On the anniversary of the International Day for Tolerance, and at a time when MASARAT Foundation for Cultural and Media Development proved, since its inception, its devotion to the values of the civil state and the protection of diversity and fostering diversity-based citizenship, the Foundation continues to suffer from inconvenience and impediments as its members and activists have been recently threatened of assassination, and the threat has been accompanied by a call to halt its activities.
Condemning these gross and illegal acts, we indicate that such threats of killing are not new as the Foundation suffered in the current year from two cases of robbery of its archive and possessions. In this context, we hold the security and legal authorities responsible for providing security and protection to the personnel of MASARAT Foundation. We also warn of using the respectable names in the country to threaten and blackmail human rights defenders and to achieve ignoble ends.
We stress that MASARAT Foundation will remain one of the pillars of civil society, and the most prominent defender of religious, ethnic and linguistic diversity in Iraq because such diversity is a permanent wealth for Iraq. We also declare that the Foundation will continue its work with full faith and steadfastness.
MASARAT Foundation for Cultural and Media Development
16 November 2017
