MIDDLE EAST jeopardy
ON OCTOBER 19, the trial against our comrade Michel Warschawsky will enter its decisive phase. The trial was opened on July 5 with a reading of the indictment, which accuses him and the Alternative Information Center of working for an illegal organization (punishable by 10 years in prison), possessing written material from an illegal organization (up to 10 years) and supporting a terrorist organization (up to three years). 10
ITH THE exception of a typist who worked at the Center, all the witnesses are secret service police agents or special branch police. In the July session, Warschawsky pleaded not guilty.
While a year ago it an acquittal may have been likely, the situation has changed radically since the Palestinian uprising. The Israeli government has declared a total war on the Palestinian people as a whole and any political expression of their views. Key elements in this policy are the administrative detention of 3,000 political cadres, deportations and the outlawing of the People's Committees. In order to be effective, this repressive policy has to extend to Israelis who offer political or material aid to the uprising.
Moreover, the courts today are not inclined to make distinctions. They have to do their part of the job in repressing the uprising. The "quality of justice" has dropped sharply. Judicial errors are an everyday occurrence. Average sentences are ten times more severe than they were a year ago. Acquittals are getting rarer and rarer.
The most striking example of the dangers now facing Warschawsky is the sentence received by four peace activists who met a suffered: torture! *
PLO delegation in Rumania. They were sentenced to a year and a half, six months of which had definitely to be served in prison. This judgment may have a direct effect on our comrade's trial.
Propaganda judged as dangerous as weapons
Another element that has to be taken into account is the trial of the members of the Derech Hanitzotz group, who were charged with joining the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Both cases are before the same court, and this is no accident. It is easy to continue on from one case to the other, even if the charges are very different.
And the Derech Hanitotz defendants face serious dangers. They made admissions under torture that they have now retracted.
The last element is the idea that leaflets are weapons in the uprising, like bombs and Kalashnikov rifles. The accusation against the Center and Warschawsky concerns precisely written material.
What in the past has been a minor thing has become a formidable "weapon," and the courts judge it accordingly. While a year ago the prosecutor would have sought a compromise in order to get rid of the case as soon as possible, today he wants to strike a blow at Israeli/Palestinian cooperation. And the three cases before the courts today (the Rumania Four have appealed) are the means for doing this. *
Zia ul-Haq: death of a
September 19, 1988 • #147 International Viewpoint dictator THE DEATH of Pakistan president General Zia ul-Haq on August 17 will have consequences far beyond the borders of Pakistan. Zia seized power in 1977, and became a crucial conduit for US imperialism's interests in the region, in particular in Afghanistan. So far the origin of the explosion that brought down Zia's plane -
PAKISTAN with the regime. There was also a smattering of religious maniacs. Yet it was noted that even these people found it difficult to express a lot of grief, and that the atmosphere was similar to a holiday outing. So even these people that were brought to the funeral in truckloads to put on a show for the West, essentially for the West, were not able to show any signs of grief.
Zia's overall legacy in this country's unfortunate history is that of the military dictator who totally brutalized political culture, thus making the transition and return to bourgeois democracy more difficult. On the way he destroyed all the institutions of
By utilizing the Islamic religion in an extremely cynical and manipulative way, Zia has attempted to undermine the very fundamental principles of any humanitarian law or system of law. Women in particular have been mistreated and made into second-class citizens. For example, under Zia's interpretation of Islamic laws a woman's evidence is not counted in a case of rape unless there is another witness! This is one of the most scandalous legal developments that Pakistan and that part of the world has ever which also killed the US ambassador, US military attache and top Pakistan army officers - has not been discovered, although the list of suspects is long given his many enemies.
While epitaphs for the military dictator were lengthy and fuil of praise, little mention was made in the Western media of Zia's brutal internal tyranny. Tariq Ali talked to Salah