CPTnet
18 August 2010
CPT Iraq Update, 16–31 July, 2010

On Team: Peggy Gish, Marius van Hoogstraten, David Hovde, Garland Robertson, Chihchun Yuan
 
Public Witness for Kurdish Rights
Various alternative political parties and organizations gathered in the center of Suleimaniya, in the Kurdish region of Iraq, on 22 July to speak out for Kurdish rights. At issue was the Turkish government and military violence and discrimination against Kurds. Turkey represses Kurdish civil and human rights in Turkey and indiscriminately arrests and allegedly tortures those advocating for Kurdish rights. Turkey also has bombed Kurdish civilian areas across the Iraqi border for the past three years. The various groups present, including CPT, made statements. The organizers were not granted permission to hold the event and the police surrounded those present for the event’s duration.

Yaprakh (Dolma) Day
Mohammed Salah Mahde, CPT Iraq’s translator, and CPTer Chihchun Yuan came up with an idea to encourage people in the internally displaced persons camp near Zharawa and to raise awareness of their situation by having a “dolma day” where people from the city would make dolmas (a traditional Middle Eastern food) and bring them to the camp for a picnic. The idea became a reality 23 July when thirty-nine people brought homemade dolmas from Suleimaniya and Rania to the camp and had a picnic there with the people in the camp in a large tent. (See “Dolma picnic brings urban Kurds, IDPs together".) The media was present to record the many children and adults enjoying themselves. Bayz Abbas Pirot, who lives in the camp said, “Although the dolma was great, the food is not the main thing. It was the people coming from the city to see and be with us that was important.” People in this tent camp were displaced from their villages by Turkish and Iranian bombardment three years ago.

Providing Mutual Support in the Way of Nonviolence
The CPT team had an exciting encounter with a journalist who is trying to find assistance for Iranian refugees who need medical care not available in Iraq. The team agreed to try to help him connect with organizations that might provide assistance for the refugees. When meeting with the team he told us his story. He had been a peshmerga (Kurdish fighter) for a Kurdish resistance group fighting for Kurdish rights in Iran. Acts of violence he had done haunted him and he decided to leave the group and join together with others who no longer want to use violence. They want to bring an end to the camps that recruit youths and train them in ways to fight and kill. He wants to share his story of transformation with others.

U.S. Troops Withdrawal Survey and Report
The team hopes to publicize soon on CPT’s website its report drawn from interviews with Iraqis on how they think the drawdown of U.S. troops will affect Iraq.