CPTnet
December 1, 2003
IRAQ: CPTers Leaflet for Iraqi Human Rights

by David Milne

November 28, 2003

On Wednesday and Thursday, November 26-27, CPTers members Cliff Kindy, Allan
Slater, David Milne, and Anne Montgomery began the next phase of the
Campaign to Ensure Justice for Iraqi Detainees. They gave leaflets to U.S.
soldiers guarding the Palestine and Sheraton hotels, the Coalition
Provisional Authority (CPA) compound, and the Iraqi Assistance Center (IAC.)
The CPTers met them on the streets where they had stopped their
Humvees and at the gates to their bases.

The one page handout, English on one side and Arabic on the other, describes
the basic human rights of Iraqi--rights which Iraqis have told CPT the
Coalition Forces routinely violate during house raids and detentions. [See
full text of handout in accompanying release.]

At the Palestine Hotel, a CTV journalist interviewed Milne and Slater while
a journalist from Al Arabia Radio spoke with Kindy and Montgomery. The
following day a New York Times reporter interviewed Montgomery, Slater, and
Milne outside the CPA.

The U.S. soldiers received the handout graciously. Not one soldier asked
why the CPTers were taking this action. The CPTers also gave the handout
to curious Iraqi citizens standing nearby and to Iraqi soldiers on duty
beside U.S. soldiers. "Very good, mister! Very good!" said one Iraqi
citizen. After they read the first paragraphs of the leaflet, Iraqi
soldiers at the IAC came over to shake hands with Slater and Milne.

CPT began this action during Eid al Fitr, the holiday that follows Ramadan,
the month of fasting and spiritual reflection. In this three-day holiday,
Muslim people celebrate by feasting and visiting with family and friends.
By coincidence, the U.S. celebration of Thanksgiving also fell during this
time. CPTers greeted the soldiers with "Happy Thanksgiving" and Iraqi
citizens with "Ayamkum Sayeeda" (a traditional Eid greeting.)