CPTnet
9 December 2005
COLOMBIA: Human rights defenders show solidarity with CPTers held in Iraq
In a press conference on Monday, human rights defenders in Barrancabermeja
called for the safe return of four members and affiliates of Christian
Peacemaker Teams (CPT) currently held in Iraq. Francisco Campos, of the
Forum of Human Rights Workers in Barrancabermeja, said that CPT's team in
Colombia has accompanied vulnerable rural communities like those living
along the nearby Opon river. Now, the Forum wished to stand in solidarity
with CPTers around the world.
"The years 2001 and 2002 were a difficult time for the communities of the
Opón," Campos recounted. At that time, the people were living in a
shelter in Barrancabermeja, unable to live at home because of paramilitary
and guerrilla groups operating in the area. "CPT was the only group that
accompanied these communities, enhancing their sense of security as they
courageously returned home."
For their part, CPTers Pierre Shantz and Sandra Rincón asked for the
release of colleagues Tom Fox, Harmeet Singh Sooden, Norman Kember, and
James Loney, the four who were taken on 26 November. They added, "We
recognize before all Colombians the immense pain of the family members and
loved ones of all those who are disappeared, kidnaped, or unjustly
imprisoned. That is why today, when we are living the same experience, we
see your constant struggle for those lives as a deep and courageous
learning." (See the complete text of the Colombia team's statement in an
accompanying release.)
Over 5000 Colombians are currently held by illegal armed groups, and many
more have been displaced from their homes by violence.
The CPTers reiterated that their co-workers in Iraq, and the organization as
a whole, has actively opposed the invasion and occupation of Iraq. CPT
workers in Iraq have sought the release and fair treatment of the 16,000
Iraqis held by multinational forces in that country.
On 7 December, team members, neighbours, and partners in the city's social
movements gathered at the CPT house to pray for those held and imprisoned in
Iraq, Colombia, Canada, the United States, and around the world. They joined
over one hundred prayer vigils on four continents on that day, holding in
the light the four missing CPTers, and calling for an end to the occupation
in Iraq.
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Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) seeks to enlist the whole church in
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