CPTnet
15 August 2006

IRAQ UPDATE: 2-10 September, 2006

Saturday 02 September

A team friend came to say good-by to Maxine Nash. He said that he was
concerned about a mutual friend from Baghdad, who is at present not in Iraq.
Someone came around this friend's home and was looking for him. This visit
is considered a dangerous sign, so he will warn the friend not to return to
Baghdad.

Sunday 03 September

A team translator invited Jan Benvie and Peggy Gish to his home for lunch,
where they met his mother and brother. The family told Gish and Benvie
about a brother who lost his leg as a seven-year old child when his school
was bombed during the Iran/Iraq war. Now he lives in a European country
where he gets ongoing medical care.

CPTers met with the editor of an independent newspaper who spoke about the
government's response to recent public protests. He said that in the past
the excuse for restricting freedom of speech was Saddam Hussein; now it is
the fear of terrorism.

Monday, 04 September

Benvie and Gish traveled to Erbil where they spoke with the mayor of the
Ainkawa district and a local priest. The Mayor said that Christian
Internally Displaced People (IDPs) all got a stipend. They set up an Arabic
private school in Ainkawa for IDP children, and help with employment.

CPTers went to the finance minister's office to ask about the distribution
of funds for IDPs, but were told they would not be able to get an
appointment for several days.

They spoke with a worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) who described their work monitoring the treatment of foreign and
security prisoners in Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) prisons. He said
that the Suse prison near Suleimaniya is now closed and all prisoners under
US control are either at Bucca or the new prison at the Baghdad Airport
called, "Remembrance."

Tuesday, 05 September

Benvie and Gish met with a man, who had been jailed for three days because
of his involvement with the recent protests in Suleimaniya. Speaking about
the reasons for the protests, he said, "After all these years of being free
of Saddam the living conditions should be better. Where has the government
spent all its money?" He suggested CPT work in this region, focusing on
human rights, particularly on the right to demonstrate.

Wednesday, 06 September

At the Residency office, Benvie received a three-month multiple entry/exit
visa. Gish received a multiple entry/exit visa.

A team translator told team members that his wife had given birth to a baby
girl.

Benvie and Gish met with one of the organizers of the recent demonstrations
in the KRG area. He spoke of the lack of freedoms here and said that it was
impossible to get permission to hold a demonstration. He thought there would
be a role for CPT in the areas of nonviolence training, accompaniment, and
advocating for the rights of prisoners.

Thursday, 07 September

A team friend took Benvie and Gish to an Art Gallery where many of the
paintings referred to Saddam Hussein's Anfal campaign against the Kurds.
Then she took them to the Sulaimany Museum where they saw artifacts from
ancient civilizations in Iraq.

On the street, Gish was surprised to see the son of team friends from
Baghdad. He had come with a friend to Suleimaniya for a visit. He said his
family was well, though the situation in Baghdad is terrible.

Friday, 08 September

CPTers went to the family home of a team translator to see his new-born baby
and have lunch. Included in the meal was meat from the sheep sacrificed for
the baby's well-being. Later Benvie and Gish went with another team friend
and his family to a park.

Saturday, 09 September

Team members spoke to a journalist who had been arrested for his role in
recent protests. He said there would be a role for internationals to help
the groups put pressure on the government to allow free speech. He said the
protesters are simply asking for what the government should have been
providing the people already.

Benvie and Gish invited team translators for a farewell lunch. In the
evening, a team friend took CPTers to his home for a farewell supper, and
spoke about the resistance of the government to change.