 |
   |
|
In this mailing:
Fatah Infighting Jeopardizes Kerry's Peace Process
by Khaled Abu
Toameh
March 4, 2014 at 5:00 am
  Be the first of your
friends to like this.
In recent weeks, Abbas has taken a
number of measures that reflect his increased fear of Mohamed Dahlan's moves
to discredit him and remove him from power. These measures include
confiscating large sums of money transferred from the United Arab Emirates to
Dahlan loyalists in Gaza.
Once the claim was that Abbas does
not represent the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who are under the control
of Hamas. Today it is not incorrect to argue that Abbas does not even
represent his own party.
As Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas continues to talk with
Israel and the U.S. about ways of achieving peace in the Middle East, senior
members of his ruling Fatah faction have stepped up their efforts to remove
him from power.These efforts seem to be worrying Abbas these days more than anything else, including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's proposed "framework agreement" for peace between the Palestinians and Israel – which has thus far been rejected by Abbas and the Palestinian Authority [PA] leadership. The internal squabbling in Fatah casts doubts on Abbas' ability or willingness to sign any peace agreement with Israel. There are not mere tensions or disagreements among politicians. Rather, they mark the beginning of an inevitable split that could result in the creation of a rival, anti-Abbas Fatah group, headed by some of his arch-enemies. Sooner or later, Kerry and other Western leaders will have to ask Abbas which Fatah exactly does he represent – the one dominated by veteran leaders closely associated with Abbas and his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, or the new controlled by younger grassroots leaders. Sources close to Abbas have accused former Fatah Central Committee member and former PA security chief Mohammed Dahlan of secretly planning a coup against the PA leader. According to the sources, Dahlan, who has been living in exile in the United Arab Emirates for the past four years, has his eyes set on the Palestinian Authority presidency and regards himself as a successor to Abbas.
Many Palestinians were initially convinced that Abbas had resumed his efforts to end the dispute between Fatah and Hamas. Reports in Palestinian and Western media outlets even suggested that the two rival parties had made progress towards achieving unity. Fatah leaders, however, have now admitted that the visit was primarily aimed at "restoring order" within their faction in the Gaza Strip. Abbas, they revealed, was now seeking the help of Hamas help in preventing Dahlan and other Fatah "rebels" from continuing to challenge his leadership. Some reports have suggested that Sha'ath and members of his delegation had to flee the Gaza Strip three days after their arrival following threats to their lives from Dahlan and his supporters. According to the reports, Sha'ath even appealed to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to beef up security at the hotel where he was staying in Gaza City, out of fear that disgruntled Fatah activists might assassinate him or members of his delegation. Upon returning to Ramallah, Sha'ath rushed to accuse Dahlan and his supporters of plotting to overthrow Abbas. Sha'ath said that Abbas was worried about attempts to create a schism within Fatah. "All previous splits in Fatah ended in failure," Sha'ath said. "All those who did break away from Fatah were eventually forced to become agents for other countries." In recent weeks, Abbas has taken a number of measures that reflect his increased fear of Dahlan's moves to discredit him and remove him from power. These measures include confiscating large sums of money transferred from the United Arab Emirates to Dahlan loyalists in the Gaza Strip. More recently, Abbas spent one million dollars on a "mass wedding" of 300 Palestinians after learning that the event had been originally sponsored and financed by Dahlan. Last week Abbas went further by threatening to expel all Dahlan loyalists from Fatah. Dahlan himself was expelled (by Abbas) from Fatah in 2011. Palestinians in Ramallah said that the increased tensions in Fatah mean that Abbas is beginning to lose his grip over the faction -- a fact that Kerry and his team would not be able to ignore if and when they force Abbas to sign any agreement with Israel. Today it is more obvious than ever that the challenges facing Abbas are not coming only from Hamas, but from his own Fatah faction. The serious problems that have surfaced in Abbas's back yard are, of course, very bad news for any peace process with Israel. Once, the claim was that Abbas does not represent the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who are under the control of Hamas. Today, however, it is not incorrect to argue that Israel's peace partner, Abbas, does not even represent his own party.
Related Topics: Khaled Abu
Toameh
Rouhani's
"Moderate" Slaughterhouse for Young Men
|
|
Share:
|
Be the first of your
friends to like this.
"In Iran, they hang innocent
young people in groups in front of their families.... To stay in power, the
Islamic Republic is killing so many people in one day that they have run out
of space for them? My God!" — Shahrokh Zamani, Political
prisoner, Iran
Shahrokh Zamani, sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of
"spreading propaganda" and "participating in illegal
organizations" for attempting to build a Trade Union for him and his
fellow painters, is presently serving his time in Rajai-Shahr prison, known
for its devastating conditions and inhumane treatment of prisoners.In October of 2013, without notice, the prison authorities decided to add six months to Mr. Zamani's existing sentence for the vague charge of "insulting the Supreme Leader-Ali Khamenei." As courts of the Islamic Republic largely ignore international legal standards, judges, mainly Islamic clergy with no training in law, do as they please, including arbitrarily extending prison sentences for perceived infractions, presumably just to punish a prisoner further. Mr. Zamani was most likely disciplined for contacting international human rights organizations and reporting the grotesque human rights abuses inside Iran's prisons.
