[amc] FYI, CPTers Missing, Feared Kidnapped

From: "Ray Gingerich" <RGingerich@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Austin Mennonite Church" <amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 11:15:58 -0600
HOWEVER, CPT APPARENTLY DOES NOT FEEL IT IS IN THE INTEREST OF THE VICTIMS TO 
HAVE THIS APPEAR IN THE AMERICAN PRESS AT THIS TIME, AND FROM MY GOOGLE SEARCH, 
APPARENTLY IT HAS NOT.
 
THE FOLLOWING IS FROM CBC, A CANADIAN NEWS AGENCY. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!DO NOT 
FORWARD TO US NEWS AGENCIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More hostage-takings revealed in Iraq
Last Updated Tue, 29 Nov 2005 10:27:33 EST 
CBC News
A German archeologist and her driver, who were kidnapped in Iraq last week, 
have been shown on a videotape blindfolded and surrounded by three armed masked 
men. 


  a.. INDEPTH: Iraq

        
      Ingrid Hala, mother of German hostage, Susanne Osthoff, shows pictures of 
her daughter and granddaughter, Tuesday, Nov. 29. (AP Photo/Diether Endlicher)  
In the videotape, shown on German television, kidnappers threatened to kill the 
43-year-old woman unless Berlin stops co-operating with the U.S.-backed Iraqi 
government. Germany has no troops in Iraq but does provide training for Iraqi 
forces outside of Iraq. 

The news of the hostage-taking followed reports on Saturday that two Canadian 
aid workers had been kidnapped. They were among a group of four, including a 
Briton and an American, who were taken at gunpoint in Baghdad. 

Late Monday, the aid group, Christian Peacemaker Teams, confirmed the Canadians 
had been in Iraq doing work for them at the time. 

The agency, based in Toronto and Chicago, had initially tried to withhold the 
publication of its identity, as well as the identity of the Canadian hostages, 
but several media outlets named the group. 

"We felt that we should ... not go public," said Robin Buyers, a Toronto-based 
spokeswoman for the agency. "But since we were outed, as it were, we felt that 
we should confirm that indeed we are the organization and these are our 
people." 


  a.. FROM NOV. 28, 2005: Ottawa working to free 2 Canadians held hostage in 
Iraq 

Buyers said she did not know the conditions of the hostages. She didn't say 
whether the group had made contact with the hostage-takers yet. 

The identities of the Canadians and the American have not been released. 
However, the British Foreign Office has identified the Briton as Norman Kember, 
74, of London, a longtime peace activist. 

Christian Peacemaker is a volunteer organization that sends teams to crisis 
zones around the world. Their activities in Canada include a clear-cutting 
issue in Kenora, Ont., that has pitted native people against forest giant 
Abitibi-Consolidated. 

        
      Christian Peacemaker logo. (courtesy: Christian Peacemaker Teams)  
In Iraq, the group has monitored elections, advocated for prisoners of the Abu 
Ghraib jail, and helped with human rights activities. 

Efforts to negotiate the release of the two Canadians have been feverish but 
there has been no indication the hostages are any closer to freedom. 

Christian Peacemaker said on its website it does not advocate the use of 
violent force to save any members who have been kidnapped. The group is one of 
the few still working in Iraq despite warnings not to. 

Over the past two years, insurgents in Iraq have kidnapped more than 225 people 
and killed at least 38 of them, including aid workers and journalists.
[amc] FYI, CPTers Missing, Feared Kidnapped

Other related posts:
