CPTnet
April 13, 2004

IRAQ URGENT ACTION: Stop excessive use of force In Fallujah


In response to lynching of four U.S. security agents last week, U.S. forces invaded the city of Fallujah put it under siege for the past six days. Citizens have not been able to leave their homes safely to buy groceries or seek medical care.

Hospital workers report 518 Iraqis killed by U.S. fire as of Sunday, April 11, including at least 157 women and 146 children.  Of the children, one hundred are under age twelve and of those, 46 are under age five.  More than 1,200 have been wounded.  The death toll continued to rise past 600 by the time the team wrote this release.  Thus, 150 Iraqis have died for every one of the Americans lynched.

U.S. forces destroyed Fallujah's main hospital earlier this week and took over a second hospital for a military base. U.S. soldiers have also taken over the hospital in Najaf. Volunteers assisting Doctors Without Borders in Fallujah report U.S. Marine snipers are "shooting at anyone who moves" and similar situations are developing in Baghdad, Kufa, Samarra, and other cities. [NOTE: CPTers have worked closely with Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres ) in Hebron and trust their reports.]

The AP reported Monday that cease-fire agreements are dissolving in Fallujah and the Marines are sending in hundreds of reinforcements.  Excessive use of force by U.S. military at this time is inflaming Iraqi militia groups and leading to a rapid destablization in Iraq. According to Iraqis and the international aid community in Iraq, a greater explosion of violence is imminent.  Hundreds of Iraqis and humanitarian workers are leaving the country.

CPT Iraq asks U.S. citizens to contact their members of Congress, calling for U.S. forces to cease offensive military action in these cities, respect the human rights of Iraqi citizens, and pursue honest diplomacy to resolve this crisis.

CPT asks its Canadian constituency to contact Prime Minister Paul Martin and encourage him to contact Canadian Brigadier General Walt Natynczyk who is Deputy Chief for Strategy, Policy and Planning for Coalition Forces (CF) in Baghdad.  Ask Martin to tell Natynczyk that he needs to come up with a new strategy, because the current one the CF are using is getting a lot of people--soldiers and civilians--killed.

Rt. Hon. Paul Martin
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa ON  K1A 0A6
tel 613-992-4284
fax 613-992-4291
email pm (at) pm.gc.ca


U.S. citizens please contact your senators and congress people. Fax and phone numbers as well as e-mail addresses are available at www.congress.org.

Letters should be addressed to representatives' home offices, also available at www.congress.org.  Since not all people have easy web access, U.S. citizens with web access can also help by making the contact information easily available to members of their church and other local organizations.

Talking Points:

--The U.S. and Coalition forces, as the occupying power in Iraq, have an obligation to protect women, children, the elderly, and the wounded in combat situations.  As of Sunday, nearly two-thirds of those killed by U.S. forces were women and children.

--Dozens of U.S. soldiers are being killed in pursuing what military officials are calling an "offensive' response strategy."  Officers from the Marines in Fallujah told volunteers assisting Doctors Without Borders that they are unable to communicate with other U.S. military units and may be receiving friendly fire.

--U.S. military must not deny access to medical care for the wounded and sick.  Under humanitarian law, they may not take over hospitals for military purposes.  International volunteers have been present with ambulance crews whom U.S. soldiers fired upon without provocation.

--Since the U.S. siege of Fallujah and Muqtada al Sadr began last week, Iraqi militants have taken thirty internationals hostage, and executed several of them.  After one week of escalating violence, Iraqi Christians are now under threat of reprisal attacks for the U.S. killings of Muslims and destruction of mosques.  The violence and number of victims is increasing, not decreasing as a result of U.S. military actions.

--Although the killing and dismembering of four U.S. security agents was a terrible act, the search for perpetrators of the act cannot justify the deaths of more than 300 Iraqi women and children.

--Many Iraqis feel this recent escalation in violence has culminated from the Coalition's repeated human rights abuses and failure to provide basic civilian infrastructure such as water, electricity, and government services in the past year of military occupation.


Sample Letter to Fax to your Legislators

Dear ______________,

We are deeply troubled about the recent escalation in violence throughout Iraq.  Hospital workers in Fallujah report 518 Iraqis killed by U.S. fire as of Sunday, April 11, including at least 157 women and 146 children.  Of the children, one hundred are under age twelve and of those, 46 are under age five.  More than 1,200 have been wounded.  The death toll continues to rise. Iraqi civilians in neighborhoods throughout Baghdad report civilian casualties, as well as great fear of kidnappings and spiraling violence. One eyewitness  reported helicopter fire spraying heavily populated streets of the Sadr City neighborhood  to the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) in
Baghdad.  Another, who welcomed the troops with joy last spring, now says, "I hate Muqtada al Sadr, but now I can also say that I hate the Americans for what they are doing."

Iraqi people on the streets tell members of CPT over and over that the Coalition's use of offense military tactics encourages greater resistance. Such use of force, rather than reducing terrorism, actually acts as fuel on the fire.  If the attempt to bring every 100 perpetrators to justice results in 1,000 new enemies, the prospect for peace and security diminishes. 150 Iraqis have died for each of the four American security agents lynched in Fallujah.  If the Iraqis follow the example of the U.S. military, they will need to kill 90,000 Americans.

We are asking you to use your influence to encourage the Coalition forces to exercise restraint and to foster dialogue as a means of overcoming the present instability.  Ask the coalition forces to talk to community leaders, and listen to their recommendations for de-escalating violence.  As one prominent Iraqi friend said to CPT, please "build bridges of dialogue, to increase the common area of understanding."

I have enclosed the following CPT report, "CPT colleagues detail massacre in Fallujah," as background.

Thank you.



_______________
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the historic peace churches (Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations. Supporting violence-reduction efforts around the world is its mandate. Contact CPT, POB 6508 Chicago, IL 60680; Telephone: 773-277-0253 Fax: 773-277-0291; e-mail: guest.903627 (at) MennoLink.org.