4 members of the Christian Peacemaking Team held hostage in Iraq

These are the true Christians, the ones who are willing to die for the cause of peace and justice. Their lives are in danger.

Please sign the petition - maybe it will do something: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/freethecpt

http://www.cpt.org/

I really hope that people won't make excuses for them. These activists are not mercenaries or soldiers. They are in no way a legitimate target of warfare. I don't care how illegal and despicable the war is (and I have only made about 5,000 posts about it for 3 years), their captors are just a bunch of thugs and killers.

Statement of Conviction

In a "Statement of Conviction," the long-term Team members stated that they "are aware of the many risks both Iraqis and internationals currently face," and affirmed that the risks did not outweigh their purpose in remaining. They express the hope that "in loving both friends and enemies and by intervening non-violently to aid those who are systematically oppressed, we can contribute in some small way to transforming this volatile situation."

Christian Peacemaker Teams has been present in Iraq since October 2002, providing first-hand, independent reports from the region, working with detainees of both United States and Iraqi forces, and training others in non-violent intervention and human rights documentation. Iraqi friends and human rights workers have welcomed the team as a nonviolent, independent presence. CPT teams host regular delegations of committed peace and human rights activists to conflict zones, who join teams in working with civilians to document abuses and develop nonviolent alternatives to armed conflict. The CPT Iraq Team has hosted a total of 120 people on sixteen delegations over the last three years.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a violence reduction program. Teams of trained peacemakers work in areas of lethal conflict around the world. In addition to the Iraq Team, teams of CPT workers are currently serving in Barrancabermeja, Colombia; Hebron and At-Tuwani, Palestine; Kenora, Ontario, Canada; and on the Mexico-United States border.