[amc] Calls grow to free CPT hostages
- From: "Ray Gingerich" <RGingerich@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Austin Mennonite Church" <amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 17 Dec 2005 12:24:29 -0600
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Calls grow to free Iraq hostages
Tuesday 13 December 2005, 16:24 Makka Time, 13:24 GMT
Palestinians are demanding that the hostages be freed
Related:
Iraq shuts down for Thursday's vote
No word on Iraq hostages
Iraq hostage deadline extended
Iraq hostage calls for UK troop pullout
Wife appeals for hostage release
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Supporters and well-wishers from around the globe have appealed for
the release of four Christian activists held hostage in Iraq, with Muslim
groups and relatives reiterating that the four supported the Iraqi people.
The previously unknown Swords of Righteousness Brigade, which
kidnapped the four men from the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) on 26 November
in Baghdad, said the hostages would be killed unless the UK and the US released
all prisoners in Iraq.
The four hostages are Norman Kember, 74, of London; Tom Fox, 54, of
Clear Brook, Virginia; and Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden,
32.
The captors' last deadline expired on Saturday.
Inundated
Aljazeera.net has been inundated with emails and phone calls urging
the release of the hostages, adding to the chorus of appeals from prominent
Muslim leaders and organisations backed by relatives, friends and well-wishers.
A US citizen wrote to Aljazeera.net saying: "Please let the
kidnappers know that there are millions in the West who oppose the US
occupation of Iraq and that the four Christian peacemakers are among them.
"Harming the peacemakers will not help advance the cause of
justice. We are working to get the US out of Iraq."
A British reader said: "I am so sad that the Iraqi group are
holding those who were there to help them. I would like to beg you to please
free them. Please let them go.
Echoing the sentiment, a reader in the West Indies wrote: "Know
that the world is protesting the kidnapping of the four peacekeepers in Iraq.
They are not missionaries, or military men or private contractors but only
persons who are seeking to bring about peace."
Other readers noted the hostages' activism in solidarity with
Palestinians in the occupied territories.
The hostages were shown in
orange jumpsuits
A message from a New Zealander said: "We are New Zealand citizens
and members of Palestine Human Rights Campaign and University Students for
Justice in Palestine. ... [Harmeet Sooden] has consistently taken part in
public demonstrations against the US/UK invasion and occupation of Iraq."
"He is also a strong supporter of the struggles of the Palestinian
people. Harmeet could not possibly be a spy, as alleged by his captors."
Mufti of Palestine
The grand mufti of Palestine, a top religious leader in the
occupied territories, said the hostages supported the Palestinian cause.
Shaikh Ikrima Sabri said the four had been visitors to occupied
Palestine and had taken part in demonstrations against the illegal barrier
being built by Israel cutting off parts of the West Bank.
Shaikh Ikrima Sabri has appealed
for the release of the hostages
"The kidnapping of the four was a surprise to the Palestinian
people as they have been supporters of our cause and have stood at our side
against the racist separation wall," the mufti said at a news conference.
"It is our duty to support them and to issue a vigorous appeal to
the kidnappers to free them."
CPT members along with the hostages' relatives have pleaded for
mercy, stressing that their colleagues had been working to restore justice and
human rights in Iraq.
"We appeal to your humanity to show mercy on our brothers and let
them come back safely to us to continue our work," said CPT, which has offices
in Canada and the US.
"As you can see by the statements of support from our friends in
Iraq and all over the world, we work for those who are oppressed," it said in a
statement to the kidnappers.
"We also condemn our own governments for their actions in Iraq,"
said the CPT, one of the few remaining aid groups operating in Iraq.
Iraqi party
US citizen Tom Fox, 54, is one
of the hostages
The Iraq Islamic party has described the hostages as "activists in
a movement opposing the war in Iraq".
The statement released on Saturday said: "The party calls on the
captors to free them because their kidnapping is a dream opportunity for the
supporters of the war against our country who say that Iraqis cannot tell the
difference between those who support them and those who oppose them."
Aljazeera
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