Normalising repression
According to one human rights watchdog, Arab states and Israel have one thing in common -- ever-increasing human rights violations. Dina Ezzat reports
"At least 1,000 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army [during 2002], most of them unlawfully. They included 150 children and at least 35 individuals killed in targeted assassinations," Amnesty International (AI) stated in its annual report for 2002. Released late last month, the report offers an patently gloomy picture of human rights conditions in the Middle East and North Africa. If the report is accurate, Arab states and the Israeli government share a fundamental problem: an increasing erosion of basic freedoms.
"The situation was further aggravated across much of the Middle East and North Africa in the name of 'combating terrorism'," AI charges. The organisation gives poor marks for the human rights records of most Arab countries in addition to Iran and Israel.
Extrajudicial executions and unlawful killings were reported in Israel, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
"Hundreds of unarmed Palestinians, including more than 100 children, were killed by the Israeli army in random and reckless shooting, shelling and bombings or as a result of excessive use of force, including in enforcement of curfews," says the report. "Hundreds of others were killed in armed clashes with the Israeli army and at least 35 were killed in targeted assassinations, which often also resulted in the deaths of uninvolved bystanders. Some Palestinians were killed when the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] demolished their homes on top of them."
A troubling account is also given for pre-war Iraq. Although comparisons may be drawn between human rights violations in Israel and Iraq, the contexts differ. While most of Israel's human rights violations are perpetrated against Palestinians living under occupation, in Iraq -- as is the case in most Arab countries -- nationals are most often the targets of human rights abuses. This said, in Iraq "civilian deaths resulting from increased air strikes by US and UK forces inside the air exclusion zones were reported," AI states.
In Israel the army is not the only group committing human rights violations. Settlers are also to blame. "Israeli settlers repeatedly attacked Palestinians and destroyed their property in the occupied territories," the report states.
Cases of unfair imprisonment and disappearances of political activists were reported in Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya and Morocco at levels comparable to that of Israel.
While most of Israel's prisoners of conscience have been Palestinians, some Israelis are also included within these ranks. "At least 158 Israeli conscripts and reservists who refused to serve [in the army] for reasons of conscience were imprisoned."
The Palestinian Authority has its own share of political prisoners. "Scores of people were arrested for political reasons by the Palestinian Authority. They included members of armed groups and people suspected of 'collaborating' with Israeli intelligence services."
High rates of disappearances, unfair imprisonment and unfair trials were noted particularly in Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Iraq. In Tunisia, for example, the report says that "hundreds of political prisoners, most of them prisoners of conscience, remained in prison. Many had been held for more than a decade after unfair trials."
As for Egypt, AI reports that "legal restrictions and government controls continued to limit the activities of political parties, non- governmental organisations, professional associations and trade unions and the news media... [while] the authorities continued to detain, try and imprison people in violation of their right to expression. Prisoners of conscience, including political activists, human rights defenders and members of religious groups, were sentenced to up to seven years imprisonment."
In Jordan, according to AI's report, "hundreds of people were arrested for political reasons. Scores were detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly, including demonstrating in support of the Intifada or in opposition to war in Iraq".
In Iraq, despite the fact that "a general amnesty for prisoners was announced, the fate of tens of thousands of people who disappeared in previous years remained unknown. Scores of people including possible prisoners of conscience were executed."
As for torture and ill-treatment, long lists of names and detailed stories of torture, pain and humiliation are provided by the report in relation to almost every country in the Middle East and North Africa. "Torture continued to be systematic and widespread in detention centre[s]," AI reported with respect to various countries. In some instances, however, AI states that cases of torture were reported but not independently investigated.
The report states that in most of the countries examined, torture is usually not confined to a single citizen but is also inflicted on his or her relatives, who may also be held incommunicado for months in detention centres.
Predictably, the report was met with condemnation from most Arab capitals and from Israel. Government officials touted the usual line routinely put forth in reaction to the reports of human rights monitors, arguing that the AI report includes exaggerations and inaccurate information. In the national and international media, several officials attributed events in their countries to law enforcement rather than characterising them as human rights violations.
"Amnesty International or any other human rights organisation can call them political activists or whatever, for us they are terrorists and we treat them as such," said one Arab official.
According to this official, the cases of Israel and Iraq "are obviously different" because Israel is occupying Palestinian territories and forcing Palestinians to live under occupation, whereas Iraq was ruled by a "bloody dictator" who was thrown out.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 5 -11 June 2003 (Issue No. 641)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/641/re5.htm