|
Jerusalem, November 29, 1999
PA arrested 7 academics
and politicians because they spoke their mind
Eight Palestinian
academics and a number of members of the Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC) signed a petition on Friday 27
1999 accusing Arafat of tyrrany, corruption and political
deceipt. See the copy of the petition below.
On Sunday and this
morning, the Palestinian Intelligence arrested 5 and put
another 2 under home arrest. And apparently, more persons
are to be arrested. Arafat has asked for an urgent meeting
with the Palestinian Legislative Council in order to
remove the “parliamentary immunity” of the members of the
Legislative Council, so that they can also be arrested.
The PA Brig. Gen. Ghazi
Jabali ordered the arrest of a prominent Palestinian
professor, Abdul Sattar Qasem of the National University,
Dr. Abedel Rahim Kittaneh, Dr. Adel Samara, Dr. Yaser
Abusafiyya and Ahmad Katamesh (PFLP member).
They also put Bassam
Shaka’a, the former mayor of Nablus, and Waheed Alhamdalla,
former mayor of Anabta town in the West Bank, under house
arrest.
These arrests shows that
the PA will try everything to prevent any kind of
pluralism and democracy.
This petition is the
beginning of a civil revolution. This is the first time
academics take a strong initiative for democracy and
against the Palestinian Authority’s corruption and
violations of basic rights of the people. This could be
the first step toward changing the system, therefore we
look upon these arrests as outrageous.
The
Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) calls
for the immediate release of these prisoners and for the
Palestinian Authority to respect the freedom of speech as
expressed in the Declaration of Human Rights, signed by
Arafat himself.
We demand
Arafat to implement the recommendations of the report on
corruption which was released by the Palestinian
Legislative Council in July 1997.
The PHRMG
also calls for the international donor community to put
financial pressure on Arafat’s regime in order to release
these prisoners and to make the implementation of human
rights standards and principles possible in the
Palestinian autonomous areas.
For
more information, contact the PHRMG office: Tel: 972 2
6262463, Fax: 972 2 6262378, E-mail:
admin@phrmg.org
Copy of
the original petition: A cry from the home land
We feel
sorry towards what's happening on the saint soil of
Palestine of hurrying to lose the dignity of the people
and giving up its rights. And we as ordinary citizens,
were provoked by our national allegiances for the sake of
working together as one heart to correct the deteriorating
situations we reached to.
The
Palestinian leadership promised after Oslo a Palestinian
state with Jerusalem being the Capital of it, the return
of refugees, the Demolishing of settlements, the release
of prisoners, and the preparation for an economic revival
that will lead Palestine to be the Singapore of the whole
region.
Some of us
were deceived and celebrated in the streets these claimed
victories. But, after six years of Oslo, we see more land
confiscation, the building of more settlements beside
enlarging the existing ones and the continuous conspiracy
over the case of refugees which is accelerating rapidly
behind the scenes and the doors of jails are still looking
behind our sons and daughters. Neither Jerusalem nor
Singapore was reached; the people were divided into two
sections. Small one that rules and steels and a larger one
that complains and looking for a survivor.
This is a
terrifying scenario of the misleading and lies on the
people That will have a more sounding and criminal effects
in the final settlement negotiations.
On top of
that, the Palestinian Authority has followed a systematic
methodology of corruption, humiliation and abuse. As if
the Oslo agreement was a trade of the homeland for the
richness of some corrupted people.
The president
of the PNA has opened the doors widely for some
opportunist to
spread
corruption in the Palestinian community. The economic
status has deteriorated, the communal relations had
weakened and the moral standards have demolished, and many
health educational and judiciary institutions have been
destroyed. The alarm bell is toning in every city,
village, refugee camp, and every bend and corner, even in
every shop, house and office. The homeland is being let
down and destroyed.
Lets stand
together against this tyranny and corruption The injustice
can't be stopped unless by collective arms of the
oppressed.
And the
oppressor can't be stopped unless by the hard stains of
faith.
Dr.
Abdulsattar Qassem (Arrested)
Abduljawad
Saleh, PLC
Bassam
Shaka'a (Home Arrest)
Fakhri
Turkuman, PLC
Mo'awiya Al-masri
, PLC
Hussam Khader,
PLC
Hasan
Khreesha , PLC
Dr. Ali Abu-reesh,
PLC
Rawya Al-shawwa
, PLC
Ra'fat
Alnajjar, PLC
Adnan Odeh
Ismat
Shakhshir (summoned, interrogated)
Waheed
Alhamdalla (Home Arrest)
Dr. Yaser
Abusafiyya (Arrested)
Dr.
