Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses its strongest solidarity with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon struggling for their civil and human rights as well as their right to return to their occupied homeland, Palestine. In the past days, thousands of Palestinian refugees have taken to the streets of the refugee camps under banners demanding dignity and justice, a struggle that is continuing now.

The protests were sparked by the actions of the Lebanese Minister of Labor, Kamil Abu Sleiman, to impose new registration requirements on Palestinians working in Lebanon or operating their own businesses. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, who have been present since 1948 when they were expelled from their homeland, Palestine, in the Nakba, have long faced severe discrimination and repression by the Lebanese state and, in particular, right-wing political parties and militias. It should be noted that Abu Sleiman represents the Lebanese Forces party, a right-wing political movement long known for its anti-Palestinian and anti-Syrian policies.

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are barred from 72 regulated professions, including medicine, public transit, farming and fishery, and the implementation of this Lebanese labor law barred Palestinians (and Syrian refugees) from working at all without costly and difficult-to-obtain work visas. These protests, led mostly by youth in the camps, which are home to nearly a half-million Palestinian refugees, also come in rejection of the harsh conditions that have impacted Palestinian refugees after the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. In fact, the situation of deprivation, repression and despair has forced many Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to migrate to Europe or elsewhere, seeking human dignity.

The signing of the Oslo accords and the creation of the Palestinian Authority, only 11 years after the massacres of Palestinian refugees carried out at Sabra and Shatila by Phalangist militias in alliance with Zionist occupation forces, led to even deeper deprivation among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. From the center of the Palestinian revolution, they were pushed to the side and their demand for the right to return – the key struggle of the Palestinian liberation movement – marginalized by the official Palestinian leadership under the rubric of “state-building,” leaving Palestinian refugees with few resources with which to confront a multifaceted attack led by Israel and the United States and backed up by the most reactionary sectors of Lebanese politics and capital.

It is no coincidence that the latest attack on Palestinians in Lebanon comes amid ongoing Israeli threats of war against Lebanon; U.S. plans to restructure the region; intensified drives to normalization with the Israeli state by the reactionary Arab regimes in partnership with the U.S.; cuts to the funding of organizations like UNRWA, providing support to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon who are excluded from government services; the ongoing siege on Gaza and the massacres against Palestinian refugees marching there for their right to return and imperialist war drives against Iran. Much the same, the rising of Palestinian refugees is essential to the resistance against Zionism, imperialism and Arab reaction.

Mohammed Khatib, Samidoun coordinator in Europe and a Palestinian refugee from Ain el-Helweh camp in Lebanon, writes:

“The uprising in the camps is a clear protest against the continuous and prolonged state of oppression, exclusion and siege imposed on our people living in the camps in particular, an expression of the rejection of injustice, racism and government policies that deal with the Palestinian presence in Lebanon as a “security file.”…The protests that we witness in the camps of Beirut, in the North and the South reflect the long-term struggle of our people in Lebanon to defend their rights and to confront the policy of racism and marginalization practiced by the Lebanese sectarian regime against the Palestinians and against foreign workers and refugees on a sectarian and reactionary basis. These serious and angry protests in Lebanon remind us of the fact that the Palestinian camps, the reservoir of the revolution, have become miserable enclaves for the most oppressed and impoverished classes in Lebanon, of all nationalities. And these classes today are ready for uprising and even revolution, confronting these realities and regaining their role in the Palestinian national movement and in the resistance, in order to complete the project of return and liberation.”

Palestinian organizations in Lebanon have expressed specific demands, including:

• the granting of clear legal status to Palestinian refugees with civil, economic and social rights;
• amending Lebanese labor law to cancel the work permit requirement for Palestinian refugees and end their exclusion from regulated professions
• ending ongoing discrimination against Palestinian refugees in a range of areas, including allowing them to own property.

They pledged to continue to protest until the dignity of Palestinian refugees was respected, emphasizing that this campaign is part and parcel of the struggle to return to and liberate the entire land of Palestine and reject all attempts to undermine the Palestinian cause. (The statement was signed by the Al Naqab Center for Youth Activities, Arab Palestinian Cultural Club, Palestinian Cultural Club – Beirut, Palestinian Cultural Club at AUB, Palestinian Cultural Club at LIU, Camps Boycott and the Palestinian National Theater – Lebanon.)

