Christian Peacemakers Continue Praying, Pleading for Lives of Hostages
A Chicago-based organization of peace workers expressed gratitude Saturday after learning that their abducted teammates were still alive following the release of a tape showing the four.
A Chicago-based organization of peace workers expressed gratitude Saturday after learning that their abducted teammates were still alive following the release of a tape showing the four.
The new tape, which aired on the Al-Jazeera television channel Saturday, showed the four Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members – Tom Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Va.; Norman Kember, 74, of London; and Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32 – who were kidnapped by a group called Swords of Righteous Bridges on Nov. 26, 2005.
“We are so grateful and heartened to see James, Harmeet, Norman and Tom alive on the video tape dated January 21,” read a statement issued by CPT Saturday morning. “This news is an answer to our prayers. We continue to hope and pray for their release.”
Since the four hostages were kidnapped last November, the hostage-takers have set two deadlines for the United States to release Iraqi prisoners. While U.S. President George W. Bush said that the United States would work for the return of American captives in Iraq, he said it would not submit to terrorist tactics.
Until Saturday, no word on the fate of the four peace workers was received since the hostage-takers set the last deadline for Dec. 10, 2005. The deadline had been extended from the original one set for Dec. 8, 2005.
The latest footage, labeled with the date of Jan. 21, 2006, shows the men standing near a wall. Another scene shows them seated and talking, but their voices were not heard.
The news reader at Doha, Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, which did not disclose how the tape was obtained, said the kidnappers issued a statement with the tape saying it would be the “last chance” for U.S. and Iraqi authorities to “release all Iraqi prisoners in return of freeing the hostages, otherwise their fate will be death.”
No deadline was set.
“All of us in Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) remain very disturbed by the abduction of our teammates,” CPT wrote in its latest response. “We pray that those who hold them will host them with the grace that so many of us in CPT have received as guests in Iraq.”
As with previous statements, CPT emphasized that their kidnapped members “are peace workers who have not collaborated with the occupation of Iraq and who have worked for justice for all Iraqis, especially those detained.”
“We continue to believe that what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. governments in their illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people,” the organization stated. “We continue to call for justice and human rights for all who are detained in Iraq. The innocent should not suffer in the place of those who have done wrong.”
As one of “the few internationals left in Iraq working for human rights and peace,” CPT hopes it “can continue to do this work and we pray for the speedy release of our beloved teammates.”
According to the organization, CPT has been present in Iraq since October 2002, providing first-hand, independent reports from the region, working with detainees of both United States and Iraqi forces, and training others in non-violent intervention and human rights documentation.
The organization has organized public actions for peace and justice for Iraqi detainees this weekend at events scheduled in Washington D.C., Toronto and Chicago.
