CPTnet
28 February 2005
IRAQ: Update 15 -- 22 February 2005
Tuesday 15 February Due to power shortages, the neighborhood where CPT
members live had seven hours and five minutes of electricity from the city
grid.
Cliff Kindy, Maxine Nash and Greg Rollins met with
representatives of the Iraqi Ministry of Culture to
secure permission for a CPT delegation to visit the
historical site of Babylon. CPT members wanted to
assess the damage to the ruins stemming from its use
as a Polish Army base until the Army's departure on 22
December 2004. The Ministry denied the request,
initially, and told CPT members to visit the Baghdad
museum in two days to ask there.
CPT members also visited the Ministry of Human Rights.
Wednesday 16 February The neighborhood where CPT members live had eight
hours and eighteen minutes of electricity from the city grid.
An Iraqi member of a Fallujah human rights group
visited CPT members. He shared his perspectives on the
current status of the city and the previous
destruction that he called "genocide." He said that
there are several checkpoints on the road into the
city. The first one includes a sign indicating:
"Deadly Force is Allowed Beyond this Point." He said
that every day there is a curfew from 6 pm to 6 am and
that anyone on the streets during those hours can be
shot. He added that it is hard to find fresh produce
in the city markets and residents do not have enough
food. The Red Crescent Society (RCS) is present in
the city to provide supplies, but its resources are
insufficient and the U.S. Army does not always allow
people access to the RCS.
Thursday, 17 February
The neighborhood where CPT members live had eight
hours and three minutes of electricity from the city grid.
Peggy Gish and Nash visited the Baghdad museum to seek
permission to visit Babylon. The head of archeological
sites told them that it was not possible at the time.
He was making plans for an international team of
archeologists to assess the damage done by the Polish Army.
Staff of the museum gave the two CPT members a tour of
the museum to see the results of the looting during the war in 2003.
Friday, 18 February
Because the power continually flipped on and off
throughout the day, the team lost track of how many
hours of electricity the neighborhood received from the city grid.
Saturday, 19 February
19 of February is Ashura, the day Shi'a Muslims
commemorate the death of Imam Hussain, grandson of the
prophet Mohammed. Throughout the day the team
received reports of bombings and attacks against Shi'a Ashura gatherings.
Monday, 21 February
The team spent the day visiting Iraqi Ministry offices.
Tuesday, 22 February
Rollins and Allan Slater went to the Iraqi Residence
Office to receive exit visas, and were told they could
not receive the visas for several more days. While
there, they met an man who submitted twenty-one
Italian passports for exit visas. He informed team
members that the Italian government had recalled all its citizens from Iraq.
The CPT delegation from the U.S. and Scotland arrived
in Baghdad. Half of the delegation traveled to Kerbala
with several CPT members, while the other half remained in Baghdad.
____
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:
peacemakers@cpt.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 Mar 01 2005 - 13:53:14 EST