The World Federation of Democratic Youth held a conference of its Arab branch in Lebanon from June 19-21, 2009, hosted by the Lebanese Democratic Youth Federation. The conference included a special meeting in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the PFLP. The meeting issued a statement in solidarity with Sa’adat, accepted by the conference as a whole, reprinted below.
Statement in Solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat
During the regional meeting of the Middle East commission of World Federation of Democratic Youth in the city of Byblos, Lebanon from June 19 to June 21, hosted by Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth (ULDY), the delegations convened a special solidarity meeting with comrade Ahmad Sa’adat and all prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons. All participating organizations expressed their support for the persistence of comrade Sa’adat against the oppression of the Israeli jailers who moved him since 3 months to a solitary cell because of his refusal to wear the orange suits designating ‘terrorist’ prisoners similar to the ones used in Guantanamo. Sa’adat and his fellow prisoners objected the act and asked to be treated as prisoners of war, as one more symbol of their commitment to the right of the Palestinian people in resistance according to all international and humanitarian treaties.
Few days ago, comrade Sa’adat started a big struggle against his jailers declaring a hunger strike that lasted for nine days in refusal for isolating him and other detainees in solitary cells, under very difficult conditions where they don’t see the light except for one hour per day, in spite of his difficult health conditions.
Under those circumstances, the Zionists decided to elongate his detention period till September 17, this is why the participants in the meeting issued a declaration to the responsible bodies and authorities to work on the following:
1. Working to end the isolation of comrade Sa’adat and the other prisoners, and guaranteeing their rights in the struggle of the Palestinian detainees and prisoners.
2. Asking the Palestinian National Authority to move immediately against the Zionist Israel, the first responsible for the suffering of all prisoners and detainees, and to take
its responsibility for detaining comrade Sa’adat.
3. Asking all international bodies to take their responsibilities for the release of comrade Sa’adat.
4. Asking all friendly Arab and International organizations to launch solidarity campaigns with Sa’adat and other detainees.
In the end, the meeting also saluted, in addition to comrade Saadat the detained leaders Marwan Barghothi, Aziz Dweik, Ibrhaim Abou Hajleh and all Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian detainees in Israel.