Samidoun urges all supporters of Palestine and the struggle of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands to support the protests taking place in Lebanon. These protests reflect an ongoing mobilization to defend Palestinian rights and the Palestinian people against a comprehensive attack – and to support their steadfastness to move towards victory and liberation.

Take Action:

1. Organize events or actions in your area to support Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Hold a protest, gathering or event in a public square. You can also include support for the Great March of Return in Gaza as part of these events. Please contact samidoun@samidoun.net to tell us about your events!

2. Call the Lebanese embassy in your country to say that you support Palestinian refugees and that you want to see an end to unfair labor laws restricting Palestinian refugees from working or requiring expensive permits. We have included below a call from the Palestinian Youth Movement with one suggestion – if you are in the United States, call the Lebanese embassy at 202-939-6300. You can find the phone number for your local Lebanese embassy at this link.

Statement of Palestinian Youth Organizations in Lebanon

Palestinian camps in Lebanon have witnessed popular movements in response to the implementation of the discriminatory labor law which aims to “limit foreign labor” as the Lebanese Ministry of Labor calls it. This campaign has targeted our interests and work as Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, increasing our suffering due the deprivation our most basic civil and social rights. Most of the successive Lebanese governments have not spared any effort in increasing the suffering of our steadfast people in Lebanon. The Lebanese government has not yet defined the legal status of the Palestinian refugee in Lebanon and as such is treated sometimes as a refugee and others as a stateless individual.

As such, our people in the camps of Lebanon have moved in demand of the following:

• The Lebanese state must release a law granting clear legal status to Palestinian refugees, guaranteeing them their civil and economic and social rights to live in dignity.
• Amending Labor Law 129/2010 to cancel the work permit and grant Palestinian refugees the right to practice free professions and releasing the necessary implementary decrees.
• Amending the laws regulating free professions in accordance with the Labor Law to complete the exemption from the condition of reciprocity and the condition to stop practicing in country of origin.
• Stopping the composite discrimination against Palestinian refugees and releasing a legal amendment allowing them to own property.
• We reaffirm that our protests will continue until our rightful demands are met.

Additionally, we call upon Palestinian factions to unite around the demands of our steadfast people in Lebanon. We call upon the Lebanese people who are the first supporters of Palestine and its people to support these popular movements and to stand with our rightful demands.

We call upon our people in occupied Palestine and in the Arab nations and in Europe and the United States and across the globe to support us in our demands by organizing events and mobilizations.

We as Palestinian people reaffirm our right to return to Palestine, all of Palestine, and reject resettlement and all conspiracies aiming to eliminating our Palestinian cause.

One united impenetrable front for the rights of our Palestinian people

Beirut 20-7-2019

Signatories:

• Al Naqab Center for Youth Activities
• Arab Palestinian Cultural Club
• Palestinian Cultural Club in Beirut
• Palestinian Cultural Club at American University of Beirut
• Palestinian Cultural Club at Lebanese International University
• Palestinian Cultural Club at LIU
• Camps Boycott
• Palestinian National Theater – Lebanon

International, European and German lawyers issued statements in support of Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat, subjected to a political ban in Germany since 22 June, when he was prevented by Berlin police from speaking at a community event on Donald Trump’s so-called “Deal of the Century.” Barakat has filed an urgent appeal against the political ban, demanding it be lifted immediately. He was threatened with up to a year in prison if he participated in events, demonstrations or even gatherings.

The political ban imposed on Barakat comes amid other repressive German actions targeting Palestinian and Palestine solidarity organizing, such as the anti-BDS resolution passed by the Bundestag in May; the criminal prosecution of activists for interrupting a member of the Knesset speaking; the ongoing threats of funding cuts against community organizations hosting Palestine events; the closure of bank accounts of organizations supporting Palestine, including Jewish Voices for a Just Peace; the deportation of former prisoner and torture survivor Rasmea Odeh; and the forced resignation of the director of the Jewish Museum following Israeli official pressure.

