CND in the News
CND in the News: 20-27 March 2006
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1 World marks three years for Iraq
The Guardian, Monday March 20, 2006
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1734817,00.html
The third anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq was marked this weekend
with two days of anti-war marches and rallies across the world, including
the first co-ordinated demonstrations in the US, Britain and Iraq. The
organisers of the London protest - CND, Stop the War
Coalition and the Muslim Association of Britain - hailed a "wonderful"
turnout of between 80,000 and 100,000 people, although police put the
figure at 15,000.
Demonstrators in the capital braved a bitterly cold Saturday to march
from the houses of Parliament to Trafalgar Square. But the biting wind
did not stop them exposing their thumbs to the elements as they texted
their names to a petition calling for the creation of an international
tribunal into the Iraq war. The total of the signatories was constantly
updated on an electronic screen that was moved from Parliament Square
to outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. By the end of the
march more than 2,000 signatures had been registered.
While the headcount may have been lower than on earlier anniversaries,
the number of issues being debated seemed well up on previous years. On
placards and in chants Iraq vied for prominence alongside the Palestinian
intifada, Guantánamo Bay, the international community's tense relationship
with Iran, nuclear energy, atomic weapons, the rule of Robert Mugabe,
and Tony Blair's stewardship of the NHS.
Matthew Williams, a 31-year-old student from Texas, said he had come to
protest about the US government's "imperialistic attitude" to
world affairs. "I'm just calling for an end to the occupation of
Iraq," he said. "I have opposed it from the start. When the
war broke out I was protesting in Houston and now I'm protesting here."
His sentiments were echoed by Maz Cook, a project manager for an independent
media organisation. "What's happening in Iraq is disgusting,"
she said. "It has been a victim of western imperialism for decades
and its people have only ever known war, so it's no wonder they're turning
to terrorism. It's hard to know what to do about it all, that's why I
have come down here."
Iqbal Warsi, who had travelled to London with her husband from Cambridge,
said that Israel's treatment of the Palestinians was fuelling much of
the demonstrators' anger. But she added: "We're also here because
of what is happening in Iraq and Iran. Two world wars have taught us nothing."
Other marchers had other reasons. A woman dressed as a teapot drifted
between the the orange jumpsuits and Che Guevara banners, exhorting the
crowd to "make tea not war".
In Iraq several hundred oil workers staged a rally in Basra to protest
about the US occupation and the privatisation of the oil industry. A protest
in Baghdad was cancelled because of security fears. Around 1,000 people
gathered in New York's Times Square on Saturday, and twice that number
protested in Tokyo. There were other protests in Madrid, Rome, Dublin,
Istanbul, Chicago, Toronto, Sydney, Karachi, Dhaka, Seoul and elsewhere.
In France the anniversary of the war was eclipsed by protests against
a controversial new employment law, which brought 500,000 people on to
the streets of Paris.
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2 Bruce Kent talks of delight at Kember
Thursday, 23rd March 2006
www.lse.co.uk/
Peace campaigner Bruce Kent said he was "absolutely delighted"
after the dramatic rescue of his friend Norman Kember in Iraq.
The former leader of CND admitted his hopes for the
hostage had gone downhill following the murder of American captive Tom
Fox almost two weeks ago.
Speaking at home, Mr Kent said: "I am astonished. I had no idea
this was about to happen and am surprised as anyone. "The news came
completely out of the blue this morning. Our hopes had obviously fallen
a lot in recent weeks."
But Mr Kent said he fully expected Mr Kember to make a complete recovery
from his horrendous ordeal. He said: "He is a tough bloke, and has
got a deep faith in providence. If anyone can put up with something like
this, he can." But even Mr Kent was surprised at how well his fellow
campaigner looked in a recent video released by his captors.
He said: "Norman has a blood pressure problem, and he would have
been without his medication all this time. But he certainly appears alright,
considering what he has been through." Added Mr Kent: "I am
still sitting in my pyjamas, because the phone has not stopped ringing.
