CPTnet
6 January 2006

IRAQ UPDATE: 5-18 November 2006

[NOTE: Peggy Gish writes, "Due to little access to electricity, e-mail, and
a team of two or three trying to establish a physical base and go through
legal channels for visas and registration, the Iraq team has not been able
to produce and send out updates earlier. The team is now making efforts to
catch up with this part of our work."]

Sunday 5 November

Jan Benvie, Anita David and Anne Montgomery flew from Amman to Suleimaniya
in the Kurdish Region of northeastern Iraq. David and Montgomery were given
ten-day visas and told to go to the Residency office as soon as possible.
They were told that they had to have a Kurdish sponsor for the team, so
their translator signed on as sponsor until they could find another person
to do it. They went to the Residency office to start the visa application
process.

Monday 6 November

David received a one-month extension on her visa.

Tuesday 7 November

The team consulted with Kurdish advisors about the role of a sponsor and
legal requirements of the team. One advisor said he believed that since
this past summer there would be more restrictions on the team's activities
and travel.

Wednesday 8 November

Benvie and Montgomery met with an Interior Minister official to try to
clarify the process for registration of CPT as an NGO in the Kurdish Region.

A friend of the team arranged for the team to have an office in his building
in downtown Suleimaniya. An official office is a requirement for the visa
and registration processes.

Thursday 9 November

A Kurdish professional who had helped the team this summer agreed to be the
team's sponsor.

Saturday 11 November

Benvie contacted a driver and members of two NGO's that the team had known
this summer. She contacted a rental agent about renting a house. Kurdish
friends offered to help the team find an apartment.

Sunday 12 November

The team went to a notary to legally change sponsor. A legal advisor told
CPTers that the document received is sufficient for travel and visas for new
arrivals. The sponsor need not be present

The team's Kurdish translator said he thinks there will be civil war whether
or not the coalition forces withdraw.

Monday 13 November

Benvie contacted a member of the Muslim Peacemaker Teams in Najaf to tell
him that CPT was back in Suleimaniya.

An official at the Ministry of Interior (MOI) in Suleimaniya advised team
members to go to the MOI in Erbil to find out about registering as an NGO.

Later, Benvie and Montgomery met with two labor union organizers, who CPTers
had met previously in Baghdad. One of the men discussed the dangers for
those speaking out against the Kurdish government. He himself had been
imprisoned without charge for ten days. He had been imprisoned under
Saddam's regime and had left Iraq, but returned when the Kurdish area gained
autonomy in 1991. He spoke about the terrible conditions in the KRG
prisons, with 130 people incarcerated in a room of thirty square meters.

The team went to the home of a labor union organizer where they met his wife
and had tea. The organizer told them a little more about his recent
experience in prison and his visit to a judge who also expressed concerns
about the prisons.

Thursday 16 November

Montgomery was granted a one-month visa from the Residency office.

Saturday 18 November

A Kurdish friend told the team that cooking gas is in short supply. When
his family cannot get any they have to buy oil for cooking, which is very
expensive.