In October 2012, Mr. Zamani wrote such a letter to Mr. Ahmad Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran. The following is an excerpt from that letter:
My name is Shahrokh Zamani, and I am a member of Painters' Worker Union of Tehran. On June 5, 2011, in Tabriz to visit my parents, I was unlawfully arrested by the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence without any charges, evidence or documents. After forty days of both psychological and physical forms of harsh tortures, I was taken to the central prison of Tabriz. In those 40 days of my unlawful and illegal detention I was on a hunger strike to protest my situation. I lost 27 kg [59.5 lbs] but never gave a confession. Despite there being not a shred of evidence against me, or my interrogators never having gotten one line of a confession out of me, the First Branch of Revolutionary Court of Tabriz accused me of " spreading propaganda against the regime and forming Socialist groups," a charge that carries a mandatory prison sentence of 11 years. When I asked the judge what was the evidence against me and why he was justified in giving me such a long sentence, he replied, "Who do you think I am, Sir? I am just a small link in the chain of this system."
More recently, on February 15, 2014, Zamani and his cellmate Rasoul Badeghi were transferred to solitary confinement for two days in Rajai-Shahr prison. From there Zamani wrote the following letter to International Committee Against Execution (ICAE):
"My cellmate and I, Mr. Rasoul Badeghi [a labor activist], were sent to solitary for objecting to the crushing treatment by prison authorities and other restrictions forced upon political prisoners. The authorities kept me in solitary for only a few days, but instead, I would gladly exchange those days in the dungeons of hell for months in solitary in any other prison.
Four days ago, on February 18, 2014, in a solitary cell in Ward 5 of the prison, I was busy feeling sorry for myself -- thinking of all the abuses and oppression to which I have been subjected and the unimaginable circumstances forced on me -- when the voice of a guard, startled me; saying I was being moved to a new cell.
I gathered all my belongings, which were two blankets, and followed him. In the corridor I saw eight young men; their eyes showed the sparkle of youth combined with a wave of panic -- absolute terror mixed with hope, hatred, love, and despair.
They looked as if they were trying somehow to connect their past, present and future to this one horrifying moment. "Why were these boys brought to solitary?" I asked the guard. "For 'carrying out their sentence,'" he said. "You mean you are going to hang these boys?" I said. "Yes" he said. "That is what we have been doing for the last couple of days now…they are bringing more people for hangings tomorrow. We had to turn away people for hangings the other day due to lack of holding space. There are 40 people waiting to be hanged by the end of the month -- in the next two days…They are on the waiting list."
What is this curse that has befallen us in Iran? What kind of slaughterhouse lines up young men for hangings? How much more blood does this regime need in order to simply stay in power -- with its increased wave of executions behind closed doors?
Next, I was awakened by lots of noise, slamming cell doors, sobs, hysterics, begging, and moans of the young men. I desperately waited for news that the young men were somehow spared. They were being sacrificed so their government could remain in power. You felt as if you had died hours ago, too, many times, with the noose around your neck. You even started to feel suffocated, as if you, too, were being pulled up by the noose.
Then you can hear other people, maybe the families or onlookers. Why, instead of these men's families, couldn't one have brought the families of the authorities -- Ayatollah Larijani [Head of Judiciary of the Islamic Republic] and others in power -- to this prison to make them watch these murders. Tell them to watch this butchery, these factories, that they, or their families, have created for killing young people.
In Iran, they hang innocent young people in groups in front of their families. This regime has sustained itself only by killing; to survive, it must continue killing. To stay in power, the Islamic Republic is killing so many people in one day that they have run out of space for them? My God! If you do not object to all these killings, you, too, are responsible; you, too, have blood on your hands.
Under a so-called "moderate" President, Hassan Rouhani, with his fictitious "Islamic Human Rights," these atrocities have not only continued, but have increased aggressively. Is it not true that no matter what these people have done, the Islamic Republic's very nature, its laws, rules and regulations, are also somehow responsible? Who among you is making a living from these killings? Who among you is helping this bloodshed grow?
Shahrokh Zamani, February 2014
Shahrokh Zamani
(left) and Rasoul Badeghi.
|
Related Topics: Iran
| Shadi
Paveh
To subscribe to the this mailing list, go to http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/list_subscribe.php
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment