Shit! There is nothing worse than another one of my own, someone who just wants to help such as a member of the Christian Peacemakers Teams, taken captive or silenced or threatened.

First before my rant, Get on your email client and fire up that media contact list again. Then go sign this petition: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/freethecpt

I will provide an e-mail list at the end of this post for those who do not have their own.

Thugs in Iraq, I don't know what else to call them, they certainly aren't Resistance fighters if they are kidnapping Peacemakers.. I wouldn't call them insurgents, they are just another group with its own agenda.

It's time for my Iraqi friends to put the word out that these are good people, and hopefully one of these holding the captor has a Distant friend related to one of their cousins's mothers, brothers sisters mother-in-laws (*if you know what I mean*) and comes to their sences to release these people.

The best outcome for bost the captors and the captives is their release ultimately, for hostages are bargaining tools and if the hostages are released then the captors must have got what they wanted. Or they must have realised they have done the wrong thing and by releasing the hostages have saved their own asses.

Either way this it the best outcome. We must help these people.

An Urgent Appeal: Please Release Our Friends in Iraq

Four members of Christian Peacemaker Teams were taken this past Saturday, November 26, in Baghdad, Iraq. They are not spies, nor do they work in the service of any government. They are people who have dedicated their lives to fighting against war and have clearly and publicly opposed the invasion and occupation of Iraq. They are people of faith, but they are not missionaries. They have deep respect for the Islamic faith and for the right of Iraqis to self-determination.

C.P.T. first came to Iraq in October 2002 to oppose the US invasion, and it has remained in the country throughout the occupation in solidarity with the Iraqi people. The group has been invaluable in alerting the world to many of the horrors facing Iraqis detained in US-run prisons and detention centers. C.P.T. was among the first to document the torture occurring at the Abu Ghraib prison, long before the story broke in the mainstream press. Its members have spent countless hours interviewing Iraqis about abuse and torture suffered at the hands of US forces and have disseminated this information internationally.

Each of the four C.P.T. members being held in Iraq has dedicated his life to resisting the darkness and misery of war and occupation. Convinced that it is not enough to oppose the war from the safety of their homes, they made the difficult decision to go to Iraq, knowing that the climate of mistrust created by foreign occupation meant that they could be mistaken for spies or missionaries. They went there with a simple purpose: to bear witness to injustice and to embody a different kind of relationship between cultures and faiths. Members of C.P.T. willingly undertook the risks of living among Iraqis, in a common neighborhood outside of the infamous Green Zone. They sought no protection from weapons or armed guards, trusting in, and benefiting from, the goodwill of the Iraqi people. Acts of kindness and hospitality from Iraqis were innumerable and ensured the C.P.T. members� safety and wellbeing. We believe that spirit will prevail in the current situation.

We appeal to those holding these activists to release them unharmed so that they may continue their vital work as witnesses and peacemakers.

