An Open Letter to the Leader of the Palestinian National Authority.
The President
Palestinian National Authority
Ramallah
Palestine
10 August 2004
Dear President Yasser Arafat,
Support the Palestinian struggle – challenge Palestinian homophobia
I am writing on behalf of the British lesbian and gay human rights group OutRage!
to express our solidarity with the Palestine liberation struggle.
We oppose the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, and condemn the Berlin-style wall being built by the Sharon government.
We support the Palestinian people in their struggle for justice and human rights, and look forward to the day when there is a Palestinian state, viable and independent.
But we are also gravely concerned by reports of officially-sanctioned persecution of lesbians and gay men in the Palestinian-controlled areas of Gaza and the West Bank.
These include reports that homosexuals have been arrested, tortured and murdered by the factions and militias that are part of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and by agents of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
Among those threatened and tortured are intifada heroes, like Fuad Musa. They fought the occupation and were jailed by the Israelis. But when it was discovered they were gay they were threatened with death and had to flee to Israel, leaving their beloved Palestine.
These and other examples of the abuses of lesbian and gay human rights can be seen on the OutRage! website in the section entitled Briefings – Palestinian Gays
The persecution of Palestinian queers is corroborated by independent human rights groups – none of which is hostile to the Palestinian cause. They include the Israeli human rights monitoring groups B’Tselem and the Association for Civil Rights, and by the Israeli gay organisations, Aguda and Jerusalem Open House.
The B’Tselem 1994 report, Collaborators In The Occupied Territories: Human Rights Abuses And Violations, states that Palestinians accused of homosexuality have been subject to brutal punishments by Fatah and Hamas militants – even when there was no evidence or suggestion they were collaborators. They were punished merely because they were gay. The report gave the following example:
“In the Nusseirat refugee camp, many of the punishments meted out to persons defined as suspected collaborators were actually related to social or criminal matters, such as drug abuse or trafficking, homosexuality, family feuds, and other causes not related to directly abetting the authorities. Many suspected collaborators were killed without any prior interrogation or judicial proceeding to clarify the accusations, and without giving them an opportunity to defend themselves.In addition to killing, the Palestinian organisations have employed other types of punishment, including shooting in the legs or breaking bones.”
Two senior PLO officials have admitted to me privately that the arrest and violent abuse of lesbian and gay people is sanctioned by the Palestinian leadership and by the PNA police and security services.
My attempts to raise these concerns with the PNA Justice Ministry in 1995 were ignored. More recently, inquiries by a colleague to the PLO’s London office have likewise received no reply.
Can you please confirm:
What action is being taken by the PLO and PNA to halt homophobic violence, either by vigilante groups, political factions or agents of the PNA?
Does the new Palestinian constitution outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation?
Is consenting adult homosexuality a criminal offence in the PNA-controlled areas of Gaza and the West Bank? If so, what is the maximum penalty?
I have supported the Palestinian struggle for national liberation for 30-plus years, marching on Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstrations and backing the Boycott Israel campaign.
But freedom for Palestine must be freedom for all Palestinians – heterosexual and homosexual.
OutRage! urges the PLO to commit itself to the creation of a truly liberated nation of Palestine, based on human rights for all, regardless of sexuality.
To this end, we ask the PLO to publicly condemn homophobic prejudice and discrimination, and to affirm its commitment to legal equality for lesbians and gay men.
In particular, we call on the PLO to halt the arrest, torture and murder of homosexuals by Palestinian factions and militias – and by the police and security agents of Palestinian National Authority.
Yours in solidarity!
Peter Tatchell
OutRage!
PO Box 17816
London
SW14 8WT