PNI Condemns Kidnapping of Members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq
The
Initiative hails vital work of CPT in Iraq and Palestine and calls for the
immediate release of the four hostages without harm
Tom
Fox (54), of America, Norman Kember (74) of Britain, and Canadians James
Lonely (41) and Hameet Singh Sooden (32), in Iraq as part of CPT’s
solidarity work with the Iraqi people, were kidnapped on 27 November. Three
of the men have also spent time in Palestine, working in solidarity with the
Palestinian people and standing against Israel’s ongoing occupation of
Palestine. Tom Fox worked with
the CPT in Hebron, and risked his life in demonstrations against the
construction of the Apartheid Wall in Jayyous by standing in front of
Israeli bulldozers. James Lonely also worked with the CPT in Hebron in 2000.
Hameet Sooden came to Palestine in December 2004 as part of the
International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
He participated in solidarity activities with the Palestinian people
in Nablus and Jenin, and was due to return to Palestine in December 2005 to
continue his work with the ISM. CPT
maintains a permanent presence in Hebron at the request of local activists.
Its work has been, and continues to be of critical importance in
preventing human rights violations and in raising awareness of the problems
faced by Palestinians living in the District.
CPT-ers provide essential protection to ordinary Palestinians, from
school children, to farmers and shepherds, and act as a physical buffer
during the systematic harassment suffered by Palestinians at the hands of Israeli settlers and soldiers.
As such, its members have been the victims of serious physical
assault on several occasions. CPT-ers
also play a key role in documenting and widely publicising human rights
violations carried out by the Israeli army and settlers against Palestinian
civilians. CPT
has been working in a similar capacity in Iraq since 2002.
Prior to the US-led invasion, it supported the UN Weapons Inspection
Program as an alternative to war, worked to expose the injustice and deaths
from US-led economic sanctions, and to raise awareness throughout the world
as to the plight of the Iraqi people. Following
the invasion, CPT-ers acted as human shields, using their bodies to protect
both Iraqi civilians and infrastructure such as hospitals, water treatment
facilities, and electrical plants. They
also act as an alternative information source to that of the mainstream
media “embedded” with occupation forces. Founded in 1984, CPT places violence-reduction teams in crisis situations and militarised areas around the world at the invitation of local peace and human rights workers. It embraces the vision of unarmed intervention waged by committed peacemakers ready to risk injury and death in bold attempts to transform lethal conflict through non-violent responses.
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