The newspapers issued today, Sunday, 23th of July, paid attention to the foreign affairs procedures regarding the burning of the Holy Qur’an and the Iraqi flag, and followed up on desertification.
Al-Zawraa newspaper, which is published by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, quoted the Ministry’s spokesman, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, as saying, “In practice, we started urgent diplomatic procedures by withdrawing the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq from Sweden, in compliance with the directives of the Prime Minister, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammad Al-Sudani. Also, the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad was directed to leave immediately.” Noting: This directive comes in the context of the meeting held last Thursday morning chaired by the Prime Minister and attended by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Interior, the Chief of Staff of the Army and a number of leaders of the security forces.
He added: As we renew the position of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry with the security of diplomatic missions, protect its crews and the urgent investigation of the event that affected the Swedish embassy in Baghdad from burning and storming and holding the actors accountable in accordance with the Iraqi law by the competent authorities, we point out at the same time that Iraq is now a compass in defending the sanctities and protecting religious symbols due to the repeated systematic act that the Swedish authorities allowed to give the first license to the so -called Silwan Momica who provoked feelings of about two billion Muslims around the world with his act of burning of the Holy Qur’an.
He went on to say: We have followed up with the Ministry of Communications and the Communications and Media Commission regarding Ericsson and some other companies. Indicating: The Iraqi Foreign Ministry is now following up on diplomatic measures to stop trade dealing and any diplomatic exchange with Sweden.
He pointed out: The Swedish embassy in Baghdad received an official notification of its immediate and urgent departure from Iraqi territory, in compliance with all of the above positions of the Iraqi government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the great support for the Prime Minister's decision.
He stressed: The Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to start holding the high-level emergency meeting that we had previously called to confront these racist religious attacks.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the abuse of the Holy Quran and the flag of the Republic of Iraq in front of the Iraqi embassy in Denmark.
The spokesman for the ministry, Ahmed Al -Sahaf, said in a statement: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is condemned in severe and repeated terms, the incident of the abuse that the Holy Quran and the Republic of Iraq are exposed to in front of the Iraqi embassy building in Denmark,” noting that “the ministry confirms its complete commitment to follow up the developments of these heinous facts, which cannot be placed in the context of the right to expression and the freedom of this Acts fuel reactions and put all parties in front of critical situations.
He added, “The ministry calls on the international community to stand urgently and responsibly towards these atrocities that violate social peace and coexistence around the world,” noting that “the ministry expresses the values of the Iraqi state and the morals of its honorable Iraqi people.”
Al-Sabah newspaper followed the issue of desertification and quoted the Agriculture, Water and Marshes Committee in the House of Representatives as saying that 70 % of agricultural lands suffer from desertification as a result of water scarcity, and that Iraq is the fifth country affected by climate change.
Faleh al-Khazali, head of the committee, stated, "Iraq is facing a water crisis due to the decrease in water releases in the Tigris and Euphrates, in addition to Turkey's refusal to implement its agreement with Iraq regarding its share of water releases, since the latter has signed several agreements, including the inclusion of the marshes in the World Heritage List and the common lands of lakes, beaches and rivers, pointing out that Turkey did not take into account the entitlements according to international laws."
He added, "The government is aware of the dangers of the next stage, as Parliament held a conference on climate change, and for its part, the Ministry of Agriculture organized three other conferences in this regard, since Iraq is the fifth country affected by climate change, and this indicates the existence of great risks," stressing "the need for the continuation of the Iraqi negotiator and government endeavors in following up the file with the Turkish side."
Al-Khazali pointed out that "the effects of water scarcity did not only affect agricultural lands, but also negatively affected livestock, whose production decreased during the last three years to 20 %, due to the impact of water scarcity on lands cultivated with animal fodder, in addition to the marsh areas that suffered great buffalo deaths," noting that "7 thousand and 500 buffaloes died in one district two years ago."
He stated that "climate change is a global suffering, and Iraq is the fifth country affected by it," noting that "Iraq, in addition to the great waste it suffers from, does not use modern technologies, unlike neighboring countries that have a surplus of water with optimal use."
Al-Zaman newspaper followed the issue of Patriarch Sacco and said that the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, expressed his condemnation of what he described as inappropriate behavior towards the Chaldean Patriarch of Iraq and the world, Louis Raphael Sacco.
Barzani said in a tweet on Twitter, "We warmly welcome Sacco to Erbil, the capital of peaceful coexistence of all religions and nationalities."
He added (Kurdistan will continue to support the Christians, and we strongly condemn the inappropriate behavior towards the Patriarch in recent times).
Sacco confirmed earlier that there is no legal justification for withdrawing the decree from a religious, national and international symbol recognizing that he is the head of a church and has guardianship over its property.
He said during a conference after his arrival in Erbil from Turkey, affected by the reception and hospitality by the Presidency of the region and the presence of the national and religious Kurdistan, that (the Church is living in a painful circumstance, and this reception gives us strength to stand up to injustice and falsehood)
He added (sad to leave the city of peace, Baghdad, which does not live in peace, and I am somewhat displaced here, carrying a simple bag because of the injustice of the Presidency of the Republic, which represents the protector of the constitution, and which issued a statement without any legal justification in which it withdraws the decree from a religious, national and global symbol recognizing that he is the head of a church and has guardianship over its property, since this tradition has existed since the time of the Abbasids, the Ottomans, and the royal and republican eras)
Stressing that (the President of the Republic now remembers the amendment of the constitution and the withdrawal of this decree from me only, and I do not know what the justifications and reasons are?)
He indicated that he (will remain in the Kurdistan and will return to the seat of the Patriarchate in Baghdad when the new decree of the President of the Republic is withdrawn and the situation, which is 14 centuries old, will return to the way it was./ End
Source: National Iraqi News Agency
