PA represses popular protest demanding Palestinian rights and against Annapolis

“The Palestinian Authority’s brutal suppression of the opposition, and its blocking of freedom of expression reached its highest level today, when PA forces in Ramallah attacked the rights of the national movements as they demonstrated for fundamental national rights, including for the right of return and for Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital, and against Annapolis. The Authority announced the demonstration illegal and used teargas, beating, arrests and police cars to suppress the march, threatening many people’s lives. The Authority forbade buses from Qalqilya, Tulkarem, Nablus, Hebron and Bethlehem from entering Ramallah to participate in the demonstration.

“Through its actions today, the PA showed clearly that it is afraid that the international community will hear the voices of opposition to Annapolis. We believe this conference will not benefit the Palestinian struggle in any way. Only the Israeli Occupation will benefit from such negotiations. We marched under our Palestinian Declaration calling for the right of return and asserting our strong belief that the negotiations, under such circumstances of Palestinian fragmentation, will only result in national catastrophe.

“We in the Campaign condemn the blocking of our democratic choice to exercise freedom of speech and to march peacefully, which was perpetrated today.

“This act, perpetrated by the forces behind the PA and at political and governmental level, indicates that there will be a terrible impact on Palestinian society, which for sixty years has fought for freedom and the right of expression. Confronting the Occupation cannot be done by choking grassroots freedom of speech, and by beating them, firing teargas and arresting people; only by respecting the people and their political views.

“We in the Campaign hold to our national demands for right of return, for independence, and for Jerusalem as a capital. We will remain true to our people’s right of expression.

“The PA forces arrested around 200 activists, including Jamal Juma’, Coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti Apartheid Wall Campaign and Yousef Habash from its steering committee, and beat and injured 30 more, including Muamar Orabi also from the steering committee of the Campaign.

“We call on the international community put pressure on the PA to free the prisoners, to show solidarity with those who have been attacked, and to demand that the PA stop using violence to close the mouths of the people.
“Local Palestinian media have announced that they will boycott coverage of the PA until they apologise for the attacks on journalists, and are demanding that they should be allowed to go about their work without fear of violence against them.”