Democratic Palestine : 3 (ص 34)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 3 (ص 34)
- المحتوى
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With its kingdom created by the
British colonialists as a buffer for the
Zionist state, the Hashemite monarchy
has stayed in power by suppressing the
people who fell under its jurisdiction,
whether Palestinian or Jordanian. Hard
repression has always been applied
against any nationalist tendency and
especially leftists. In the fifties, the
regime gained notoriety for its fascist
practices, imprisoning and_ torturing
those who spoke out or tried to struggle
against the Zionist occupation of Pales-
tine. This later culminated in the 1970-
71 massacres to drive out the Palesti-
nian resistance and terrorize the people
into passivity.
Then for a time, more subtle means
of repression reigned. Imprisonment
was still used of course, but the regime
also began to deal with political activists
by denying them permission to work
and travel, withholding their passports
and calling them for interrogation inter-
mittently.
With the Zionist invasion of Leba-
non, King Hussein eyed a new chance
for entering the imperialist settlement.
Anxious to find a Palestinian cover for
this, and hoping to capitalize on the
PLO’s evacuation from Beirut, he
offered an amnesty for those who
wished to return to their families living in
Jordan. In reality, this marked a
resurgence in open, brutal repression.
The King’s amnesty proved to be a lie,
as cadres of the Palestinian resistance
were rounded up on their return. This
included those who had left from Jordan
with official permission to fight in the
1982 war, at a time when the king found
it opportune to display his «patriotism».
Also arrested were those who entered
Jordan after being released from Ansar,
while Palestinians returning from
imprisonment in Zionist jails continued
to be rearrested. New restrictions were
imposed on Palestinians living in Jor-
dan, that young men must sign up for
the army, as well as on students coming
from the occupied territories.
Meanwhile the regime did not drop
its more subtle repressive means.
These are now applied against the
families of the growing number of politi-
cal detainees: refusal of work and resi-
dence permits, withholding passports,
threats of deportation, etc.
While the regime has billed its rep-
ressive campaign as a precautionary
measure, to guarantee against unrest, it
actually created a new field for popular
and nationalist struggle. Mahatta, the
central prison in Amman, became a
crowded meeting place, bringing
together long-term political detainees,
cadres from the Palestinian resistance
armed with the experience of Lebanon,
as well as youth from the 1967 occupied
territories. Their hunger strike in March
marked a new escalation of the long-
term struggle for democracy in Jordan.
a
Hunger Strike in Al-Mahatta Prison
Political prisoners escalate their struggle and achieve one round
On March 10th, political prisoners in
Mahatta Central Prison in Amman,
declared a hunger strike to last until their
demands were fulfilled. They called for
the release of all political detainees. This
included the release of prisoners from
the occupied territories, so that they
could return there before their Israeli-
AA
issued permits expired, which would
mean de facto expulsion. They also
demanded a review of the cases of the
prisoners who: had been arbitrarily sen-
tenced in unjust military trials. These
demands were spelled out in a state-
ment by the political prisoners in
Mahatta, and copies were distributed to
many institutions including the Jorda-
nian government, parliament, the Minis-
try of Interior, the Ministry of Justice and
the General Directory of Security and
Intelligence. Copies were also sent to
the Jordanian Trade Union, the PLO
office in Amman and Amnesty Interna-
tional. The strike lasted for 13 consecu-
tive days. During this time, the number of
participants rose to 114 prisoners.
Reactions
The hunger strike created an inter-
nal outcry and drew the attention of
broad sectors among different circles in
the country. This is because it was the
biggest strike in the Jordanian prisons
since 1950’s, serving to expose the fal-
sity of the «democracy» claimed by the
authorities. The authorities were dis-
mayed by this bold act on the part of the
political prisoners and ‘by the public
attention it drew.Day by day, mass sup-
port mounted in solidarity with the pris-
oners’ demands. Support came from
mass organizations and trade unions.
Solidarity actions occurred,such as the
women's sit-in at the Red Cross head-
quarters in Amman, and the women’s
demonstration to the PLO office in
Amman, which was suppressed by the
Jordanian security forces. Some of the
women were detained and interrogated.
The heads of trade unions in Jordan
sent a telegram to the Prime Minister,
demanding acceptance of the political
prisoners’ demands. They also sought
to meet with him for the same purpose.
The General Secretariat Of the Popular
Forces in Jordan held a meeting and
adopted the prisoners’ demands. Furth-
ermore, it made contact with some
members of parliament in order to have
the issue raised there. The Committees
for the Defense of Democratic Freedom
in Jordan appealed to all Arab and inter-
national organizations concerned with
freedom and human rights. (See box for
text.) - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 3
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- مايو ١٩٨٤
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
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