he raised, obviously, his concerns on the current situation in Iraq and the advance of ISIS fighters. The ambassador also informed us that, despite the conflict in Iraq at the moment, that the will of Iraqi people—whether they be Sunni, Shiite or Christian—is patriotic and committed to the unification of their country. It is something that we, as friends of Iraq, need to be cognisant of.

This will of unity and support for Iraq was also reaffirmed to me by my own constituents. I have spoken many times in the House about the very large Iraqi constituency that I have in my electorate of Calwell, who came here under the humanitarian program. They are predominantly Christians of Chaldean and Assyrian faith. They too are very anxious and deeply concerned about the recent events and destabilisation in Iraq.

My constituents, as I said, have come here as a result of the two previous wars in Iraq and they still have family in the region, whether in Iraq or in refugee camps in the region. Being a Christian minority, they have endured persecution and they are often caught up in the interfaith wars and clashes in Iraq, particularly between the Sunni and the Shiah. I would like to quote from the letter that they have written to me because I think it is very important for this House to understand the concerns of people living in Australia. The Australian Chaldean Federation of Victoria/Australia writes:

We, the Chaldean community organisations of Calwell, believe in a united democratic federal Iraq where all ethnic communities and religions live side by side in harmony and with integrity, a country where we are able to practice our traditions and beliefs without any sectarian or ethnic division.

However, this is not the Iraq that we see today. We send a message of hope to save and protect all the Iraqi civilians, including the minority Christians, which all they want is to live with peace and integrity.

We have great concerns about the recent attack against the Iraqi peoples. No sectarian or ethnic group is safe; they are all exposed to the endangerment presented by the terrorists.

They go on to say:

There is nothing left for us to do except to unite as one strong voice, this includes and not limited to different government parties, civil society organisations and the general public. As one, we ask for your sincere support in reconciliation and the denouncement of all forms of violence and religious intolerance and forced migration.