Following the arrest of leaders and activists of the Islamic Movement
in Umm al-Fahem on May 13th 2003,
the Islamic Movement held a protest on Saturday, May 17th, and has
called all political factions
to participate. Ta'ayush has contacted the municipality of Umm al-Fahem
and has been warmly
invited to take part in the protest.
Regardless of one's identification with or reservations regarding
the Islamic Movement as
a political movement, we asked to participate in
the protest out of principle: It is our obligation to stand by a public
which is being
delegitimised and demonised due to its contacts with organisations of
civil society in Palestine.
It is our obligation to protest the exhibitionistic nightly arrest of
14 persons by a police
force of 1,000 accompanied by media cameras. It is also our obligation
to be present where the
situation may become heated, so that we won't have to ask ourselves
why we weren't
there.
We wished to make our voice heard for democracy and civil freedom,
in these days of threat and witch-hunting. We shall not let the
government fulfil its wish to prevent any contacts between Arabs and
Jews or between Israelis and Palestinians.
