Quaker Groups Express Concern Over Kidnapped Peacemakers
Friends Committee on National Legislation and American Friends Service Committee appeal for the release of Christian Peacemaker Teams Members Held Captive
For immediate release: Friday, December 2, 2006
Further Information: Rick McDowell (202) 957-6886 or Janice Shields (302) 545-6596
The committee and staff members of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) are deeply concerned for the four kidnapped members of the Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq and we appeal to the captors for their safe return. The four, Tom Fox (USA), Norman Kember (UK), James Loney and Harmeet Sooden (Canada), are actively engaged in the work of Christian Peacemaker Teams and have publicly opposed the U.S. led invasion and occupation of Iraq.
The Christian Peacemaker Teams, a non-governmental organization, arrived in Iraq in 2002 in opposition to the coming war and continues to work for the rights of Iraqi prisoners who have been illegally detained by U.S. occupation forces. The organization, founded in 1986, was amongst the first to document and expose the abuses at Abu Graib and other U.S. operated prisons and detention centers in Iraq.
The Christian Peacemaker Teams is one of the few remaining international humanitarian organizations working in Iraq. Their presence maintains a critical, nonviolent public witness to the violence and uncertainty which persists in the country. Team members knowingly work at great risk to their own health and security. Christian Peacemaker Teams hold religious beliefs but are not missionaries and do not proselytize.
The kidnappings have caused enormous suffering and pain to the captives, their families, associates, and friends. We appeal to those responsible for the kidnappings to release all four peacemakers unharmed.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), a non-partisan Quaker lobby in the public interest, opposed the invasion of Iraq. FCNL believes there is no military solution to the conflict in Iraq. More troops, more guns, and more killing will not bring about peace. FCNL works in the United States for an end to the U.S. occupation and the withdrawal of all U.S. military forces and bases.
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is an international social justice organization and a co-recipient of the 1947 Nobel Peace Prize, which honored Quakers’ historic work to relieve the suffering of war. Since 1917, AFSC has aided millions of people around the world through its peace, economic development, and human rights programs. AFSC was a leader in the movements to end the Vietnam War and to dismantle apartheid in South Africa and remains a leader in international movements for peace and justice.
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