Norman Kember

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Norman Kember being held as a hostage.
Norman Kember being held as a hostage.

Norman Frank Kember (born 1931) is a British peace activist who was working with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in Iraq until he was taken as a hostage. He is a retired professor of biophysics, a Baptist, and a longstanding member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. He went to Iraq to demonstrate his opposition to the invasion of the country by the United States-led coalition and to show solidarity with the Iraqi people.

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[edit] Kidnap and release

On November 26, 2005, Kember (a delegate) and three other Western peace workers with CPT (American Tom Fox and Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden) were kidnapped by a previously unknown group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade.

According to his family, Kember went to Iraq to help Iraqis. Kember's family said: "Norman’s recent trip to visit the people of Iraq serves to highlight his willingness to listen to people from all backgrounds, beliefs, and walks of life and his determination to promote equality amongst all people." "He has gone to Iraq to listen, not convert; to learn from the Iraqi people, not to impose values; to promote peace and understanding." [1]

On December 5, 2005 Kember's wife made a plea for his release. Her 30-second plea was shown on Arab broadcast station Al Jazeera. [2]. A December 10 deadline was set by the kidnappers for the release of all Iraqi prisoners, or the hostages would be executed. It passed without any word on the hostages' fate. [3]

As the deadline passed and with no news of his whereabouts his friends held an hour-long silent vigil for him in Trafalgar Square, London. [4] A further vigil was held by local dignitaries and friends at Harrow Civic Centre. [5] Two weeks later, with the Kember family still waiting to hear news, they set up a telephone line, hoping that the kidnappers would contact them. [6]

On January 28 a new video was released by his captors and shown on Al-Jazeera television. They stated that this was the "last chance" for their demands to be met. [7]

On March 5 vigils were held in Trafalgar Square to mark 100 days since Kember was taken hostage. [8] [9] and on March 7 a new tape of Kember was aired on Arab satellite television station al-Jazeera. Three days later, the body of Kember's American colleague Tom Fox was found.

On March 23 Kember and the others were freed during a raid by multinational forces led by British Special Forces. None of the captors were present at the time of the raid, no shots were fired and no-one was injured. [10] Professor Kember was criticised for not explicitly thanking the military forces which assisted in securing his release, but has requested the withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq. General Sir Michael Jackson has told Channel 4 News that he was “saddened that there doesn’t seem to have been a note of gratitude for the soldiers who risked their lives to save those lives”. On March 25, in a telephone phone-in discussion on BBC Radio Five Live, Colonel Bob Stewart, a former British Commander under United Nations command in Bosnia from September 1992 to May 1993 suggested that Mr Kember and people like him were a liability. He had ignored advice not to go to Baghdad and the security services, the British government and multinational forces had diverted valuable time and resources (the rescue was said to have cost several million pounds) to rescue a foolish, albeit well intentioned, meddling civilian. His lack of gratitude was criticised as not being characteristic of true Christian values.


He arrived back in the United Kingdom on March 25 and released a written statement saying "I do not believe that a lasting peace [in Iraq] is achieved by armed force, but I pay tribute to their (the armed forces) courage and thank those who played a part in my rescue". Later that day he also released a video statement in which he again thanked his rescuers, and those who had supported his family throughout his kidnapping.[11]

[edit] Pleas for his release

Many individuals and groups asked for Kember's release; including: Terry Waite [12], radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, and Briton Moazzam Begg, a former detainee at the Guantanamo Bay prison. [13]

[edit] Arrest of kidnappers

On 7 November 2006, Iraqi government troops arrested individuals suspected of involvement in the kidnap and imprisonment of Norman Kember. The same day, Kember released a statement in which he refused to testify against them[14].

[edit] Hostage in Iraq

A year after his dramatic release by a multinational military raid, Norman Kember revealed his story behind the controversy of his captivity in Baghdad in his book Hostage in Iraq. The book included previously unseen drawings and notes made by Norman Kember, who kept a journal during his captivity and invented games with his fellow captives. [15].


[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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