The tragedy suffered on a daily basis by the Iraqi people “demands that the churches continue not only to assist and support the victims of this disastrous war, but also to speak on their behalf and to redouble intervention for peace with governments and with intergovernmental bodies”, said Pastor Samuel Kobia, WCC secretary general of the WCC (World Council of Churches), on the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Kobia deplored “the carnage and destruction” caused by “this tragic conflict”. Expressing satisfaction for “growing opposition to the war throughout the world”, he called on WCC member churches “to pray and intercede on behalf of the people of Iraq, before God, that the war forced upon them may come to an end and that peace with justice and dignity may prevail for all the people of Iraq”. “At the present time – continued the WCC secretary – Iraq is a prey to grave disorders” and seems to be heading towards a fragmentation that would cause even greater chaos. Kobia thus hopes for “a federal system of governance that meets the aspirations of the three communities” – Sunnis, Shias and Kurds – to avoid “chaos, confusion and blood-letting even worse that what we witness at present” and “arrive at an equitable and just formula of power-sharing”.
