Palestinian hunger striker’s cry for justice…
by
Neville Parker |
Gandhian principle are losing out against a harsh and unjust system, Neville Parker writes
For a Palestinian detainee who opted for a non-violent approach to seeking justice, Khader Adnan’s unfolding tale of woe in an Israeli hospital shows just how brutal the system of subjugation of Palestinians is. The 33-year old, who Israelis say is a member of the Islamic Jihad, has been on hunger strike for almost two months protesting his detention without trial – he has also refused medical treatment and is life is in danger.
Yet, against all norms of civilised behaviour Adnan remains shackled to his bed in a hospital in the northern Israeli town of Safed, where he was taken after his arrest. No charges have been brought against him yet after he was picked up last December 18 and held under Israel’s unjust ‘administrative detention’ which allows suspects to be held without charge indefinitely.
The Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Sunday that Israel “should immediately end its unlawful administrative detention” of Khader Adnan.
On Thursday, Adnan had appealed his detention without charge in a special court session held in an Israeli hospital. “We asked during the hearing for the cancellation of the administrative detention order and the immediate release of Khader Adnan,” lawyer Jawad Bulus told a news agency. “They investigated him and they haven’t proved anything against him.”
According to news reports, Adnan’s hunger-strike for justice and “the humiliating and cruel conditions of interrogation” is the longest undertaken yet by a Palestinian, and there is fear that unrest could break out in the West Bank and Gaza Strip should the worst come to pass for Adnan during his hunger-strike for justice.
And, which leads us to the question: Is the practice of non-violence and hunger strike to demand justice and independence, which was successfully demonstrated by Mahatma Gandhi during British rule in India, irrelevant in today’s political world?
Not so long ago, Indian activist Anna Hazare went on a hunger strike and he was able to galvanise a large section of the Indian population to support his battle against corruption. Hazare’s movement resulted in a positive move to create an ombudsman to monitor corruption in Indian officialdom.
But, while peaceful ways of protest, including hunger-strikes, could still be a strong way to raise one’s voice against injustice and curtailment of basic freedoms, such passive action these days would need public participation on a large scale in order to succeed. In Adnan’s case, so far only a few dozen Palestinians staged a protest outside Israel’s Ofer prison in the West Bank on Thursday to demand his release.
The main reason for this, understandably, is the unjust and harsh mechanism of indefinite detention without charge. According to a news agency, local rights group Al Haq said that 315 Palestinians were being held under this edict. With this Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads the people are naturally living in fear. Nevertheless, Adnan’s silent protest and fight for human dignity for Palestinians through non-violence is a brave attempt to bring into the limelight the injustices that are being inflicted on Palestinians.
New reports quoted the Israeli army as saying in a statement that Adnan was arrested “for activities that threaten regional security. This warrant was authorised by a judicial review.” As Adnan awaits the court’s verdict while continuing his hunger-strike despite warnings from doctors about the risk to his life, the civilised world, which preaches democratic principles and norms of correct social behaviour, remains pitifully silent.
Oman Tribune |
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