Posted on 10/27/2001 10:44:09 PM PDT by captain11
By Shyam Bhatia Shyam Bhatia, of the Guardian Weekly, reports from Jerusalem on the other side of the Palestinian National Authority's public image.
Yasser Arafat-style democracy has been in evidence throughout the West Bank, from the chambers of the legislative council in Bethlehem to the underground prison cells in Nablus, where a young Palestinian was beaten to death. As one nightmare ended in tragedy, another began when the Palestinian president, shouting abuse and threats, marched out of a meeting of his legislative council. The reason the 88 legislators were heavily criticized was that they dared to discuss the limits of Mr. Arafat's presidential powers in a new constitution.
The volley of abuse from the "Father of the Revolution" shocked the Bethlehem gathering into silence. Only one man had the courage to react. Ahmed Qreia, the Speaker of the House and long-standing associate of Mr. Arafat, got up from his chair and announced: "That's it, I've had enough. I'm resigning." Condemnation at this level does not sit well with the Nobel Laureate who chooses to present himself on the international stage as a born-again peace monger and democrat. Those closely familiar with Mr. Arafat's tantrums present a different picture of the president. They say the Bethlehem episode as yet another example of how he is rapidly transforming his regime into a ruthless dictatorship. "This is a regime of terror and intimidation," says one Palestinian representative who witnessed the Bethlehem showdown. "The people who elected us are laughing at us because they know we are impotent."
Mr. Arafat rarely justifies his actions or his language, but the shocked reactions of his constituents obliged him to return to the council to explain away his abusive rhetoric. "Don't misunderstand me," he told bewildered council members. "What happened here was part of our democracy. We are proud of our democratic system."
Mr. Arafat is intolerant of the slightest opposition or criticism. Those who dare to protest quickly find themselves handcuffed and escorted to one of the president's many prisons. Although he rules with the help of a cabinet, none of his ministers dares to make a decision without his approval. More importantly, he has exclusive control over the Palestinian Authority's bank accounts and he alone decides how to spend the tens of millions of dollars received from foreign donors.
When South Korea approved $7 million for Palestinian economic development, Mr. Arafat shaved off $2 million for a new presidential headquarters and residence on the outskirts of Nablus. Palestinians learned of their president's grandiose scheme after he sent in police to confiscate thousands of acres belonging to local farmers. Some of the landowners lay down in front of the Palestinian Authority's bulldozers and have since disappeared. They are widely believed to have been detained by one of Mr. Arafat's nine security agencies.
Testimonies gathered by human rights activists show that commanders of Mr. Arafat's 45,000-strong police force are mired in scandals ranging from kidnapping and rape to embezzlement, blackmail and land theft. Earlier this year, a 17-year-old girl from Gaza committed suicide after she was raped by a senior police officer. In Jerusalem a Palestinian academic who claimed she was raped by one of Mr. Arafat' close advisers has been detained by Palestinian secret service personnel. In Ramallah the deputy Mayor, Zaki Nahas, was abducted by members of force 17, Mr. Arafat's presidential security guards, after he refused to sell his land to a senior Palestinian official. In the same city a wealthy businessman, Ahmed Abu Ghosh, was severely beaten by the head of the Palestinian secret service, Colonel Jibril Rajoub, after he refused to give up his parking space to the wife of a Palestinian minister.
Last month Col. Rajoub's agents, acting on Mr. Arafat's direct instructions, kidnapped an Israeli-Arab businessman from his Jerusalem home. Abdel Salam's only fault was to file a complaint in an Israeli court against the Coptic church in Arab East Jerusalem. The cause of the dispute was trivial, but the church took its version to Mr. Arafat. When Mr. Harbawi rejected Palestinian arbitration, he was kidnapped. He was released from prison in Ramallah only after Israel sealed off access to the city and warned that it would cancel a forthcoming meeting between its foreign minister, David Levy, and Mr. Arafat. "Arafat's policemen are behaving like gangsters," says a Palestinian journalist. "The problem is we don't know under which law they operate. Each force has its own force and acts independently."
The Palestinian navy may not have a single ship to its name, but it does possess a lock-up. The secret of the navy's detention facilities may never have surfaced but for the tragic death of a young Palestinian, Mahmoud Jumayl, who died under torture in Nablus. He was arrested eight months ago when he knocked on the door of Col. Rajoub's police station in Jericho to inquire about his missing brother. [Afterward], 26-year-old Jumayl was handed over to Mr. Arafat's navy police commandos. Three days later his mutilated body was brought to a West Bank hospital. Witnesses say that Jumayl had been branded with hot irons and suffered extensive cigarette burns. He was the seventh Palestinian to die under torture in Mr. Arafat's prisons.
Jumayl's death has provoked a mini Intifada against the Arafat regime. Thousands of Palestinian mourners joined the funeral procession in Jumayl's hometown of Nablus, throwing stones at police and burning tires while shouting anti-Arafat slogans. In the nearby town of Tulkaram, Palestinian policemen had shot and killed a 28-year-old Palestinian who participated in a demonstration. Four others were seriously injured. "I can tell you there is organized torture in Arafat's prisons," says Hosam Khadr, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. "I myself am a veteran of Israeli prisons and I was arrested by the Israelis on 23 occasions. What is happening in our prisons now is worse than what we experienced in Israeli jails during the 27 years of occupation."
And in the words of Rodney King .. Can't they all just get along
Heck I can't stand my neigbor down the street from me .. but do I attack him .. throw rocks at his house .. no I don't
My point is .. these people need to stop fighting .. and figure out a way to live next to each other
and sending in suicide bombers is not helping matters ... plain and simple
Dude get a grip. This is not a good site on which to spread lies. 1) Sharon isn't a priest, 2) Sharon hasn't been proven a war criminal and won a judgement against Time Magazine for calling him so, 3) only 2,000 Palestinians died at the Sabra & Shatilla camps and they weren't all civilians, 4) Sharon didn't kill them, the Lebanese did.
You're entitled to your opinions but your hyperbolic rhetoric isn't helping your cause.
Why do "they" have to add the demonic evil laugh in "their" posts? :-P
First of all .. Arafat is not helpless .. he has weapons ...
Plus he has the rest of the arabs backing him because they hate the jews also
Maybe.. just maybe .. if both sides agree and really mean it .. they both can stop the fighting at the same time
It can be done .. that is if they really want it
But I don't see them wanting it ..
Here is another suggestion .. stop living in the past and deal with today
they will never see their future if they are always looking backwards
Understand my point .. for some reason .. I don't think you do
So with that .. I am really off to bed .. it's late and I'm beat ..
Good night all ..
I do know that 300,000 were evicted from Kuwait because they sided with Saddam during the gulf war.
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