Christian Peacemaker Teams volunteers abducted in Iraq.

On Nov. 26, four people from Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) were kidnaped after leaving a meeting in Baghdad. The four men--two CPT members and two from a CPT visiting delegation--are Tom Fox, age 54, from Clearbrook, Va.; Norman Kember, 74, from London, England; James Loney, 41, from Toronto, Canada; and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, a Canadian studying in New Zealand.

The CPT group was meeting in Baghdad with representatives of Iraqi nongovernmental organizations and other institutions, according to press releases from CPT. The abduction occurred as a CPT vehicle was stopped by two vehicles. Three men with pistols ordered the Iraqi driver and translator out of the vehicle, then drove off with the CPT members and the vehicle. The two Iraqis were released. The CPT vehicle was dumped soon after in a nearby neighborhood.

CPT has its roots in the historic peace churches--Mennonite, Brethren, and Quaker--and is an ecumenical violence-reduction program that places teams of trained peacemakers in areas of lethal conflict. It has been present in Iraq since Oct. 2002, providing humanitarian aid in the form of training and human rights documentation. "As part of the international peace movement, we opposed the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and have been providing first-hand independent reports from the region," CPT said. The CPT Iraq team has hosted a total of 120 people on 16 delegations over the last three years.

Loney is the program coordinator for CPT Canada and was leading the November delegation. He has been a member of CPT since Aug. 2000. On previous visits to Iraq, his work focused on taking testimonies from families of detainees for CPT reports on detainee abuse, and making recommendations for securing basic legal rights. In a personal statement to CPT, Loney had written, "I believe that our actions as a people of peace must be an expression of hope for everyone. My hope in practicing nonviolence is that I can be a conduit for the transformative power of God's love acting upon me as much as I hope it will act upon others around me."

Fox is a father of two children and for the past two years has worked with CPT in partnership with Iraqi human rights organizations. "He has been faithful in the observance of Quaker practice for 22 years," CPT said. "While in Iraq, he sought a more complete understanding of Islamic cultural richness. He is committed to telling the truth to US citizens about the horrors of war and its effects on ordinary Iraqi civilians and families as a result of US policies and practices." (See Fox's reflection in feature below.)

Kember and his wife of 45 years have two married daughters and a three-year old grandson. "He has been a pacifist all his life beginning with his work in a hospital instead of National Service at age 18," CPT said. "Before his retirement he was a professor teaching medical students at St. Bartholemew's Hospital in London. He is well-known as a peace activist."

Sooden is an electrical engineer studying for a masters degree in English literature in Auckland University in New Zealand, to prepare for a teaching career. "His family describes him as peaceful and fun-loving and he is known to be passionate about the plight of the underprivileged around the globe," CPT said. "He works tirelessly in his spare time to educate and help others."

CPT said that its policy is to pay no ransoms, and it rejects military or violent approaches to hostage situations. In a "Statement of Conviction," longterm CPT team members in Iraq stated that they "are aware of the many risks both Iraqis and internationals currently face," and affirmed that the risks did not outweigh their purpose in remaining. They expressed the hope that "in loving both friends and enemies and by intervening nonviolently to aid those who are systematically oppressed, we can contribute in some small way to transforming this volatile situation."

CPT did not publicize the abduction until after images of the CPT team members appeared on Al Jazeera television. "We were disturbed by seeing the video and believe that repeated showing of it will endanger the lives of our friends," CPT said in a release today. "We are deeply disturbed by their abduction. We pray that those who hold them will be merciful and that they will be released soon."

"Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has worked for the rights of Iraqi prisoners who have been illegally detained and abused by the US government," the release continued. "We were the first people to publicly denounce the torture of Iraqi people at the hands of US forces, long before the western media admitted what was happening at Abu Ghraib. We are some of the few internationals left in Iraq who are telling the truth about what is happening to the Iraqi people."

"We mourn today that members of CPT have been kidnaped and suffer at the hands of their captors," said a statement from Phil Jones, director of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office.

Jones continued with a call for Brethren to be in prayer. "As we pray for the safe release of these four Christian peace workers we also pray for the victims and families of the over 225 kidnapings and thousands of casualties of this war to date. We pray for the immediate families of those affected by deep pain and grief of war. We call upon the administration of this nation to consider its complicity and to refocus, redefine, and reshape its foreign policy. We pray that a true advent of peace might be revealed."

Since its inception in 1984 the Church of the Brethren has been a supporter of Christian Peacemaker Teams and its call to devote the same discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote to war, Jones said. For more information see www.cpt.org.

Source: 11/30/2005 Newsline
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