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A CHANGE IN THE ATTITUDE OF
THE PA TOWARDS HUMAN RIGHTS: PROOF THAT PRESSURE WORKS
The PHRMG was established to defend
the human rights of civil society in the emerging Palestinian state. For
organizations and people with political/national agendas, it is a
difficult challenge to change the focus from fighting against Israeli
Occupation to developing Palestinian democracy. In our society, the
development of human rights work has lagged behind political developments.
In such a situation, it was easy for internationally-known figures in the
field of human rights (such as Eyad Sarraj) to be arrested and mistreated
after making critical comments about the Palestinian Authority (PA). Such
people have been practically left to their fate by large parts of the
human rights community, which, when push came to shove, was reluctant to
view human rights in a non-political manner. This harsh critique takes
into account the public campaign waged by the human rights community to
assist those human rights activists who were arrested. The problem is the
extremely small number of public figures willing to openly criticize
President Arafat and the Palestinian Authority on their human rights
record.
In August 1995, when the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem
published a report on the actions of the Palestinian Preventative Security
Services, Palestinian human rights groups had two reactions: shock at the
willingness of Bassem Eid to put himself at risk, and criticism of
B'Tselem, an Israeli organization, for attacking the PA. Some observers
went so far as to claim that Eid was an agent of the Israeli Shabak! These
observers should instead be asking why such a report was not written by a
Palestinian human rights group previously _ and hasn't been since.
During 1996, Eyad Sarraj was arrested on blatantly false drug charges.
Both the international and local human rights communities rushed to defend
him by sending letters and faxes to President Arafat. While such action
was necessary, it did not counteract the isolation of individuals like
Sarraj who were willing to place themselves at risk by openly criticizing
the PA. We did not see, for example, new critics taking Sarraj's place, or
new reports criticizing human rights violations by the PA (written by
Palestinians, and released publicly in Palestine).
Three years after the arrival of the PA, our human rights community has
been transformed from brave leaders in the struggle against the Occupation
into a group which is much more sympathetic to the local authorities, if
they are Palestinian. The death of resistance fighters in Israeli custody
would surely have led to court cases, statements by Palestinian
politicians, and the publication (in Arabic) of patriotic articles
denouncing the murders. To date, twelve Palestinians have died in the
hands of the PA. Is it less patriotic to denounce their murderers? Who
will now be our 'Felicia Langer' to defend the rights of the weak and
oppressed?
Three explanations for the current situation have been presented: the
Palestinians mustn't 'air dirty laundry in public;' Arafat and the PA must
be given time to establish themselves amid difficult political conditions;
and there is genuine (and well-based) fear of what the new regime will do
to its critics.
Yet when human rights activists are mistreated, journalists arrested, and
hundreds of people jailed only for political reasons or for no reason at
all, and above all when our intellectual leadership remains silent, what
are people to think? They can only conclude that the problems with human
rights are not the fault of a particular political ideology, but part of
the Palestinian political culture.
Most political organizations in Palestine have a history of supporting
human rights only when it serves their purposes (as demonstrated by their
silence in the face of torture and murder of alleged collaborators, and
'family honor killings' of Palestinian women). In particular when
supporting human rights is part of the struggle for national liberation.
They cannot, therefore, raise the banner of human rights without risking
hypocrisy on a grand scale. This fact is even recognized by some leaders
of organizations and parties, who therefore support the development of
human rights organizations such as the PHRMG. A large part of the
Palestinian public has realized that national liberation without freedom
and democracy is a hollow prize indeed. How many times do we hear the
complaint: "Is this what we were fighting for?!"
The Situation is Changing
In December 1996, the PHRMG and B'Tselem published a joint comprehensive
report on human rights violations committed by both Israel and the
Palestinian Authority. In February 1997, The Society for the Protection of
Human Rights and the Environment (LAW) published a similar report. January
saw the first issue of Al-Rakib, the PHRMG newspaper in Arabic, which hit
the streets with news of human rights abuses, torture, and corruption in
the PA. The death in custody of Al-Baba was met not with rioting in the
streets, but with public statements from Al-Haq, LAW and other leading
human rights groups. For the first time, the family of a torture victim
was represented by lawyers who were willing to confront overt and covert
threats from the security forces.
In an article published on February 18 by the Arabic daily Al-Quds, Hamdi
Farraj wrote the following:
"It is about time the Palestinian leadership took the situation in hand
and uprooted all forms of torture in its security institutions. The
behavior of the members of these institutions reflects badly on both the
Palestinian leadership and the people."
This is certainly a far cry from the situation of a year ago, when all
human rights activists were collectively accused of being 'fifth
columnists' (Al-Ayam, 18 August 1996). It is proof that assertive and
respectful public activity can produce results, while merely internal
letters and pleas are harmful, as they only isolate the bravest defenders
of human rights.
Room for Improvement
While the situation of human rights in Palestine has changed, however,
there remains much room for improvement. Human rights organizations,
intellectuals and political leaders must:
a) make their voices heard in support of human rights, especially when
international reports criticize the PA for human rights violations, and
b) pressure the authorities to follow due process in treating those guilty
of these violations, as should be done for perpetrators of other crimes.
The announcement that a low-level officer was sentenced to a long prison
sentence does not send the message that the PA is under the rule of law.
The greatest challenge for the Palestinian human rights community will
surely come after the next explosion of tensions between Israel and the
PA, or the PA and its political opposition. We cannot continue to bury our
heads in the sand of Israeli violations, telling ourselves that "the
occupation is not yet over" as an excuse to evade responsibility in the
fight over Palestinian democracy. Human rights and democracy are not
incidental to the 'big picture.' They are a central part of the struggle
for the Palestinian people for rights and justice. They are ignored at our
own risk.
ce. They are ignored at our own risk.
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