"The attack raises serious questions about the ability of the Palestinians to create a democratic state where people feel free to question their government without fear of being seriously injured or killed for doing so.
NGO: UN must condemn stabbing of Palestinian activist who criticized Hamas rights abuses
GENEVA, - The stabbing in Gaza of a Palestinian rights activist after he criticized the Hamas government for torture, abuse and trampling free speech should be strongly condemned by the United Nations – both as an attack on the victim’s human rights, and on the idea of freedom of expression, a Geneva-based monitoring group said Tuesday. “This latest attack on a rights activist underscores the brutally enforced intolerance in Gaza for any discourse other the anti-Israel mantras of Hamas, which rules the strip with an iron fist,” said Hillel Neuer, UN Watch executive director.
Masked attackers on Friday stabbed Mahmud Abu Rahma multiple times in the back, leg and shoulders, it was revealed today.
“The attack only proves the truth of the victim’s words,” said Neuer. Abu Rahma’s article had dared to criticize “the outrageous attack upon free expression and peaceful assembly” by Hamas over the past year, “hundreds of cases of torture and abuse,” and Hamas’ cynical use of civilians for its combat with Israel.
“The attack raises serious questions about the ability of the Palestinians to create a democratic state where people feel free to question their government without fear of being seriously injured or killed for doing so.
“The attack should be immediately denounced by Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and well as Irina Bokova, the director general of UNESCO, the world agency mandated to uphold press freedom.
“The attack is also serious enough for its implications that even the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, should personally condemn it. No democratically-minded Palestinian could ever hope to have a voice in an independent Palestine if such a reign of terror is allowed to persist.”
UN Watch’s call for UNESCO to act comes as the Geneva-based group heads a campaign comprising 55 parliamentarians, religious groups and prominent human rights activists that is calling on the organization’s executive board to reverse its November decision to place Syria on a pair of committees, one of them dealing with human rights.
UN Watch is a Geneva-based human rights organization founded in 1993 to monitor UN compliance with the principles of its Charter. It is accredited as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as an Associate NGO to the UN Department of Public Information (DPI).
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