Organizations and activists around the world have denounced the political ban imposed on Barakat as a severe attack on freedom of expression and fundamental human rights. Several legal organizations have joined in the call to lift the political ban, including the International Association of Democratic Lawyers. The IADL, founded in 1946, has consultative status as an NGO with the United Nations. It has individual and organizational members from more than 50 countries.

The European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights, headquartered in Düsseldorf, has members across Europe. It joined with the Association of Democratic Lawyers in Germany (VDJ) and the International League for Human Rights to issue a statement demanding the immediate end of the political ban, which was also published in Junge Welt newspaper.

The lawyers’ organizations’ statements emphasized that the political ban on Barakat violates his human rights under the German constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), urging that it be lifted immediately.

Around the world, people of conscience are raising their voices in solidarity with Khaled Barakat and against the ongoing racist violations of Palestinian human rights both in Europe and in occupied Palestine. Please join the support campaign! Send your statements of solidarity to samidoun@samidoun.net or take a solidarity photo featuring the campaign posters to post online or share with us!

Read the statement of the IADL:

The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) a non-governmental organization founded in 1946 with consultative status with ECOSOC, opposes in the strongest terms the German government’s imposition of “political ban” on German resident Mr. Khaled Barakat, a Palestinian activist and writer.   This ban was imposed on June 22, 2019.

IADL has been informed that the stated bases for the political ban are Mr. Barakat’s opinions regarding Palestine and his open support for Palestinian self-determination. IADL has no illusion regarding the source of this ban.  It reflects a disturbing trend by the State of Israel to pressure governments such as Germany to isolate and quiet critics of Israel by equating criticism of the State of Israel or its government with anti-Semitism.  IADL fundamentally rejects this equivalency and notes that many of the people who have spoken out against Israeli violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and who generally oppose Zionism are members of the Jewish community.   Advocating against oppression of Palestinians or for Palestinian self-determination is neither anti-Semitic nor advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred.

IADL views this “political ban” as an impermissible and illegal restriction on the rights of all persons to freedom of opinion and expression, in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which guarantees everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference; the right to freedom of expression which includes the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.   IADL notes that to be permissible restrictions placed on these rights must be justified by a finding they are “necessary” to protect national security, public ordre public health or morals. (General Comment 10 paragraph 4).    The ICCPR also in Article 2 prevents discrimination on many bases including on the bases of political or other opinion, or national or social origin.

IADL is aware that Germany has ratified the ICCPR but placed reservations on its ratification which conditioned its ratification on its right to interpret ICCPR Article 19 and Article 2 consistent with Article 16 of the European Convention on Human Rights which exempts aliens from provisions of Article 10 and 14. Article 10 and 14 correspond to ICCPR Articles 19 and 2. This reservation ostensibly allows Germany to restrict the freedom of expression of aliens and to discriminate against them on the basis of their political or other opinion or national or social origin.

IADL rejects these reservations as being contrary to the purposes and objects of Articles 2 and 19 of the ICCPR, and states affirmatively that such reservations destroy the right of people not to be discriminated against on the basis of their national or social origin.  The Human Rights Committee which interprets the ICCPR has also confirmed that such reservations would not permitted by Article 19(3) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.  (General Comment 24 paragraph 6 of the Human Rights Committee.)

IADL further states that political bans were widely used in South Africa during the Apartheid era to stifle opposition to Apartheid.  They were widely imposed and were part of the actions universally condemned by the United Nations.    IADL opposed the use of such bans to restrict freedom of thought, expression and conscience by the anti-Apartheid activists.    At that time South Africa was not a democracy as it prevented its African majority population from participating in any elections.    The use of these political bans were desperate attempts by the South African government to stave off the day when it would have to change to a democratic state. Germany is a democratic state already.  There is no political necessity for aliens to suffer restrictions on their freedoms of speech, expression or conscience.

Therefore, IADL publicly calls upon German officials to lift the political ban on Mr. Barakat.

