CPTnet
May 17, 2004
IRAQ/AMMAN UPDATE: May 7-10, 2004
Friday, May 7 In Amman, Matt Chandler spoke with an assistant to
Representative Rush Holt
(D-NJ) by phone. Holt is a member of the House Permanent Select
Intelligence Committee who voted against the war in Iraq and is now critical
of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq. Chandler explained
how the CPA system for families to find out information about relatives
functions poorly, and made several suggestions for improving the system.
Later, Rep. Holt called back himself. After asking several questions about
CPT's work on detainees, he said he would ask the Pentagon to make several
of the suggested changes and expressed appreciation for the work of the
team.
While watching Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld answer questions
for the House Armed Services Committee that evening, team members
noted that he said, "We have released 31,000 detainees out of 43,000
detainees," and that the U.S. had a goal of releasing an additional 1,800 by
June 30th.
Chandler spoke with the friend who arranges taxis at the hotel where
the team was staying in Amman. The friend said the roads in Iraq had become
"very safe" again.
The team received an angry letter in response to one of the interviews
Vriesinga gave about detainee abuses. John Brushaber, who identified
himself as a "Christian, Soldier, Fire-fighter, and Student at Tarleton
State University" wrote, "The comments to the news media Stewart Vriesinga
has made recently do not reflect the beliefs of all Christians. News flash:
These are prisoners! They were previously haters and killers of American
Soldiers, many whom are Christians! I am preparing to go to Iraq, and
support the fight AGAINST aggression as a soldier. I thank God every day
for the salvation that he has given us through Jesus Christ. The last thing
I want to see in this world is a Christian group aiding the enemy by not
sharing HOPE to the lost. The plan for this country is bigger
than you or I, and all Christians must work together. The hatred that is
flowing throughout the world goes farther than pointing at the U. S. A., but
more deeply it's pointed at God and God's people, this is where the struggle
is. Remember, I'll die fighting if I must, but I'll be fighting to share the
love with those that will receive it."
Vriesinga promised to respond to the man, explaining that all people are
entitled to basic human rights, and that many of the detainees who are
reporting abuse were released without being charged or found guilty of any
crime.
Journalists for the Guardian [a British newspaper] interviewed Clausen and
Vriesinga about detainee abuses.
Another team translator, with whom team members lost contact while
in Amman, came to visit. He said he had worked in his brother's shop while
the team was away, and also considered becoming a translator for the U.S.
military. He decided quickly that he didn't want the position, but he
followed through the process anyway, "for the adventure." He reported that
the translators already working for the military have banded together to
block applications from Iraqis for employment with the Coalition who are not
part of their group. Applicants must otherwise pay the current translators
a bribe before they can get an interview. However, the translator met a
soldier who invited him to come to the front gate for an interview, where
the other translators could not block him. The translators became angry and
started to threaten him. "It's like a mafia," he said.
Clausen went to an engagement party for the recently detained and
released brother of friends of the team. On the way, one of the friends said
he thought the U.S. released the detainee abuse photos to intimidate
resistance fighters in Fallujah because they would not want to be raped if
caught. He later commented that the soldiers in the photographs didn't seem
to be thinking that they were torturing detainees, since they were laughing
and enjoying themselves. "Maybe they do this at home," he said. The
friend's mother asked, "Is there any country where there are human rights?"
During the party, the friends' sister said that many wealthy people are
being kidnapped for money and team members should be careful.
Clausen and Vriesinga went to an Iraqi human rights worker's home for
supper. While they were there, their host turned on the BBC which was
showing Donald Rumsfeld's live testimony in front of the Senate. The host's
family groaned and threw up their hands several times in response to
Rumsfeld's answers to questions.
Saturday, May 8
In the morning, Clausen and Vriesinga went to the Adhamiya neighborhood to
visit Sheikh Moayed of the Abu Hanifeh shrine. He reported that two
detainees CPT has been following since the fall were recently released, and
they had both suffered physical abuse. "They will talk to you later, but
now they are so tired," he said.
He also said that he was aware CPT had been raising detainee human rights
issues with Coalition officials since the fall. "You belong to them; you
have many things in common; you speak the same language, and still they did
not listen to you," he told team members. "Now they have lost all their
honor, throughout the world."
A representative for a sheikh who is a doctor and community leader joined
the group and said, "When one person does something wrong here, they [U.S.
forces and the administration] say it comes from Islam. When they do things
like this, it reflects on all of them. It is not just individuals doing
this.
"Rumsfeld said he bears full responsibility for these acts. So what? Was
he raped? Was he naked? Was he dragged on the ground by a leash?
"During our celebrations of the Prophet Mohammed's birthday, peace be upon
him, U.S. soldiers came and detained eight people, including the head of the
FPS [Facilities Protection Service comprising people trained by U.S. forces]
for our city council. He is supposed to provide security for our council
during events!
"They [U.S. forces] came here pretending to remove the old regime
and find weapons of mass destruction. So, they should leave our country
now, and we should have respectful relations with them. They are
responsible for our security, upholding the Geneva Conventions and UN laws.
We've lost all of this."
