Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 8. december 2006 / Time Line December 8, 2006
Version 3.57. December 2006, 9. December 2006
12/08/2006
UNITED KINGDOM: Statement by Norman Kember, James Loney, and
Harmeet Singh Sooden regarding the prosecution of their
kidnappers
[Note: Norman Kember, Harmeet Singh Sooden and CPTer James Loney
delivered the following statement at a press conference today in
London at 10:30 a.m. GMT]
We three, members of a Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) delegation
to Iraq, were kidnapped on November 26, 2005 and held for 118 days
before being freed by British and American forces on March 23,
2006. Our friend and colleague, Tom Fox, an American citizen and
full-time member of the CPT team working in Baghdad at the time,
was kidnapped with us and murdered on March 9, 2006.
We are immensely sad that he is not sitting with us here today.
On behalf of our families and CPT, we thank you for attending this
press conference today.
It was on this day a year ago that our captors threatened to
execute us unless their demands were met. This ultimatum, unknown
to us at the time, was a source of extreme distress for our
families, friends and colleagues.
The deadline was extended by two days to December 10, which is
International Human Rights Day. On this day, people all over the
world will commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights by the UN General Assembly in 1948 by speaking out for
all those whose human dignity is being violated by torture,
arbitrary imprisonment, poverty, racism, oppression or war.
We understand a number of men alleged to be our captors have been
apprehended, charged with kidnapping, and are facing trial in the
Central Criminal Court of Iraq. We have been asked by the police in
our respective countries to testify in the trial. After much
reflection upon our traditions, both Sikh and Christian, we are
issuing this statement today.
We unconditionally forgive our captors for abducting and holding
us. We have no desire to punish them. Punishment can never restore
what was taken from us.
What our captors did was wrong. They caused us, our families and
our friends great suffering. Yet, we bear no malice towards them
and have no wish for retribution. Should those who have been
charged with holding us hostage be brought to trial and convicted,
we ask that they be granted all possible leniency. We categorically
lay aside any rights we may have over them.
In our view, the catastrophic levels of violence and the lack of
effective protection of human rights in Iraq is inextricably linked
to the US-led invasion and occupation. As for many others, the
actions of our kidnappers were part of a cycle of violence they
themselves experienced. While this is no way justifies what the men
charged with our kidnapping are alleged to have done, we feel this
must be considered in any potential judgment.
Forgiveness is an essential part of Sikh, Christian and Muslim
teaching. Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first of the Sikh Gurus said,
"'Forgiveness' is my mother..." and, "Where there is forgiveness,
there is God." Jesus said, "For if you forgive those who sin
against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." And of
Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) it is told that once, while
preaching in the city of Ta'if, he was abused, stoned and driven
out of the city. An angel appeared to him and offered to crush the
city between the two surrounding mountains if he ordered him to do
so, whereupon the prophet (or Mohammed PBUH) said, "No. Maybe from
them or their offspring will come good deeds."
Through the power of forgiveness, it is our hope that good deeds
will come from the lives of our captors, and that we will all learn
to reject the use of violence. We believe those who use violence
against others are themselves harmed by the use of violence.
Kidnapping is a capital offence in Iraq and we understand that some
of our captors could be sentenced to death. The death penalty is an
irrevocable judgment. It erases all possibility that those who have
harmed others, even seriously, can yet turn to good. We
categorically oppose the death penalty.
By this commitment to forgiveness, we hope to plant a seed that one
day will bear the fruits of healing and reconciliation for us, our
captors, the peoples of Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom,
the United States, and most of all, Iraq. We look forward to the
day when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is respected by
all the world's people.
Harmeet Singh Sooden Norman Kember James Loney
12/08/2006
LockMart-Built Trident II D5 Launched In Two-Missile US Navy Test
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/LockMart_Built_Trident_II_D5_Launched_In_Two_Missile_US_Navy_Test_999.html
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Dec 08, 2006
The U.S. Navy conducted a successful test launch Nov. 21 of two Trident II D5
Fleet Ballistic Missiles (FBMs) built by Lockheed Martin. The Navy
launched the unarmed missiles from USS Maryland (SSBN 738) at the Eastern Range
in the Atlantic Ocean.
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