Peter RogersYarn From The West Bank And Iran
January 15th 2008 07:11
January 15, 2008.
Palestinian police are slowly starting to exert control over some West Bank towns, with the aid of Western-backed funding and training.
The security drive, demanded by many Palestinians and which Israel says is a prerequisite for peace, is a wonderful sign for the region. Hopefully, those enforcing law and order do so without prejudice, unlike the chaos of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Palestinian police were criticised for a heavy-handed response in November in the West Bank, as protests by Islamists opposed to peace moves with Israel, created havoc. I believe the police need to be well-armed in such areas, as on this occasion alone, 29 people were injured after youths began throwing stones at the law-enforces.
Meanwhile In Iran, Ms Keshavarz, who was detained by the government for her activism in women's rights, says that her time in jail has not deterred her passion, if anything, has fuelled it further.
Her aim, before detention, and again now, is to collect a massive one million signatures for a petition urging more women's rights, dubbed, "Million Signatures Campaign".
Ms Keshavarz, 34, was part of a massive crackdown on dissent, and was held on security-related charges after collecting signatures in Tehran.
"No one wants to go to prison. But if we have to pay a price then we will, like women have all over the world," she said.
A wonderful woman, fighting for what she believes in. Deportation or assassination could well be on the cards, though.
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