He also mentioned that during the present invasion of Kerbala, U.S. forces
had not allowed people to bury their dead.
The sheikh reiterated the need for CPT to advocate for the rights of Iraqi
women prisoners being held by U.S. forces, who are especially vulnerable to
abuse. The team members asked the sheikh's help in identifying specific
people for whom they could advocate with Coalition officials.
Clausen and Vriesinga returned to the human rights organization, which was
preparing for the press conference. Both CNN and ABC News television crews
were interviewing the lawyers. CNN also interviewed Clausen and asked
specifically for cases of detainees who had been raped. The team members
strongly encouraged both news crews to attend the press conference for the
following day.
In the afternoon, Clausen and Vriesinga
went to meet with a U.S. Army
Captain who is in charge of compensation claims at the Iraqi
Assistance Center. The officer said that since his division (3rd Cavalry)
moved into Baghdad, he felt that human rights were being taken into greater
account when dealing with Iraqi citizens. He also said that CPT should
re-file any cases of misconduct regarding the 1st Armored Division that
previously occupied Baghdad, because his predecessor had not left much for
him to work with. He said that he would keep a special eye out for cases
CPT was working with because the affiliation with an international
organization helped validate a victim's claims of misconduct.
Referring to the prisoner abuse, he commented, "The day I see a U.S.
soldier tortured on television because of what those idiots did--well, that
will be a very upsetting day." Vriesinga shared an overview of team's
experience with families who have experienced misconduct from U.S. soldiers,
including personal injury and death, theft of items such as cash and
jewelry, and destruction of property during house raids.
In the evening, Clausen went to the BBC radio studio for an interview on a
Christian program. The host of the show asked about CPT's Adopt-a Detainee
program [see CPT's website for details.] The host asked whether Coalition
forces ignored concerns CPT presented about treatment of detainees and their
families because CPT is a Christian organization. Someone on the program
read aloud one of the testimonies of detainee abuse which the team released
last fall.
Sunday, May 9
In Amman, Chandler gave ten live radio interviews for various BBC programs
in the U.K. regarding detainee abuses.
Clausen and Vriesinga went to the joint press conference of Iraqi and
international human rights organizations about abuses of detainees by U.S.
forces. [See May 12, 2004 release, Released detainees describe torture in
prison camps at Baghdad press conference.] The event was well
attended by international media, several released detainees and families of
Iraqis who are still detained. Dozens of Iraqis gave detailed testimony of
the abuse they experienced while in prison or during the house raids in
which U.S. Forces arrested the detainees. Afterwards, many of the detainees
went to the courtyard outside, where they gave interviews to different media
outlets.
After the press conference, the CPT workers and a human rights worker from
Kerbala went to visit a local human rights organization. While there, a man
giving his testimony in Arabic to one of the lawyers stood up, walked over
to Clausen, and pointed to a newspaper with photos of detainee abuse at Abu
Ghraib. "See this picture? I am this one," he said. He continued to give
his testimony to the lawyer, and the Kerbala human rights worker translated
for team members. [See May 12, 2001 release, "CPT takes testimony from
photographed detainee describing torture at Abu Ghaib."]
Monday, May 10
Team members Chandler, Provencher, and Rollins flew into Baghdad.
Members of a new Iraqi humanitarian organization visited the team apartment
to tell CPT about their work. They said they hoped to cooperate with CPT on
detainee issues and asked for help publicizing cases in North America of
mistreated detainees and families who could not find or visit their
imprisoned relatives. They also took photos with team members and offered
to write a press release about CPT's
work.
In addition to helping prisoners from the present and the former regime,
they discussed their hopes to build a hospital, a home for disabled people,
and to send nine children abroad who need medical treatment unavailable in
Iraq.
In the evening, a friend of the team came to visit, deeply troubled. He had
been extremely depressed lately because a young woman who was a regular
customer in his shop had died suddenly under mysterious circumstances. He
felt he couldn't express his grief to anyone because, "In my culture, you
are either married, or you don't have friends [of the opposite gender.]" He
also felt depressed because he had lost several close friends. Two had
moved to other countries, and one was executed by the old regime. His
closest remaining friend used to be extremely compassionate when he saw
others suffering, he said, but now could look at suffering and continue
laughing and eating as if nothing was wrong. "I don't understand what
happened to him," he said. The team invited him to talk with them any time
he needed to.
Vriesinga gave an interview to a journalist from the San Francisco
Chronicle.
The team heard several mortar explosions at Coalition headquarters
overnight.
_______________
To stop receiving messages from CPTNET on MennoLink, send a message with
only the word, "suspend," in the body to server@MennoLink.org.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the historic peace churches
(Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and
membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations.
Supporting violence-reduction efforts around the world is its mandate.
Contact CPT, POB 6508 Chicago, IL 60680; Telephone: 773-277-0253 Fax:
773-277-0291; e-mail: guest.903627@MennoLink.org.
To receive news or discussion of CPT issues by e-mail, fill out the form
found on our WEB page at http://www.cpt.org/subscribe.php
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jun 01 2004 - 09:29:09 EDT