Sooden family know nothing of Iraq negotiator abduction claim

Sooden family know nothing of Iraq negotiator abduction claim

-18/12/05

In a poignant

Sooden family know nothing of Iraq negotiator abduction claim

-18/12/05

In a poignant interview this weekend, Harmeet Singh Soodenís family have said that they still support his decision to go to Iraq as a peace activist, even though they realise that some have questioned the propriety of his decision following his kidnapping last month with three other Christian Peacemaker Team activists.

They also say they are unaware of a supposed kidnapping of a local Iraqi release negotiator ñ a claim made by a newspaper but dismissed by others.

Asked about his feelings, Mark Brewer, Mr Sooden’s brother-in-law, told New Zealand reporters that it would be very bad news if people like Harmeet stopped their work.

“A lot of the good things he does we don’t hear about, or haven’t heard until now. Perhaps he [has done] that to protect us,” said Mr Brewer.

He went on: “We knew he had gone to Palestine, but we never got into the guts of where he goes, who he sees. We didn’t know any more for this trip.”

Brewer added that the family know nothing about the allegation that a local Iraqi negotiator who was supposedly helping Harmeet had been kidnapped, as reported in the Toronto Star newspaper.

The CPT Canadian Team believe that the report is false. A contact in Iraq has also told the British religious think-tank Ekklesia, which is an associate of Christian Peacemaker Teams in the UK, that there is no such negotiator. Canadian Foreign Affairs said they had no information on the report either.

The reporters who suggested the new kidnapping have not yet substantiated or withdrawn their claims, and the Toronto Star has not responded to Ekklesiaís several enquiries.

On the media rumours, Mr Brewer added: “Often reports seem to come from left and right … we only hear twelfth hand information.”

CPT is known to be concerned that pre-emptive half-stories confuse the situation that they, diplomats and negotiators have to work in, as well as detracting from the emphasis on campaigning for release and public awareness.

ìJournalists donít need to chase shadows for news where there is a really important story about the achievements of peace workers which they have ignored for far too long,î a commentator told Ekklesia.

She added: ìIn really delicate situations like this itís best to wait for news to step out of the shadow before responding, so that we know whether it is reality or rumour we are dealing with.î

Meanwhile the Sooden family is remaining positive amidst the understandable anxiety, and says it is “not a case of if but when [Harmeet] comes home”.

The families of the kidnapped CPTers had expected to hear little over the past week anyway, as Iraq “shut down” for elections.

Victoria University religious terrorism expert Jim Veitch says the silence is worrying, but favourable factors include prominent Muslims urging the release of the four men, and that the Christian Peacemaker Teams are connected with a Muslim equivalent.

Mr Soodenís brother-in-law has also rejected criticism that the hostages had not exercised enough personal responsibility, saying it would be “cataclysmic” if people like Harmeet ceased their work.

Among those who have made such criticisms is Terry Waite, envoy for a former Archbishop of Canterbury, who received similar accusations when he was kidnapped ñ and eventually released ñ in the Lebanon a number of years ago.

Canon Andrew White in Baghdad has also raised questions about CPT tactics, as has former abductee Ken Taylor, a Canadian diplomat.

Christian Peacemaker Teams stress the personal, moral and religious responsibility involved in their decision-making processes. They also emphasise the pool of experience, local support and thorough training involved in their work.

CPT aims to ìget in the wayî in order to pursue violence reduction or elimination tactics linked to strategies concerned with promoting peace-with-justice.

Regular Iraq and captives pdates on FaithInSociety.

Sooden family know nothing of Iraq negotiator abduction claim

-18/12/05

In a poignant interview this weekend, Harmeet Singh Sooden’s family have said that they still support his decision to go to Iraq as a peace activist, even though they realise that some have questioned the propriety of his decision following his kidnapping last month with three other Christian Peacemaker Team activists.

They also say they are unaware of a supposed kidnapping of a local Iraqi release negotiator – a claim made by a newspaper but dismissed by others.

Asked about his feelings, Mark Brewer, Mr Sooden’s brother-in-law, told New Zealand reporters that it would be very bad news if people like Harmeet stopped their work.

“A lot of the good things he does we don’t hear about, or haven’t heard until now. Perhaps he [has done] that to protect us,” said Mr Brewer.

He went on: “We knew he had gone to Palestine, but we never got into the guts of where he goes, who he sees. We didn’t know any more for this trip.”

Brewer added that the family know nothing about the allegation that a local Iraqi negotiator who was supposedly helping Harmeet had been kidnapped, as reported in the Toronto Star newspaper.

The reporters who suggested the new kidnapping have not yet substantiated or withdrawn their claims, and the Toronto Star has not responded to Ekklesia’s several enquiries.

On the media rumours, Mr Brewer added: “Often reports seem to come from left and right … we only hear twelfth hand information.”

‘Journalists don’t need to chase shadows for news where there is a really important story about the achievements of peace workers which they have ignored for far too long,’ a commentator told Ekklesia.

She added: ‘In really delicate situations like this it’s best to wait for news to step out of the shadow before responding, so that we know whether it is reality or rumour we are dealing with.’

Meanwhile the Sooden family is remaining positive amidst the understandable anxiety, and says it is “not a case of if but when [Harmeet] comes home”.

The families of the kidnapped CPTers had expected to hear little over the past week anyway, as Iraq “shut down” for elections.

Mr Sooden’s brother-in-law has also rejected criticism that the hostages had not exercised enough personal responsibility, saying it would be “cataclysmic” if people like Harmeet ceased their work.

Among those who have made such criticisms is Terry Waite, envoy for a former Archbishop of Canterbury, who received similar accusations when he was kidnapped – and eventually released – in the Lebanon a number of years ago.

Canon Andrew White in Baghdad has also raised questions about CPT tactics, as has former abductee Ken Taylor, a Canadian diplomat.

CPT aims to ‘get in the way’ in order to pursue violence reduction or elimination tactics linked to strategies concerned with promoting peace-with-justice.

Regular Iraq and captives pdates on FaithInSociety.