This is news beyond belief.
"In this awful mess of Baghdad thank God there is one bright light
anyway. I can hardly believe it. It is wonderful news, particularly for
his wife and family. It has been a bad few weeks after the death of Mr
Fox. We thought that if one was killed there would be others. Obviously
our hopes were much further down than they were before. This news makes
my day."
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3 Joy as Christian Peacemakers are freed in Iraq
23 March 2006
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_060323kemberfree.shtml
Three Christian Peacemaker Teams activists in Iraq have been freed from
captivity west of Baghdad, two weeks after the tragic murder of their
colleague Tom Fox. Norman Kember, Harmeet Singh Sooden and Jim Loney were
released by multilateral forces in a security sweep. CPT says no-one was
hurt in the operation.
The news of the men’s freeing has been greeted with joy and relief
across the world. But Christian Peacemaker Teams – an action group
rooted in the historic peace churches (Mennonite, Quaker, Brethren in
Christ) – is keen that attention should also continue to be paid
to the thousands of Iraqi detainees and captives.
CPT has been highlighting their plight and working for nonviolent alternatives
to war, terror and occupation since 2002. It also has a strong track record
in Israel-Palestine and a number of other hotspots around the world.
The Reverend Alan Betteridge of the Baptist Peace Fellowship, a friend
of British captive Dr Kember for more than 40 years, told BBC Five Live
this morning: "It's tremendously good and so unexpected after the
killing of Tom Fox a couple of weeks ago, when we really did fear that
each one would be killed eventually."
Former Catholic priest and CND general secretary Bruce
Kent also expressed happiness and relief at the outcome, commenting that
many had been fearing the worst after the discovery of Tom Fox’s
body on a Baghdad rubbish tip.
Pat Kember, the wife of 74-year-old retired medical professor Norman
Kember, is reported to be “overjoyed” at the news of her husband’s
release. Friends and relatives were increasingly fearing for his health
under the physical and mental strain of captivity.
Muslim groups were also swift to respond to the news. Ihtisham Hibatullah,
a spokesperson for Anas Altikriti, who went to Iraq as an envoy seeking
the release of the CPTers on behalf of at the Muslim Association of Britain,
said that they were "very relieved" that Mr Kember and his colleagues
were alive, adding that it was fantastic news for their families.
The Christian Peacemaker Teams activists had received unprecedented support
from Muslims across the world since their capture outside a Baghdad mosque
on 26 November 2005.
The pacifist group made it clear that they were not asking for military
intervention on behalf of their members, and today they expressed relief
that no-one appears to have been killed in the armed operation.
Said Simon Barrow of the UK religious think tank Ekklesia, which is associated
with Christian Peacemaker Teams UK: “The release of Norman, Jim
and Harmeet is the wonderful news that many had been working and praying
for, but perhaps did not quite dare to believe.”
He went on: “Christian peace makers have great respect for those
who carried out the operation to free the captives, but they nevertheless
remain firmly committed to nonviolence as the only effective, long-term
way to break the cycles of hatred, revenge, terror and killing which are
destroying Iraq and threatening the world.”
Said Barrow: “Many people will continue to question the propriety
of unarmed interventions in places of great danger and conflict. But Christian
Peacemaker Teams have made it clear that they will not be deterred by
threats or opposition. They are tough-minded people who know the situation
and know what they were doing. When Jesus called on his followers to make
peace, he never said it was going to be anything other than risky –
and he paid with his life.”
Along with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Home Secretary Jack Straw
welcomed the release of Dr Kember and his colleagues. He spoke to Mrs
Kember earlier this morning.
In a press statement, Mr Straw added: "There's one last very sad
point, which is that there were four hostages captured originally, including
one, an American, Mr Fox, and it's a matter of great sorrow to everybody
that he was killed a little while ago (9 March 2006)."
US President George W. Bush, who has often invoked God in justification
of his military actions in Iraq and elsewhere, has yet to make a personal
public statement of regret on the subject of Mr Fox’s death.
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