|
Liberal palestinians fear hamas win { January 25 2006 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20060125/PALESTINIANS25/TPInternational/Africahttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20060125/PALESTINIANS25/TPInternational/Africa
Liberal Palestinians fear Hamas win
Islamist party poised for breakthrough in electionBy MARK MACKINNON
Wednesday, January 25, 2006 Page A3
RAMALLAH, WEST BANK -- Jasser Jasser watches quietly as the parade of green flows by his pharmacy. What he sees is unnerving for him, perhaps enough to make him want to leave his home and move elsewhere.
Walking at the front of the parade is a boy, perhaps in his early teens, carrying the banner of the Hamas movement -- the Islamic militia-cum-political party that opinion polls suggest is poised for a breakthrough in today's Palestinian parliamentary election.Then come the drummers, dozens of them, pounding a martial beat. Some of the drummers look to be no more than five or six years old.
That Hamas was able to hold such a large march in the centre of Ramallah, long considered the most liberal Palestinian city and a stronghold of the secular Fatah movement, in the final hours of the election campaign speaks to the momentum the Islamists have heading into today's vote.
Some opinion polls now have Hamas within just a few percentage points of the long-governing Fatah, sparking speculation that Hamas, on its first foray into national politics, could win a plurality of seats in the next Palestinian Legislative Council.
For Mr. Jasser, a 43-year-old pharmacist, that would be the final straw. Christian and liberal-minded, he said a Hamas win would have him packing his bags.
"I would leave the country," he said simply, moments before the parade of tiny drummers drowned him out.
"We're all afraid. We're worried about the future, that we'll become a second Iran."
It's a common sentiment in Ramallah, especially among the city's dwindling Christian community. Where Christians once made up an about 10 per cent of the population of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the share is believed to have fallen to less than 2 per cent as many left to escape both the rising Islamicization of society and the constant violence.
While Hamas has worked hard to moderate its message during the campaign -- stressing that its primary goal is ending corruption within the Palestinian Authority, and even dropping some of its rhetoric about destroying Israel -- many Palestinian Christians are still nervous about being governed by a movement that proclaims "Islam is the answer" in response to tough questions about the collapsed Palestinian economy and prospects for future statehood.
"I'm worried about my daughters, my sisters, my wife. I'm worried about their liberties. I don't want my wife to have to wear a head scarf. I don't want Islam to rule my life," said Abu Harb, the 40-year-old owner of a shop in Ramallah's Christian district. For fear of retribution, he didn't want his full name used or his store identified.
A Fatah supporter, he said Hamas was too inflexible to govern. "You can't argue with them. They just use the Koran to escape from any debate."
It's a sentiment that has spread well beyond the tiny Christian community. Many liberal-minded Muslims say they're just as worried that Hamas, if it does well enough to shape the next government, will try to force its social values onto Palestinian society.
Liberals point to the strictly conservative atmosphere that hangs over the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is most popular, as an example of what worries them. Where Ramallah has a reputation for the best nightlife in the West Bank, alcohol is no longer sold in Gaza, and few women there venture outdoors without donning a head scarf.
Khaled Saifi, campaign manager for the Independent Palestine party that's running third in the opinion polls, said concern about Hamas has spiked in the last days of the campaign after some pundits predicted it could win 40 per cent of the vote. Many of those who had planned to support Hamas as a protest against Fatah's failures over more than a decade in office are turned off by the idea of an Islamist majority in parliament, and are reconsidering their options, he said.
The parties
Some 1.4 million people are eligible to vote today for the 132-member Palestinian Legislative Council. The options:
Fatah: The governing faction of president Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah is credited with leading the decades-old Palestinian statehood struggle, but is dogged by accusations of corruption and split between an old guard and younger leaders seeking office. Fatah is committed to a peace deal with Israel for a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Arab East Jerusalem. The 45-member Fatah candidate list is headed by Marwan Barghouthi, a charismatic legislator jailed by Israel.
Hamas: An acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas was founded in the late 1980s, during the first Palestinian revolt. Officially committed to destroying the Jewish state, it opposed interim peace accords and boycotted the last parliament vote in 1996. It carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings during the uprising and is branded a terrorist group in the West. Hamas has won support from Palestinians for its charity network and anti-corruption credentials.
Independent Palestine: A 41-member list headed by former presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouthi, Independent Palestine advocates social reform and non-violent resistance to Israel.
Third Way: The 25-member candidate list is led by former finance minister Salam Fayyad and veteran lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi. They seek to achieve statehood through civic action.
Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa: A 50-member list drawn from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist group that voiced reservations on past peace deals. The list is named after Abu Ali Mustafa, a PFLP leader assassinated by Israel in 2001. The Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa list is headed by Ahmed Saadat, who was jailed on charges of planning Israeli tourist minister Rehavam Zeevi's killing.
Badil: Arabic for "alternative," it is a coalition of former members of secular and Marxist PLO factions, as well as independents. Its 40-member list is headed by Qais Abdel-Karim.
|
|
