CPTnet
May 18, 2004
WASHINGTON, DC: New CPT regional training group holds public witness
against abuse of Iraqi detainees
by David Hilfiker and Jerry Park
On Friday, May 14, 2004, the Washington, D.C. regional CPT training group
conducted a public witness in front of the Supreme Court protesting the
treatment of civilians detained by American forces in Iraq. The training
group and its supporters then processed to the Russell Senate Office
Building, where they presented the report CPT's Iraq team had compiled from
interviews with seventy-two detainees and their families conducted in 2003.
In preparation for its public witness, the training group contacted local
and national media, prepared press packets, publicized the event among area
churches, and wrote the liturgy that began the event. Five members of the
group presented a tableau consisting of two hooded, handcuffed detainees,
guarded by a soldier, with two Iraqi women looking on. As the part of the
litany, each detainee was brought forward, unhooded, and allowed to speak of
his detention (using actual testimony taken by CPT's Iraq team) and then
re-hooded and re-chained. One woman spoke of the detention of her son,
again using actual testimony from the report. The liturgy concluded with a
pledge of nonviolent resistance.
"Sweating in the hot sun with a bag over my head opened my senses to the
oppression felt by thousands of innocent prisoners held by my country's
military," Steve Ramer said as he and about fifty other people in the group
processed to the Senate Office Building. After a brief prayer service on the
sidewalk, most of the group then went inside and visited en masse the
offices of each senator on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with a
cover letter summarizing the report and protesting the treatment of the
detainees. The group then prayed a brief litany in the hallway at each
office before moving on to the next senator's office.
Hot weather did not prevent some passersby from joining the liturgy and the
singing outside the Supreme Court and Senate office building. Members of
the group found particularly meaningful the prayers before each senator's
office. "I've done a fair amount of lobbying in this building," said one
participant, "but the prayer made this much more meaningful for me; it
reminded me that it's God's work." Some staff members in the Senate building
joined the group as they completed their prayer by singing, "Peace, Salaam,
Shalom."
CPT staffers have traveled to Washington to provide training to the regional
group locally. The trainees include Steve Ramer, Kim Lamberty, Sally
Hunsberger, Jenny Dillon, and David Hilfiker from Washington DC; Diane
Zimmerman and Dwayne Wenger Hess from Baltimore MD; Jerry Park from Mt
Ranier MD; Pat Ruble from Arlington VA; Ben Wyse from Harrisonburg VA; and
Allen Johnson from Dunmore WV.
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