Jim was a volunteer mediator with us for 4 or 5 years, and we know how much he cares about peace and othres. Please don't make him and the others martyrs for a cause already so rich in martyrs.
CPT is in Iraq to support the Iraqi people -- they do not believe in violence as a way to solve problems. I am praying for their safe release, for the 4 CPT'ers, for their families & for their captors.
You've got the wrong people. If you kill peace activists [which these people are] you'll have even your own allies against you. Bad judgement call.
If you release them soon, you'll show the world that you're true freedom fighters, not monsters only interested in death.
I know the work of the CPT They are people of justice. I believe the
US Government has hired people to do their dirty work--to kidnap the CTP members who were most interested in helping the Iraqi people and exposing the dirty deeds of the US Government.
The Christian Peacemaker Teams are not the enemies of anyone, rather friends for all who desire a world of peace, understanding and co-existance. Let them be free to continue trying to bring sanity to the world. Let us ALL love and respect one another.
A Grandmother for Peace
I have been following the work of the CPT in Palestine for many years. They have worked tirelessly to live among the Palestinian people and be a voice for the truth about how the Israeli army has been oppressing the civilian Palestinian population. The four CPT workers captured in Iraq are among the truly good people trying to help in this terrible war caused by the attack by my country against Iraq. Please spare their lives and release them.
Thank you.
I pray for the Peace Team members, the people of Iraq who face a life of daily violence, and for those who hold weapons on all sides, tha an understanding of Nonviolence might touch your hearts. I pray for all my sisters and brothers who have signed this petition.
Please, please consider the misguided abduction of the two Simonas, from Italian Un Ponte Per last year! Christian Peacemaker Teams are their Brothers and Sisters! For several years I have come to know the tremendeous work of CPT, by translating their essays into Swedish, in an effort to fight the mainstream Swedish media's biased reporting from Iraq.
Howard Roberts
A Seven-point plan for an Exit Strategy in Iraq
1) A timetable for the complete withdrawal of American and British forces must be announced.
I envision the following procedure, but suitable fine-tuning can be applied by all the people involved.
A) A ceasefire should be offered by the Occupying side to representatives of both the Sunni insurgency and the Shiite community. These representatives would be guaranteed safe passage, to any meetings. The individual insurgency groups would designate who would attend.
At this meeting a written document declaring a one-month ceasefire, witnessed by a United Nations authority, will be fashioned and eventually signed. This document will be released in full, to all Iraqi newspapers, the foreign press, and the Internet.
B) US and British command will make public its withdrawal, within sixth-months of 80 % of their troops.
C) Every month, a team of United Nations observers will verify the effectiveness of the ceasefire.
All incidences on both sides will be reported.
D) Combined representative armed forces of both the Occupying nations and the insurgency organizations that agreed to the cease fire will protect the Iraqi people from actions by terrorist cells.
E) Combined representative armed forces from both the Occupying nations and the insurgency organizations will begin creating a new military and police force. Those who served, with out extenuating circumstances, in the previous Iraqi military or police, will be given the first option to serve.
F) After the second month of the ceasefire, and thereafter, in increments of 10-20% ,a total of 80% will be withdrawn, to enclaves in Qatar and Bahrain. The governments of these countries will work out a temporary land-lease housing arrangement for these troops. During the time the troops will be in these countries they will not stand dow
I and many others on this list have worked hard to educate people in the west about the mistake of the Iraq war, through film and speeches. These four men have worked even harder throughout the Arab world helping those that NO government-Western or Arab-ever cared about. Please do not end the lives of those who help us. They are not the enemy. They have worked their whole lives against the peoples' enemy. Let them continue their work to help the oppressed people of the world-especially the injustices ocurring in Palestine and Iraq.
We have been in Iraq with CPT, and they are against the war and trying to help the Iraqi people. They should be freed. Please. Over here, we are speaking out against the war and trying to get the troops home immediately. The CPT people love the Iraqi people.
