gaweb - olive - more abuse
Palestinian security forces harass presidential candidate By KHALED ABU TOAMEH Jan. 22, 2003
Palestinian professor Abdel Sattar Kassem, who has announced his intention to run against Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in the next Palestinian general elections, said Tuesday he was being subjected to a campaign of intimidation by the PA’s security forces.
Kassem, who teaches political science at an-Najah University in Nablus, said, “Intimidating the Palestinian electorate by the Palestinian security service is already in action. Security men have been watching my activities very closely in an attempt to hinder my efforts to mobilize supporters.”
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Kassem said Palestinian security forces and senior PA officials are waging a campaign of intimidation against the local media, especially in Nablus and Jenin, aiming to stop the publication of interviews with him on different issues. “They have been partially successful,” he noted, referring to Palestinian newspapers' refusal refused to cover his activities and statements in recent weeks.
The Palestinian professor said that the PA’s Preventive Security Service in the West Bank summoned a number of his supporters for questioning after they met with him during a recent visit to Kalkilya. “They politely questioned my supporters and sympathizers about a visit I made to the city,” he said.
“I call upon all the mass media that stand for the freedom of the individual and for free elections to keep a close eye on such traditional Arab methods,” Kassem added.
This is not the first time that Kassem is targeted by the PA security forces. A few years ago he was shot and injured by a lone gunman outside his house. The attack came shortly after Kassem and several Palestinian academics and politicans signed a petition calling for reforms in the PA and condemning the systematic abuse of human rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Elections for the presidency of the PA and membership of the Palestinian Legislative Council were supposed to be held on January 20. Arafat decided to call off the elections, arguing that it was impossible to hold a ballot while IDF soldiers are occupying all Palestinian cities.
