Iraqi bishop: Western media 'backward-looking'
WorldNetDaily ^ | 7/24/04 | WorldNetDaily
A bishop in Iraq's Chaldean church says the Western media has missed completely the story of the country's successes since the end of the Saddam regime, focusing instead on the "dark side."
"The Western press has been unjust towards Iraq. It has focused only on the dark side, on terrorism, killings, car bombs, the cruel images of decapitation, said Monsignor Rabban Al Qas, Chaldaean bishop of Amadiyah in northern Iraq, according to AsiaNews.
The "backward-looking press," for example, has not shown that "despite the political upheaval, the uncertainties and lack of security, schools reopened. Whether primary, high and secondary schools, or universities, the normal academic year ended as one would expect."
Under Saddam, Qas said, "there was only poverty." But now "the economy is slowly reviving thanks to what the government and the Americans are doing."
"New building sites are opening, new construction is going on. All this in spite of terrorist attacks," he said. "How many people paid in blood their commitment to rebuild Iraq? Italians, Japanese, French, Americans, Koreans ... ."
No one, the bishop continued, "talks about power plants restarting, oil wells reopening, agricultural programs being launched, roads being rebuilt ... that were once filled with potholes."
Qas noted that some in the West have said the violence in Iraq is justified "because it was aimed at the occupiers."
"Unfortunately, ordinary people are the ones who paid a high price, Muslims and Christians working for the Americans or finding themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time when some car explodes," he said.
"The so-called 'resistance' hardly ever kills Americans," Qas continued. "No! Opposition should mean defending the rights of the people, not killing them. If you strike and kill fellow countrymen and women, you are not a resistance fighter, you are but a destroyer, a bearer of death."
Qas points to new liberties Iraqis did not enjoy during the three decades of Saddam's rule.
"What can one say about the press and freedom of the press? There are at least 150 daily newspapers in the country," he said. "And what about demonstrations? Under Saddam, they were banned ... ."
WorldNetDaily ^ | 7/24/04 | WorldNetDaily
A bishop in Iraq's Chaldean church says the Western media has missed completely the story of the country's successes since the end of the Saddam regime, focusing instead on the "dark side."
"The Western press has been unjust towards Iraq. It has focused only on the dark side, on terrorism, killings, car bombs, the cruel images of decapitation, said Monsignor Rabban Al Qas, Chaldaean bishop of Amadiyah in northern Iraq, according to AsiaNews.
The "backward-looking press," for example, has not shown that "despite the political upheaval, the uncertainties and lack of security, schools reopened. Whether primary, high and secondary schools, or universities, the normal academic year ended as one would expect."
Under Saddam, Qas said, "there was only poverty." But now "the economy is slowly reviving thanks to what the government and the Americans are doing."
"New building sites are opening, new construction is going on. All this in spite of terrorist attacks," he said. "How many people paid in blood their commitment to rebuild Iraq? Italians, Japanese, French, Americans, Koreans ... ."
No one, the bishop continued, "talks about power plants restarting, oil wells reopening, agricultural programs being launched, roads being rebuilt ... that were once filled with potholes."
Qas noted that some in the West have said the violence in Iraq is justified "because it was aimed at the occupiers."
"Unfortunately, ordinary people are the ones who paid a high price, Muslims and Christians working for the Americans or finding themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time when some car explodes," he said.
"The so-called 'resistance' hardly ever kills Americans," Qas continued. "No! Opposition should mean defending the rights of the people, not killing them. If you strike and kill fellow countrymen and women, you are not a resistance fighter, you are but a destroyer, a bearer of death."
Qas points to new liberties Iraqis did not enjoy during the three decades of Saddam's rule.
"What can one say about the press and freedom of the press? There are at least 150 daily newspapers in the country," he said. "And what about demonstrations? Under Saddam, they were banned ... ."