Read the statement of the ELDH:

The journalist Khaled Barakat was forbidden to take part in an event in Berlin with the topic, “Palestine and the Arabs – American Deal of the Century from Compromise to Liquidation” under threat of imprisonment by decision of the Foreigners’ Office on 21.06.2019. He was also barred from participating in any other events with reference to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Khaled Barakat is a Canadian citizen who has been in Germany for 4 years. The refusal to extend his residence permit after 31.07.2019 was also announced in the document.

In the detailed but not very substantial statement of reasons of the German Foreigners’ Office it is alleged, among other things, that Mr. Barakat is a functionary of the PFLP. The PFLP is on the EU terror list, as it is in Israel and in the USA. In Germany it is not classified as a terrorist organization. In Great Britain it has not been listed since 2014. Neither the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution nor Berlin’s report mentions the PFLP. There is no evidence that Khlaled Barakat is an official of the PFLP, which he denies by the way.

The Foreigners’ Authority bases the prohibition of lectures on § 47 para. 1 sentence no. 1 AufenthG. Through his lectures, the Foreigners Authority alleges that the peaceful co-existence of Germans and foreigners or of different foreign groups in Germany is imperiled. It refers to the unproven assessment of the Berlin Anti-Semitism Research and Information Centre (RIAS) that anti-Semitic propaganda had been carried out at the event “STOP APARTHEID – Decolonise Palestine.” RIAS here regards the depiction of Palestinians throwing stones on a poster as a visual element “glorifying violence.” Therefore, the statement alleges peaceful coexistence between non-Jewish and Jewish citizens in Germany may be impaired. There is no evidence of this presented either. After his multiple past lectures, there were never any such conflicts. The reason for any conflict is rather the “smouldering political conflicts between Jews and Arabs/Palestinians”, as the Foreigners’ Office itself declares.

However, the Foreigners’ Office wrongly equates Jews with the Israeli government. Numerous prominent Jews in Israel, Germany and other countries are rather very critical of the policies of the the Israeli government. The Foreigners’ Office also justifies its decision by reference to a threat to public safety and order. They also mention forbidden meetings of other organizations. However, Mr. Barakat never gave lectures at any forbidden gatherings. Listing of the PFLP as a terrorist organisation in the USA, Israel and the EU is alleged to be sufficient for the Foreigners’ Office to claim that public safety and order, and Germany’s good relations with the state of Israel, are at risk due to his lectures.

This decision of the Foreigners’ Office intervenes massively against the fundamental rights of Khaled Barakat. The justified and necessary fight against anti-Semitism is not facilitated by such decisions, but in fact made more difficult. Equating criticism of the Israeli government with anti-Semitism distracts from the danger of real anti-Semitism.

The prohibition means that his rights under Art. 5, 8 of the German constitution, Art. 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) are injured. The core of freedom of expression consists precisely in being critical of the policy of one’s own government and to the policies of other governments. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are fundamental for a democratic community.

The ELDH, the VDJ and the International League for Human Rights call on the Berlin authorities to cease these unlawful practices without delay and also to annul their decision on the extension of Mr. Barakat’s residence permit on the basis of speculation and defamation.

German original of the ELDH statement:

https://samidoun.net/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Erklärung-Redefreiheit-für-Khaled-Barakat-003.pdf

Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat visited the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, 10 July to challenge the political ban imposed on him by Germany in an attempt to prevent him from speaking about Palestine. He was invited by Manu Pineda, Member of European Parliament representing the Izquierda Unida (United Left) of the Spanish state. He was accompanied by Charlotte Kates, international coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and Mohammed Khatib, European coordinator of Samidoun.

Barakat noted that it was critical to fight the ongoing attacks on Palestinian rights and Palestinian advocacy at the European Parliament. In Germany in particular, there have been a series of repressive attacks against the Palestinian movement for liberation, including the anti-BDS resolution passed by the Bundestag; the deportation of former prisoner Rasmea Odeh; the criminal prosecution of activists who interrupted a member of the Knesset; raids on antifascist youth activists who confronted Zionists and neo-Nazis; the closure of the bank account of Jewish Voices for a Just Peace; the forced resignation of the director of the Jewish Museum; and, of course, the political ban imposed on Khaled Barakat, the Palestinian leftist, activist and writer.

