With one voice the Iraqi parliament decided Christmas will now also be a national holiday in Iraq.

It was Patriarch Sako who proposed to President Salih on October 17 that a bill should be introduced in parliament to recognize Christmas as a public holiday throughout Iraq.

On this occasion, Salih also reaffirmed his intention to encourage the return of the displaced Christians to their areas of origin in every way possible.

President Salih is a Kurdish engineer who graduated from the UK.