Christian Peacemaker calls for release of Gaza hostage
-26/08/06
Harmeet Singh Sooden,
Christian Peacemaker calls for release of Gaza hostage
-26/08/06
Harmeet Singh Sooden, a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams and a recent former hostage in Iraq, has issued a call for the safe release of a New Zealander and an American who were kidnapped in Gaza ten days ago.
New Zealand cameraman, Olaf Wiig, and an American reporter, Steve Centanni, were seized while on assignment for the Fox news television network.
Latest reports suggest that the two men may be being held at a refugee camp near Gaza City. The Jerusalem Post claims the pair were originally kidnapped by members of the Palestinian Authority security forces for money, and then handed to Fatah militants. The PA strongly denies this.
Informed observers, including Sooden, say that, as in other hostage situations, media speculation of this kind is not helpful.
Harmeet Singh Sooden, a Canadian electrical engineer who holds New Zealand residency, was freed on 23 March 2006 with Jim Loney and Briton Norman Kember after being held in Baghdad for four months. A fourth colleague, Tom Fox, was killed.
Recalling the immense support he and his colleagues received throughout the Muslim and Arab world, Mr Sooden declared: ìToday I implore those holding Olaf Wiig and Steve Centanni to free them immediately and unharmed.î
He continued: ìIt is essential that we, the public, understand the greater context within which the kidnapping has taken place. Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of women and children, have been kidnapped by Israeli forces as part of a campaign to murder a nation under the aegis of the United States.î
The Christian Peacemaker also called upon the media to report the reality of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and to desist from ìcounter-productive speculation and the commodifying of private trauma.î
Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has said that she has been assured by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that officials in Gaza are doing all they can for Wiig and his colleague.
Olaf Wiigís father, the Rev Roger Wiig, has expressed gratitude to all those working to help secure the release of Olaf and Steve Centanni.
Fox News is a right-wing broadcast organisation which has been pro-war over Iraq and has supported Israel against the Palestinians. It was hostile towards Christian Peacemaker Teams, accusing them of being partisan.
But CPT and other peace groups continue to insist that they oppose violence in all its forms, and wish to see the release of both prisoners and hostages of all political and religious opinion.
Christian Peacemaker Teams opposes the war and occupation in Iraq, has worked on the ground with both Sunni and Shia Muslim groups, and has supported civilians in occupied Palestine.
CPT is an ecumenical organisation founded and supported by the historic peace churches (Mennonites, Brethren in Christ, Quakers) and others. It aims to ëget in the wayí of violence and practices creative conflict transformation techniques in cooperation with non-violent civil society groups.
[Also on Ekklesia: Harmeet Sooden returns quietly to New Zealand; Statement by released Christian peacemaker James Loney; Christians urge love of enemies in face of hostage crisis; Entombed Iraq captive Jim Loney talks of Easter Hope; Australian Muslim seeks freedom for Christian Peacemakers; Christian peacemaker Tom Fox killed in Iraq; Norman Kember urges the churches to embrace non-violence; Christian peacemakers shown alive in Iraq; Embattled Hezbollah backs Iraq ‘doves of peace’; Sooden family know nothing of Iraq negotiator abduction claim]
Christian Peacemaker calls for release of Gaza hostage
-26/08/06
Harmeet Singh Sooden, a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams and a recent former hostage in Iraq, has issued a call for the safe release of a New Zealander and an American who were kidnapped in Gaza ten days ago.
New Zealand cameraman, Olaf Wiig, and an American reporter, Steve Centanni, were seized while on assignment for the Fox news television network.
Latest reports suggest that the two men may be being held at a refugee camp near Gaza City. The Jerusalem Post claims the pair were originally kidnapped by members of the Palestinian Authority security forces for money, and then handed to Fatah militants. The PA strongly denies this.
Informed observers, including Sooden, say that, as in other hostage situations, media speculation of this kind is not helpful.
Harmeet Singh Sooden, a Canadian electrical engineer who holds New Zealand residency, was freed on 23 March 2006 with Jim Loney and Briton Norman Kember after being held in Baghdad for four months. A fourth colleague, Tom Fox, was killed.
Recalling the immense support he and his colleagues received throughout the Muslim and Arab world, Mr Sooden declared: ìToday I implore those holding Olaf Wiig and Steve Centanni to free them immediately and unharmed.î
He continued: ìIt is essential that we, the public, understand the greater context within which the kidnapping has taken place. Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of women and children, have been kidnapped by Israeli forces as part of a campaign to murder a nation under the aegis of the United States.î
The Christian Peacemaker also called upon the media to report the reality of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and to desist from ìcounter-productive speculation and the commodifying of private trauma.î
Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has said that she has been assured by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that officials in Gaza are doing all they can for Wiig and his colleague.
Olaf Wiigís father, the Rev Roger Wiig, has expressed gratitude to all those working to help secure the release of Olaf and Steve Centanni.
Fox News is a right-wing broadcast organisation which has been pro-war over Iraq and has supported Israel against the Palestinians. It was hostile towards Christian Peacemaker Teams, accusing them of being partisan.
But CPT and other peace groups continue to insist that they oppose violence in all its forms, and wish to see the release of both prisoners and hostages of all political and religious opinion.
Christian Peacemaker Teams opposes the war and occupation in Iraq, has worked on the ground with both Sunni and Shia Muslim groups, and has supported civilians in occupied Palestine.
CPT is an ecumenical organisation founded and supported by the historic peace churches (Mennonites, Brethren in Christ, Quakers) and others. It aims to ëget in the wayí of violence and practices creative conflict transformation techniques in cooperation with non-violent civil society groups.
[Also on Ekklesia: Harmeet Sooden returns quietly to New Zealand; Statement by released Christian peacemaker James Loney; Christians urge love of enemies in face of hostage crisis; Entombed Iraq captive Jim Loney talks of Easter Hope; Australian Muslim seeks freedom for Christian Peacemakers; Christian peacemaker Tom Fox killed in Iraq; Norman Kember urges the churches to embrace non-violence; Christian peacemakers shown alive in Iraq; Embattled Hezbollah backs Iraq ‘doves of peace’; Sooden family know nothing of Iraq negotiator abduction claim]