Mark Koenig of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program has sent this note from Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in Iraq:

Civilians in Iraq need you to help end state-sponsored torture by Iraqi security forces.
[11-1-05]

Background:

CPT Iraq spent nearly two years documenting abuse of Iraqi detainees in U.S.-run prisons in Iraq. But for the past several months, the team has received more and more reports of detentions, killings, and torture perpetrated by the new Iraqi security forces – forces trained by U.S. military and now given responsibility for security in their country. Methods of torture reported by survivors and families include beatings with cables, electric shock, electric drilling, food and sleep deprivation, beating of feet, stress positions, and suspension from the ceiling. CPT has received first-hand testimonies alleging that the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and new commando groups such as the Wolf and Scorpion Brigades have targeted particular communities, such as Iraqi Sunni neighborhoods as well as neighborhoods of Palestinians born in Iraq.

Recently, CPTers accompanied a group of nineteen Palestinians who decided to seek refuge in Syria from the night raids, arrests and torture-induced confessions their community has suffered. They are still camped at the Syrian border awaiting entry, since their 1948 status as "guests" in Iraq does not allow them to migrate to neighboring countries. Members of their community and others in Iraq still receive regular threats.

CPT acknowledges that every sector of the Iraqi population is suffering in these violent times. Government-sponsored torture is one specific form of violence that you can directly challenge with
your voice.

ACTION:

We urgently request that you do one or all of the following:

1. Contact the U.S. Department of State. Point out that if the U.S. came to Iraq to create a country of "freedom and democracy," then they are failing utterly because the current Iraqi government's
treatment of its own citizens and of refugee Palestinians resembles more the actions of Saddam Hussein's government. Point out that the U.S. military trained the new Iraqi security forces, and therefore shares responsibility for their actions.

US Department of State
Telephone: 202-647-6575
Fax: 202-647-4147
http://contact-us.state.gov/

2. Call, email or fax the Iraqi embassy in your country and voice your concern about the use of torture in general and the targeting of certain communities in particular, such as Palestinians living in Iraq.

Embassy of Iraq in Washington, D.C.
Tel: (202) 483-7500
Fax: (202) 462-5066; (202) 462-0564
Email: admin@iraqiembassy.org

Embassy of Iraq in Canada
215 McLeod Street
Ottawa, ON K2P0Z8
Phone: 613-236-9177 (9178)
Fax: 613-567-1101

Iraq Embassy, United Kingdom
169 Knightsbridge
London SW7 1DW
Phone: (020) 7581-2264
Fax: (020) 7589-3356

3. Call, email or fax the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) offices in Damascus and New York City, and request that:

-- The UN do its utmost to ensure that the Palestinian population in Iraq is protected
-- UNRWA needs to continue to provide the refugees stranded at the Iraqi-Syrian border with shelter and basic needs until their situation is resolved

UNRWA
Syrian Arab Republic Field Office, Damascus
Hala Mukhles
Public Information Officer
Tel: (+ 963 11) 613 3035 (ext 258)
Fax: (+ 963 11) 613 3047
Email: sarpio@unrwa.org

UNRWA Liaison Office, New York
Chief, Liaison Office - Maher Nasser
One United Nations Plaza, Room DC1-1265
New York, NY 10017, USA
Telephone: (+ 1 212) 963 2255, (00 1 212) 963 1234
Facsimile: (+ 1 212) 935 7899
 

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical violence-reduction program with roots in the historic peace churches. Teams of trained peace workers live in areas of lethal conflict around the world. CPT has been present in Iraq since October, 2002.
To learn more about CPT, please visit http://www.cpt.org.