Thursday, 19 March
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Peggy Gish, Craig Kite, and Bob Holmes met with an official at the International Relief and Development office seeking his advice on CPT’s plan for accompaniment in the conflicted border areas.  He fears that the KRG and Iraqi politicians will not allow the villagers return to their homes, because of their dependence on the U.S., which has approved the bombing and does not want it to become a media issue.

Next, they met with officials at UNAMI (United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq).  When CPT mentioned human rights issues in the conflicted border zones, they replied that the governments had agreed that the area was a ‘no-mans-land’ and that the bombing really was not killing anyone or doing much damage.  CPTers countered this opinion, saying that the bombings were driving civilians from their homes, depriving them of their livelihoods and displacing them from their traditional lands—all of which are violations of the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

When the CPTers reported seeing at least eleven Turkish military bases within Iraqi territory, the UNAMI officials said that the Turks would not have bases in Iraq without the consent of the Iraqi government.  When team members talked about accompanying displaced villagers they replied that the KRG government is not likely to ‘buy in’ to CPT’s project.  Asked what CPT can do to put pressure on governments, they said CPT could document human rights violations, and the U.N. would welcome such documentation.