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P ol i c es

Will Yassir Arafat's crackdown
on his own security forces last,
or is it just today's headline?

ERIC SILVER ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT

I

s Yassir Arafat finally getting
his human rights act together?
The jury is still out, but there
were signs recently that the
steady drip, drip of exposure by
Palestinian and international
protest groups is eroding the ar-
rogance of power.
Mr. Arafat's Palestinian police
arrested Capt. Hani Ayad, the
head of military intelligence in
Nablus, the biggest and most na-
tionalistic of West Bank cities,
and two of his interrogators on
suspicion of beating to death
Yussef Baba, a shady local prop-
erty dealer. Mr. Baba died of a
massive internal hemorrhage af-
ter being held for a month with-
out charge. The police also
arrested the Nablus deputy gov-
ernor, Abdel Muti Sadik, and
Bassam Hilu, the governor's bu-
reau chief.
Mr. Baba is the 11th Palestin-
ian to die in custody since the
Palestinian Authority began tak-
ing control of the West Bank and
Gaza Strip from Israel in 1994.
Unusually, Mr. Arafat's justice
minister, Freih Abu Medein, con-
firmed that he had died from tor-
ture — and that military
intelligence arrested him with-
out a warrant and regardless of
the fact that it was none of its
business since there is no securi-
ty case against him. He vowed to
bring the perpetrators to justice.
So much for the good news,
though we shall have to see how
the courts deal with the arrested
officials and whether any sen-
tences are enforced. This will be
a test not just for human rights,
but for the Palestinian judicial
system, which has to demon-
strate that it is rooted in the rule
of law and is not just a tool for im-
posing Mr. Arafat's will.
The bad news is that the chair-

man's hydra-headed security ser-
vices are still intimidating their
critics. One of the most outspo-
ken of them, Khader Shkirat, re-
ceived two threatening telephone
calls earlier this month from Col.
Tawfik Tirawi, the overall head
of military intelligence. That
came after his Palestinian Soci-
ety for the Protection of Human
Rights publicized the killing of
Yussef Baba.
Mr. Tirawi accused Mr. Shki-
rat, an east Jerusalem lawyer, of
running a "disreputable" organi-
zation, threatened him with un-
specified retribution and
promised to stop him from visit-
ing any other detainees, even if
he was retained by their families.
The ominous message was re-
ceived and understood. 'We'll not
restrict our operations," Mr. Shki-
rat confided, "but maybe we'll be
more careful."
Other human rights activists
are also refusing to be silenced.
Eight Palestinian groups and 18
public figures joined in urging
Mr. Arafat to clarify the rules and
scope of the .11 separate, and of-
ten competing, security services.
The signatories included Haider
Abdel Shafi, an elected member
of the Palestinian legislature who
headed the team negotiating with
Israel in Washington before the
1993 Oslo agreement.
"The Yussef Baba incident,"
they wrote, "confirms the contin-
uing violations of the rule of law
and basic human rights by the
Palestinian Authority, as long as
these security apparatuses re-
main active without clear regu-
lations and jurisdiction, and
without having a system of ac-
countability."
The oldest of the rights groups,
Al Haq, was more specific. In a
statement, the Ramallah-based

affiliate of the International Com-
mission of Jurists demanded that
all forms of torture be outlawed
— and that law enforcement of-
ficials be warned that it would be
no defense, in criminal or civil
proceedings, to claim that they
were obeying orders.
Al Haq called for independent
autopsies on prisoners who died
in custody, and for instructions
to be issued to medical personnel
to report any suspicious cases. It
also proposed that any person
who is detained should be
brought before a judge within 24
hours and must be free to contact
a lawyer and family members.
Khader Shkirat enjoys a mea-

sure of immunity because he Times that Palestinians had been
works from Jerusalem, which is "100 times more free" under Is-
raeli occupation than
under Israeli rule. But
A Palestinian
they were under self rule.
Palestinian security men
woman with
"I am continuously be-
have been known to
household
ing persuaded not to
abduct dissidents even belongings
on her
there. Outside the Israeli head walks by an speak out," he says now.
"The security machinery
umbrella, human rights
armed Israeli
is taking control of our
activists in the West
soldier.
lives. They are not even
Bank and Gaza Strip
have been harassed to the point obeying the instructions of the
where their only weapons are justice minister. They are be-
publicity and numbers — and coming the ultimate power. We
have to fight against them."
their courage.
If they are to succeed, Yassir
One of them, Eyad Sarraj, a
Gaza psychiatrist, was detained Arafat, the only real authority in
for 26 days last year by the Pales- the political echelon, will have to
tinian security services after he intervene and lay down the law.
complained to the New York Literally. ❑

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