00472: [Fwd: URGENT ACTION PETITION FOR RELEASE OF PEACE ACTIVISTS MISSING IN IRAQ]
From:
"M. Kolar" <wddm(at)mkolar.org>
Date:
Sat, 03 Dec 2005 21:06:04 -0700
Subject:
[Fwd: URGENT ACTION PETITION FOR RELEASE OF PEACE ACTIVISTS MISSING IN IRAQ]
Hi,
I apologize for forwarding this to you, it is not exactly DD (WDDM)
business, but it's a good cause, and it might help:
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: URGENT ACTION PETITION FOR RELEASE OF PEACE ACTIVISTS MISSING
IN IRAQ
Date: Sat, 03 Dec 2005 14:35:58 -0700
From: Julie Hrdlicka <candil(at)shaw.ca>
Organization: CANDIL- Canada Democracy and International Law
Friends please pass this petition far and wide- in less than 24 hours
5000 have signed the petition- please keep the momentum going and
continue sending your prayers and thoughts of hope and peace for those
missing in iraq and the hosts they are with.
In Solidarity,
Julie
SIGN THE URGENT APPEAL: PLEASE RELEASE OUR FRIENDS IN IRAQ
Four members of Christian Peacemaker Teams were taken this
past Saturday, November 26, in Baghdad, Iraq. They are not
spies, nor do they work in the service of any government.
They are people who have dedicated their lives to fighting
against war and have clearly and publicly opposed the
invasion and occupation of Iraq. They are people of faith,
but they are not missionaries. They have deep respect for
the Islamic faith and for the right of Iraqis to
self-determination.
C.P.T. first came to Iraq in October 2002 to oppose the US
invasion, and it has remained in the country throughout
the occupation in solidarity with the Iraqi people. The
group has been invaluable in alerting the world to many of
the horrors facing Iraqis detained in US-run prisons and
detention centers. C.P.T. was among the first to document
the torture occurring at the Abu Ghraib prison, long
before the story broke in the mainstream press. Its
members have spent countless hours interviewing Iraqis
about abuse and torture suffered at the hands of US forces
and have disseminated this information internationally.
Each of the four C.P.T. members being held in Iraq has
dedicated his life to resisting the darkness and misery of
war and occupation. Convinced that it is not enough to
oppose the war from the safety of their homes, they made
the difficult decision to go to Iraq, knowing that the
climate of mistrust created by foreign occupation meant
that they could be mistaken for spies or missionaries.
They went there with a simple purpose: to bear witness to
injustice and to embody a different kind of relationship
between cultures and faiths. Members of C.P.T. willingly
undertook the risks of living among Iraqis, in a common
neighborhood outside of the infamous Green Zone. They
sought no protection from weapons or armed guards,
trusting in, and benefiting from, the goodwill of the
Iraqi people. Acts of kindness and hospitality from Iraqis
were innumerable and ensured the C.P.T. members safety
and wellbeing. We believe that spirit will prevail in the
current situation.
We appeal to those holding these activists to release them
unharmed so that they may continue their vital work as
witnesses and peacemakers.
Signed,**
* Arundhati Roy, author, The God of Small Things
* Tariq Ali, author, Bush in Babylon
* Denis Halliday, former U.N. Assistant Secretary General
and Head of the U.N. Humanitarian Program in Iraq
(1997-1998)
* Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan
* Noam Chomsky, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
* Haifa Zangana, Iraqi novelist
* Kamil Mahdi, Iraqi economist and anti-occupation
activist. Lecturer, University of Exeter
* Mahmood Mamdani, "Herbert Lehman Professor of
Government," Columbia University
* Rashid Khalidi, "Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies,"
Middle East Institute, Columbia University
* Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of Rachel Corrie, killed
by Israeli military
* Hasan Abu Nimah, Permanent Representative of Jordan at
the United Nations (1995-2000)
* Ralph Nader, former independent presidential candidate
* James Abourezk, former US Senator
* Howard Zinn, historian
* Naseer Aruri, Professor (Emeritus) University of
Massachusetts Dartmouth
* Kathy Kelly, Voices for Creative Nonviolence/Nobel Peace
Prize Nominee
* Naomi Klein, author/journalist
* Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional
Rights
* Rev. Daniel Berrigan, poet
* Jeremy Scahill, independent journalist
* Mazin Qumsiyeh, author, Sharing the Land Of Canaan,
board member US Campaign to End the Occupation
* Milan Rai, author, War Plan Iraq: Ten Reasons Against
War on Iraq
* Sam Husseini, writer
* Dahr Jamail, independent journalist
* Ali Abunimah, Co-founder, Electronic Iraq/The Electronic Intifada