Signed,**

# Arundhati Roy, author, The God of Small Things
# Tariq Ali, author, Bush in Babylon
# Denis Halliday, former U.N. Assistant Secretary General and Head of the U.N. Humanitarian Program in Iraq (1997-1998)
# Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan
# Noam Chomsky, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
# Haifa Zangana, Iraqi novelist
# Kamil Mahdi, Iraqi economist and anti-occupation activist. Lecturer, University of Exeter
# Mahmood Mamdani, "Herbert Lehman Professor of Government," Columbia University
# Rashid Khalidi, "Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies," Middle East Institute, Columbia University
# Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of Rachel Corrie, killed by Israeli military
# Hasan Abu Nimah, Permanent Representative of Jordan at the United Nations (1995-2000)
# Ralph Nader, former independent presidential candidate
# James Abourezk, former US Senator
# Howard Zinn, historian
# Naseer Aruri, Professor (Emeritus) University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
# Kathy Kelly, Voices for Creative Nonviolence/Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
# Naomi Klein, author/journalist
# Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights
# Rev. Daniel Berrigan, poet
# Jeremy Scahill, independent journalist
# Mazin Qumsiyeh, author, Sharing the Land Of Canaan, board member US Campaign to End the Occupation
# Milan Rai, author, War Plan Iraq: Ten Reasons Against War on Iraq
# Sam Husseini, writer
# Dahr Jamail, independent journalist
# Ali Abunimah & Nigel Parry, Co-founders, Electronic Iraq
# Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator, United for Peace and Justice
# Eve Ensler, author
# Jennifer Harbury, Director, Stop Torture Permanently Campaign
# Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Detroit
# Anthony Arnove, author, Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal
# Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange
# G. Simon Harak, SJ, War Resisters League
# David Hartsough, Co-Founder and Capacity Building Director of Nonviolent Peaceforce and Executive Director of Peaceworkers. Nonviolent Peace Force
# Blase Bonpane, Office of the Americas
# Carol Bragg, Coordinator, Rhode Island Peace Mission
# Rev. Richard Deats, former Executive Secretary and Fellowship Editor, Fellowship of Reconciliation
# Omar Diop, Pr�sident de la Coalition S�n�galaise des D�fenseurs des Droits humains
# Jim Forest, Secretary, The Orthodox Peace Fellowship
# Thomas C. Cornell, The Catholic Worker
# David Grant, Nonviolent Peaceforce
# Ted Lewis, Global Exchange
# Charles Jenks, Chair of Advisory Board, Traprock Peace Center
# Jeff Leys, Voices for Creative Nonviolence
# Andr�a Schmidt, independent journalist
# Michael Albert, ZNet
# Richard McDowell, Senior Fellow for Iraq Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation
# Dave McReynolds, former Chair, War Resisters International
# Peter Lems, Program Associate for Iraq, American Friends Service Committee
# Kevin Zeese, Director, Democracy Rising
# Sunny Miller, Director, Traprock Peace Center
# Dave Robinson, Director, Pax Christi USA
# Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, National Coordinator, Clergy and Laity Concerned about Iraq
# David Swanson, Co-Founder, After Downing Street, Board Member Progressive Democrats of America, Washington Director Democrats.com
# Mary Trotochaud, Senior Fellow for Iraq Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation
# Michael Birmingham, activist
# Barbara Wien, Co-Director, Peace Brigades International/USA
# Bishop Gabino Zavala, President, Pax Christi USA

**Organizations and institutions are listed for identification purposes only

Contact: freethecpt(at)gmail.com

Most Recent Signatures
Name Comments
19824 Erin Coates
19823 Luke(y) Skinner
The Bloggers and your Iraqi friends are watching these actions. Releasing these innocent people now will be best for your cause and will prevent us the people from having to come after you to save their lives.
19822 Ben Gadiner
19821 Richard Bocking
19820 Ruth Abel
19819 Alexander Iwachiw
Please, let us begin a dialogue. Do not kill these people of peace, they are not your enemy.
19818 Lilian Walls
Violence achieves nothing. Free these innocent people.
19817 Michael Kaplan
Harming this man would be a fascist
crime.
19816 Jenny Veninga
19815 Sandy Thompson
19814 Nuntanit Bumrungsap
19813 Martin Rutter
19812 Stephen Chan
19811 Bryan Garcia
19810 Nicholas Heller
19809 Ron Liskey
19808 Suheir Kassis
19807 Geraldine Blake
19806 Jacques Boulet
Don't kill and don't kill those who are with you.
19805 Frederick L King
19804 Okuno Takumi
Please release them.
from Japan
19803 Roberta Rominger
Moderator, Thames North Synod, United Reformed Church
19802 Kia
Please try your best to stop this terrible event from happening.
19801 Carolyn Shea
19800 Katy Sanders
ME - #19886 [olivebranch's real name!!!].
Please release these four people. People who are working for peace are the only hope the world has. Please join us in working towards peace, it would benefit everyone in the end.