On 22 June, Barakat was stopped as he went to deliver a speech on the so-called “deal of the century” and the U.S. attack on Palestinian rights in Berlin. He was taken to a police station, where he was given an eight-page document prohibiting him from taking part in any type of political activity until 31 July, including meetings, events and gatherings. He was threatened with up to one year in prison if he failed to comply. The document listed many speeches delivered by Barakat in Berlin and warned that his speech could lead to “tension” between Jews and Palestinians and Arabs in Berlin, despite no evidence that such a thing had ever occurred. It further attempted to equate anti-Semitism with opposition to the Israeli state. People in Germany and around the world are expressing growing solidarity against the political ban, noting the severe danger that this poses not only to Barakat’s human rights and freedom of expression, but that it could also set a precedent for the ongoing suppression of Palestinians in Germany.

In his remarks at the European Parliament, Barakat emphasized that Palestinians have been fighting colonization for over 100 years – and that resisting these types of attacks is also a critical part of resisting colonization. He also noted that the Israeli government has heavily funded its “Ministry of Strategic Affairs” to take the repression of Palestinian activism to a global level. He also noted that Gilad Erdan, the Minister of Strategic Affairs, is also the minister of internal security, responsible for the repression targeting Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Therefore, Palestinians and solidarity organizations working to support the freedom and justice of Palestinian prisoners have been particularly targeted.

In her presentation, Kates noted that the repression targeting Palestinian writers and activists also reflects the rise of the extreme right in Europe. She noted that the Bundestag’s anti-BDS resolution was initially prompted by a proposal from the AfD, the far-right party in Germany. In addition, she also linked these repressive attacks to anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism. She noted that pro-fascist forces are escaping responsibility for actual anti-Semitism, while the term is instead being used to smear activists working for justice and liberation in Palestine. Instead, Israel and the European extreme right are developing a stronger alliance than ever.

Manu Pineda noted that “For several years now some European governments, pushed by the Israeli state, have begun to try to drown any kind of initiative and movement of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Khaled’s case, which is not the first of its kind in Germany, is very worrying because of what it means for freedom of expression in an EU country and because it also coincides with the decision of the German Parliament to classify the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign as anti-Semitic.” He condemned this resolution, calling it “reprehensible for equating anti-Semitism with the legitimate demand that the Israeli government must be compelled to comply with international law.”

“We show our full solidarity with organizations and activists like Khaled Barakat, who, despite repression and persecution, continue to lead and press forward the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people to live in peace and freedom,” Pineda said.

Commenting on EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini’s comments emphasizing that the EU views BDS advocacy as part of freedom of expression, Pineda said that “it is clear that Mogherini’s words are not enough, because at the moment of truth, Israel, with which the EU continues to maintain a privileged trade relationship, is able to pressure member states to repress BDS or solidarity activists and movements that demand the end of violence against the Palestinian people.”

The visit to the European Parliament came one day after Diether Dehm, Member of Bundestag for DIE LINKE (The Left Party) expressed his support for Barakat’s right to speak. “The arrest of Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat and the conditions imposed on him by the immigration office are a blatant restriction on freedom of expression,” Dehm said.”The accusation that Barakat’s talks could aggravate tensions between Jews and Palestinians in Germany is absurd in view of the topic he wanted to speak about….criticisms of the policies of the Israeli government are covered by the right to freedom of expression. That people should be silenced with pressure on their residence permit is scandalous,” Dehm said, noting that the political ban confirmed fears that the Bundestag’s anti-BDS motion would lead to further political silencing.

Around the world, people of conscience are raising their voices in solidarity with Khaled Barakat and against the ongoing racist violations of Palestinian human rights both in Europe and in occupied Palestine. Please join the support campaign! Send your statements of solidarity to samidoun@samidoun.net or take a solidarity photo featuring the campaign posters to post online or share with us!