Unified European Solidarity with Persecuted Christians

The terror group Al-Shabaab murdered nearly 150 Christian students and employees at the Garissa University in Kenya in early April. As one of the sponsors of the resolution, György Hölvényi recalled that today the persecution of Christians is a specific phenomenon. Christianity, suffering 150,000 victims annually, has become the most threatened religious group in the world. The MEP warned that European solidarity towards persecuted Christians cannot be a question of ideological debates, as supporting them is a fundamental human rights issue. “We Europeans have to show unity, making it clear for them that they are not alone in their struggles,” György Hölvényi stated.
 
Regarding the EU’s credibility, the MEP called the adoption of the joint resolution the single biggest advance in recent months. He added that it is a joint victory that they reached a unified position among the parliamentary groups, following a long process of negotiation and reconsideration of standpoints, on the persecution of Christians being a specific phenomenon.
 
The EP also adopted a resolution condemning the destruction carried out by the Islamic State at World Heritage sites in the Middle East. György Hölvényi commented that this unprecedented cultural cleansing is part of the persecution of Christians in Iraq and Syria, aiming to eliminate entirely a 2000 year-old, indigenous community in the 21st century and threatening ethnic groups that are a part of Europe’s cultural community.