Abdulrahim Kittana (Arrested)
Ahmad
Katamesh (Arrested)
Dr. Adel
Samara (Arrested)
Zahran Abu-qbeita
Ahmad Shaker
Doodeen
Dr. Afif
Sulaiman Judah (Arrested)
PA arrested 7
academics and politicians because they spoke their mind
Eight Palestinian academics and a number of members of the
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) signed a petition on
Friday 27 1999 accusing Arafat of tyrrany, corruption and
political deceipt. See the copy of the petition below.
On Sunday and this morning, the Palestinian Intelligence
arrested 5 and put another 2 under home arrest. And
apparently, more persons are to be arrested. Arafat has
asked for an urgent meeting with the Palestinian Legislative
Council in order to remove the “parliamentary immunity” of
the members of the Legislative Council, so that they can
also be arrested.
The PA Brig. Gen. Ghazi Jabali ordered the arrest of a
prominent Palestinian professor, Abdul Sattar Qasem of the
National University, Dr. Abedel Rahim Kittaneh, Dr. Adel
Samara, Dr. Yaser Abusafiyya and Ahmad Katamesh (PFLP
member).
They also put Bassam Shaka’a, the former mayor of Nablus,
and Waheed Alhamdalla, former mayor of Anabta town in the
West Bank, under house arrest.
These arrests shows that the PA will try everything to
prevent any kind of pluralism and democracy.
This petition is the beginning of a civil revolution. This
is the first time academics take a strong initiative for
democracy and against the Palestinian Authority’s corruption
and violations of basic rights of the people. This could be
the first step toward changing the system, therefore we look
upon these arrests as outrageous.
The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) calls
for the immediate release of these prisoners and for the
Palestinian Authority to respect the freedom of speech as
expressed in the Declaration of Human Rights, signed by
Arafat himself.
We demand Arafat to implement the recommendations of the
report on corruption which was released by the Palestinian
Legislative Council in July 1997.
The PHRMG also calls for the international donor community
to put financial pressure on Arafat’s regime in order to
release these prisoners and to make the implementation of
human rights standards and principles possible in the
Palestinian autonomous areas.
For more information, contact the PHRMG office: Tel: 972 2
6262463, Fax: 972 2 6262378, E-mail: admin@phrmg.org
http://www.phrmg.org
Copy of the original petition: A cry from the home land
We feel sorry towards what's happening on the saint soil of
Palestine of hurrying to lose the dignity of the people and
giving up its rights. And we as ordinary citizens, were
provoked by our national allegiances for the sake of working
together as one heart to correct the deteriorating
situations we reached to.
The Palestinian leadership promised after Oslo a Palestinian
state with Jerusalem being the Capital of it, the return of
refugees, the Demolishing of settlements, the release of
prisoners, and the preparation for an economic revival that
will lead Palestine to be the Singapore of the whole region.
Some of us were deceived and celebrated in the streets these
claimed victories. But, after six years of Oslo, we see more
land confiscation, the building of more settlements beside
enlarging the existing ones and the continuous conspiracy
over the case of refugees which is accelerating rapidly
behind the scenes and the doors of jails are still looking
behind our sons and daughters. Neither Jerusalem nor
Singapore was reached; the people were divided into two
sections. Small one that rules and steels and a larger one
that complains and looking for a survivor.
This is a terrifying scenario of the misleading and lies on
the people
That will have a more sounding and criminal effects in the
final settlement
negotiations.
On top of that, the Palestinian Authority has followed a
systematic methodology of corruption, humiliation and abuse.
As if the Osloagreement was a trade of the homeland for the
richness of some corrupted people.
The president of the PNA has opened the doors widely for
some opportunist to
spread corruption in the Palestinian community. The economic
status has
deteriorated, the communal relations had weakened and the
moral standards
have demolished, and many health educational and judiciary
institutions
have been destroyed. The alarm bell is toning in every city,
village, refugee camp, and every bend and corner, even in
every shop, house and office. The homeland is being let down
and destroyed.
Lets stand together against this tyranny and corruption
The injustice can't be stopped unless by collective arms of
the oppressed.
And the oppressor can't be stopped unless by the hard stains
of faith.
Dr. Abdulsattar Qassem (Arrested)
Abduljawad Saleh, PLC
Bassam Shaka'a (Home Arrest)
Fakhri Turkuman, PLC
Mo'awiya Al-masri , PLC
Hussam Khader, PLC
Hasan Khreesha , PLC
Dr. Ali Abu-reesh, PLC
Rawya Al-shawwa , PLC
Ra'fat Alnajjar, PLC
Adnan Odeh
Ismat Shakhshir (summoned, interrogated)
Waheed Alhamdalla (Home Arrest)
Dr. Yaser Abusafiyya (Arrested)
Dr. Abdulrahim Kittana (Arrested)
Ahmad Katamesh (Arrested)
Dr. Adel Samara (Arrested)
Zahran Abu-qbeita
Ahmad Shaker Doodeen
Dr. Afif Sulaiman Judah (Arrested)
|
