Sema
My position on this matter is clear and leaves no room for interpretation:
Anyone, regardless of who they are, their status, position, rank, or affiliation—whether civilian or military, political, religious, or tribal—who calls for the killing or harming of a citizen, or incites attacks against any group of people because of their religion, ethnicity, sect, or identity, must be subject to the rule of law. The judiciary must be the final authority, and the law must be applied when responsibility is established through conclusive legal evidence.
There can be no state where impunity prevails, no genuine citizenship when a citizen’s blood can be treated as expendable, and no true national belonging when incitement against others becomes acceptable or is ignored.
Our responsibility, as statesmen and political and community institutions, is not merely to condemn violence after it occurs, but also to confront its beginnings. Killing does not always begin with a bullet; it can begin with an inciting statement, a hate-filled speech, or a platform that gives legitimacy to targeting others. At some point, words can turn into actions, and innocent people pay the price.
Iraq has experienced this reality in its most brutal forms.
We Christians, like our Ezidi, Kurdish, Turkmen, Shabak, and Muslim brothers and sisters of all denominations, know very well what happens when people are judged based on their identity, when exclusion becomes a culture, and when that culture turns into incitement and eventually into a weapon. Iraq’s memory is filled with tragedies, many of which could have been prevented had the authority of law been stronger than the authority of hatred.
Therefore, protecting social peace is not a political courtesy; it is a constitutional, moral, and national responsibility.
The Iraqi legislature has established legal provisions addressing forms of such conduct. The Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, for example, addresses in Article 200 acts involving the incitement of sectarian or denominational tensions, encouraging conflict between communities and ethnic groups, and stirring hatred and hostility among Iraq’s population. Article 372 also addresses certain forms of public attacks against the beliefs and sacred sites of religious communities. The legal responsibility becomes even more serious when incitement is accompanied by acts that, depending on the circumstances and the judiciary’s legal classification, fall under crimes stipulated by the Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005.
But for me, this issue goes beyond criminal provisions alone.
It concerns the kind of state we want to live in and leave behind for our children and future generations.
We want a state where Christians can live as Christians without fear, Ezidis as Ezidis, Muslims as Muslims, and Kurds, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Syriacs, Armenians, Turkmen, Arabs, Shabaks, Kaka’is, Mandaeans, Baha’is, and every citizen can live with their identity and particularity without feeling that their existence or lives could become targets because of an inciting statement made by someone with a platform, influence, or weapons.
Freedom of expression is protected, and political and intellectual disagreement is a right. Even harsh criticism is part of public life. But incitement to kill is not an opinion; treating a citizen’s blood as expendable is not freedom of expression; and spreading hatred among the components of the country is not legitimate political activity.
From my position in the Kurdistan Regional Government, and from my political responsibility within the Christian coalition, I believe that defending the rights of Christians cannot be separated from defending every citizen’s right to life, dignity, and security. The rights we demand for ourselves must also be defended for others; otherwise, they lose their moral and national meaning.
Therefore, there should be no red lines before justice because of a person’s position, rank, political party, tribe, religious identity, or military status. At the same time, the law must never be used for revenge or settling scores. An independent judiciary must conduct the investigation, evidence must speak for itself, and the law must prevail.
This is the state we want:
A state that does not seek revenge, but holds people accountable.
A state that does not suppress opinions, but prevents incitement to bloodshed.
A state that does not discriminate among its citizens and does not allow anyone to place themselves above the law.
Our country has shed enough blood because of hate speech. Anfal, Simele, Halabja, Surya, Dujail, and Sayfo stand as testimony to this reality.
The time has come to establish an uncompromising national principle: Those who incite hatred must be held accountable. Human dignity is protected. The blood of every citizen is a red line. The law is above everyone, and no one is above the law.