Democratic Palestine : 21 (ص 25)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 21 (ص 25)
- المحتوى
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ther any action should be initiated. The
comrades explained that the PFLP’s
Organization in the prisons stood for
democratic and collective solutions.
For example, if a strike or other action
was intended, it should be decided on
by all the prisoners and organizations
together. New prisoners should them-
selves decide which organization they
chose to affiliate with, or if they wanted
to change organizations. Unity should
be the main criterion regulating solu-
tions for various problems. Fights
between fellow political prisoners
should be avoided at all costs. The
PFLP comrades launched a_ novel
method for stopping fights between
persons of different organizations. If
two refused to stop fighting, then all
the prisoners in the cell would fight the
two, forcing them to cease.
Zuhdi summed up his impression:
«After being sentenced and moved to
prison, life was more stable. We had an
organizational code that regulated
punishment for any infractions. Our
life was very organized.»
Abu Waffa pointed to the changes
that occurred over time: «In the begin-
ning we ran our affairs according to the
traditions and customs inherited from
our society. Some clannish attitudes
appeared among the prisoners and were
encouraged by the enemy. We saw
everything in terms of black and white,
while in reality, there is a whole range
of colors. We were very harsh on any
mistake. However, we developed in
jail, and we developed our internal
relations in a more progressive way.»
Zakaria said, «The situation in the
prison went through different phases.
In the sixties, there were clannish rela-
tions between the prisoners, which was
encouraged by the Zionists. In 1970-71,
we were made to do forced labor. Then,
in 1971, the Interior Minister said that
the Palestinians who once threw bombs
now work and help the soldiers on the
front. After we heard that, we stopped
working. Between 1972 and 1977, the
nuclei of the resistance organizations
developed in the prisons. This was the
democratic phase. The prisoners’
internal organization was strengthened.
There was a constitution and a code of
punishment, which we followed. Our
main struggle against the enemy
increased.»
Abdul Hamid said, «I do not exag-
gerate by saying that the prison life was
highly organized. Concerning the
PFLP, our internal regulations were
strictly implemented and highly res-
pected. Our party activities were care-
fully programmed. We also had cul-
tural and art activities. The imprisoned
national movement had its own impri-
soned national constitution that all
organizations abided by. It was the
supreme law to be referred to if there
were problems between the organiza-
tions. There was a committee composed
of members of different organizations,
that dealt with the enemy’s prison
administration. This committee nego-
tiated with the prison authorities during
struggles for demands to improve our
conditions. Any problematic issue
between the organizations was dealt
with through democratic dialogue. We
«To Freedom» by
the Palestinian
artist Fathi Gabin
in the Gaza Strip, to
celebrate the 1985
prisoner release
always put our national interests above
such differences.»
Mohammad concluded, «Everything
was organized; each organization had
its leadership inside. There was also a
penal code to be used in cases of one
prisoner aggressing another, spying for
the enemy or otherwise collaborating.
Depending on the offense, and whether
it was the first time or a repetition,
punishment was decided and imple-
mented collectively. This could be
social - ostracizing the offender. It
could be physical in serious cases. It
might also be educational, requiring the
offender to read or copy a text, or to
enter into discussions.»
PROBLEMS AND
STRUGGLE
We asked the comrades to enumerate
the main problems they faced while in
the prison, either with the Zionist
authorities or with fellow prisoners.
Abdul Hamid responded, «The main
problems we had with the enemy con-
cerned the bad conditions, so we were
in continuous struggle for improving
our living conditions and the food, for
having a cultural life, visits and medical
treatment. We insisted on celebrating
national occasions but, of course, the
enemy refused this. We celebrated the
PFLP’s anniversary even though the
Zionists used tear gas to stop us. But we
went on, using the walls and doors as
drums, fulfilling our program. The
authorities went berzerk and sent some
of us to solitary confinement and others
to other jails. However, tension
mounted and they had to relent; every-
body was returned to his original place.
The same type of thing happened in our
struggle for the right to a break outside
in the sun.»
Abu Waffa noted, «Our problems
with the enemy are part of the contra-
diction between Zionism and our
people overall. The enemy wanted to
rid us of our revolutionary spirit and we
wanted to solidify it. Our weapons in
this struggle were first of all our own
unity in the jail and then our bodies and
souls. An example of these weapons
being used effectively was the hunger
strike in Ashkelon that lasted 65 days
with the participation of 430
militants... If there were problems
among us, these were solved with rea-
soning. Violent solutions were rare.»
Mohammad said that among the
prisoners, there were some minor prob-
lems that could easily be solved. In
contrast, with the enemy, there were
numerous problems which he described
as follows: «There was aggression
against the prisoners and destruction of
our few belongings. We replied accor-
ding to the maxim: an eye for an eye.
There were arbitrary searches of our
cells, just to annoy us; things were
25
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- Democratic Palestine : 21
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- يناير ١٩٨٧
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