Charging Arafat's regime with corruption is a crime
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, December 6, 1999
RAMALLAH -- The Palestinian Authority plans to prosecute in state
security courts eight Palestinians who signed a petition that charged the PA
and chairman Yasser Arafat with corruption.
Eight of the 20 petitioners are still in detention and three of them had
their remands extended for another 15 days, PA sources said. On Sunday, the
detainees announced a hunger strike until they were released.
Human rights activists visited three of the detainees being held at the
General Intelligence Detention Center in Jericho. Abdel Sattar Qasem, Adel
Samara and Ahmad Qatamesh told the Palestinian Human Rights Council they
were being well treated.
The detainees said they were being investigated on the signing of the
petition. Among the questions asked by interrogators were why they had
signed it and where the petition originated. PA officials have charged that
opposition groups in Syria and Lebanon initiated the petition.
On Friday, PA police prevented a demonstration in Nablus to protest the
shooting of a Palestinian legislator who signed the petition. Palestinian
sources said PA military intelligence chief Mussa Arafat ordered the
shooting of Mouawiya Masri.
State Security Court chief Khaled Qidra told the council that he wanted
to charge the suspects with incitement. The council demanded the immediate
and unconditional release of the eight detainees who signed the petition.
As many as 200 Palestinian intellectuals, civic leaders and political
figures have signed a new petition calling on the
PA to free those who signed the anti-corruption manifesto as well as other
political critics. One of the signatories was Haidar Abdul Shafi, the former
chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council who resigned from the
council in protest against Arafat's rule.
Quietly, however, many Palestinians have given up on any reforms under
Arafat's rule. "Under Arafat's personal rule, there is no possibility of
bringing about democratic reform," said Palestinian analyst Khaled Amayreh,
who is aligned with the opposition Hamas movement. "The Palestinians should
therefore forget about democracy under Arafat and start prepare for the
post-Arafat era."