Does American concept of "reform" in the Palestinian Authority allow for the murder of dissidents?
The US government has dispatched special envoy David Satterfield to work with the PA to implement "democratic reform". The United States and the other patrons of the nascent Palestinian Authority are counted among the leading democracies of the world. You would expect a democracy such as the US to require that a respect for human rights and civil liberties be an integral part of the support that they provide for the developing Palestinian Arab entity.
Wrong.
A case in point: On August 24, 2002, Jerusalem Post Arab Affairs correspondent reported that Arafat had ordered 200 of his critics to be rounded up. The expectation is that all 200 dissidents will be executed for their criticism of the Palestinian Authority. Arafat's spin doctors have put out the word that these detainees are "collaborators".
Over the past three months, we have asked the US Consul in Jerusalem if the US government will ask the PA to refrain from murdering dissidents, as part of its commitment to a process of ?democratic reform.? After all, killing critics does not seem to be appropriate to the democratic process. Yet, the consistent response of the US Consul's press attache in Jerusalem is that that the subject does not appear on the agenda for democratic reform that Mr. Satterfield is currently discussing with senior members of the Palestinian Authority.
When asked why the PA policy of executing critics does not appear on the agenda for democratic reform, the press attache to the US Consul consistently reports that he cannot get an answer from the US State Department.
Does that mean that the American policy on Palestinian Arab democratic reform allows for capital punishment of dissent?
It certainly looks that way.
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David Bedein is Bureau Chief of the Israel Resource News Agency of Jerusalem, Israel. He can be found on the Web at /www.IsraelBehindtheNews.com.
The US government has dispatched special envoy David Satterfield to work with the PA to implement "democratic reform". The United States and the other patrons of the nascent Palestinian Authority are counted among the leading democracies of the world. You would expect a democracy such as the US to require that a respect for human rights and civil liberties be an integral part of the support that they provide for the developing Palestinian Arab entity.
Wrong.
A case in point: On August 24, 2002, Jerusalem Post Arab Affairs correspondent reported that Arafat had ordered 200 of his critics to be rounded up. The expectation is that all 200 dissidents will be executed for their criticism of the Palestinian Authority. Arafat's spin doctors have put out the word that these detainees are "collaborators".
Over the past three months, we have asked the US Consul in Jerusalem if the US government will ask the PA to refrain from murdering dissidents, as part of its commitment to a process of ?democratic reform.? After all, killing critics does not seem to be appropriate to the democratic process. Yet, the consistent response of the US Consul's press attache in Jerusalem is that that the subject does not appear on the agenda for democratic reform that Mr. Satterfield is currently discussing with senior members of the Palestinian Authority.
When asked why the PA policy of executing critics does not appear on the agenda for democratic reform, the press attache to the US Consul consistently reports that he cannot get an answer from the US State Department.
Does that mean that the American policy on Palestinian Arab democratic reform allows for capital punishment of dissent?
It certainly looks that way.
--------------------------------------------------------
David Bedein is Bureau Chief of the Israel Resource News Agency of Jerusalem, Israel. He can be found on the Web at /www.IsraelBehindtheNews.com.