Ex-political Prisoners Research Articles

Palestinian Political Prisoners: Hunger Strikes and the Battle for Dignity

Thousands of Palestinians have been imprisoned in Israeli jails since 1948, reflecting an objective of Israel's occupation of Palestine to break the spirit of Palestinians in their struggle for liberation. A form of protest often undertaken by Palestinians in response to their political imprisonment is hunger strike. Indeed, when considered in relation to governance as an enactment of power upon people in prison, hunger strikes are an attempt of powerless prisoners to exercise some level of power over their circumstances. Concepts around hunger strike as form of protest are complex and multidimensional, and may reflect the interests of an individual or group, and/or speak more to the broader rights of people. Of interest to this study is the relationship between hunger strike and human dignity as manifest as a form of protest by Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli jails. Specifically, this study aimed to investigate the extent to which the concept of human dignity is a fundamental principle guiding Palestinian political prisoners' initial decision to hunger strike and then to continue to hunger strike. To facilitate the investigation, a stratified sampling approach was used to support the collection of quantitative data via a survey of 29 expolitical prisoners who had participated in hunger strikes during their imprisonment in Israeli jails. The collected data were related to three core dimensions of the protest construct: motivations for undertaking the protest (hunger strike); personal feelings when undertaking protest; and the experienced responses to/outcomes of the protest. Analysis of the participants' responses and the reporting of the main findings was informed by reference to key theoretical frameworks developed by Habermas, Kant, Sartre, and Durkheim. This study found that Palestinian political prisoners often considered human dignity to be more important than food. They therefore believed that hunger strike was a way to express that they would not surrender their dignity nor stray from their resistance. This article contributes to the important debate on the extent to which the hunger strike is an effective way to protest against the loss of human dignity experienced as a Palestinian political prisoner.

Narratives of life after political imprisonment: Republican and Loyalist ex-prisoners in Northern Ireland

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of prison experience in ex-political prisoners in Northern Ireland in the context of changing and conflicting master narratives.Design/methodology/approachA series of nine interviews were conducted with Loyalist and Republican political ex-prisoners in Northern Ireland. Eight were male and one was female. All had been in prison for substantial sentences relating to the Troubles.FindingsThis study highlighted the challenges faced by political ex-prisoners regarding the changing conflicting master narratives in Northern Ireland and identified how they deal with these challenges. The participants adapted to post-conflict society by attempting to understand and make sense of their experiences, including justifying their actions as appropriate for the era and identifying positive changes in society resulting from the conflict.Research limitations/implicationsA narrative approach can be beneficial for understanding the experiences of political ex-prisoners. It enables a theoretical perspective to look not only at the personal but also at social elements of why people behave as they do. The findings demonstrate that political ex-prisoners do have different experiences to non-political ex-prisoners. The sample size was small and was drawn from a specific group of political ex-prisoners who were actively seeking reconciliation. The findings may be different for other groups.Practical implicationsA narrative approach can help the practitioner understand the context in which a person lives; ex-political prisoners may be very different from ordinary ex-prisoners because of the context in which they were imprisoned and the reasons for which they were imprisoned. They are likely to continue with the narrative of the conflict they fought in and may still have the same aims (e.g. Northern Ireland to become part of Ireland), though they may or may not believe in the same means. These are issues that should be discussed and elaborated when working with ex-political prisoners.Social implicationsThe master narratives active in the society into which the political ex-prisoner is released may impact the success or otherwise of their re-integration into society.Originality/valueUnderstanding the role of conflicting master narratives in dealing with the implications of being an ex-political prisoner.

The ex-PKI Political Prisoners Motive to Produce the Memories of 1965/66 Mass Violence in West Sumatra

This article analyses ex-PKI political prisoners' motive to produce their memory about mass violence and detention in 1965/66. They joined the YPKP (Yayasan Penelitian Korban Pembunuhan/Institute for Research on the victims 1965/65). In this organization, they expect justice for what they experienced in 1965. This article uses qualitative research. We acquire the data by interview and literature study. There are six interviewers –five of them are ex-PKI political prisoners, and one is the chairman of the YPKP branch in West Sumatra. Besides the interview, we also use relevant books, articles, newspapers, archives, and web pages. We employ the social memory approach to analyse this subject. The ex-PKI political prisoners' memory of violence had shaped the same vision between them to produce the memories of what they have experienced during 1965/66. Therefore, the old ex-political prisoners expected to straighten history to reconcile the government and the victims. They attempt to counter the state narration that mentions they had a part in the 30 September 1965 Movement to hold the coup and prove that the state victimized them for decades. Along with the straightened history, there are two primary purposes in this reconciliation they are fighting for; 1) Confession of the state that human rights violations had taken place; 2) Recovery and rehabilitation for those who had become the victim of human rights violations.

Straightening History

In the aftermath of the attempted 1965 coup, many dissidents, leftists, and suspected Communists were either ‘eradicated’ or incarcerated in prisons all over Indonesia. Since their release, these political prisoners continue to face state-enforced discrimination and stigmatisation. The marginalization of ex-political prisoners by both the state and local communities has continued through Indonesia’s democratic transition following President Suharto’s downfall in 1998. This is compounded by the presence of right-wing groups who continue to harass them, labelling them as neo-Communists inimical to the Indonesian body politic. Through direct engagement with former political prisoners, I aim to understand rehabilitative efforts through support groups. In preliminary interviews, many eks-tapol refer to the need to ‘straighten’ history. This discourse highlights their need to be recognized as ‘whole’ citizens of Indonesia. I explore the state’s struggle to address this dark chapter in Indonesian history, what it means to ‘straighten’ history and how eks-tapol engage with support groups to re-define their position within the community, denoting a strengthened sense of dignity and humanity. It is hoped that this research will contribute to efforts to understand and protect the rights of eks-tapol and other victims of political persecution in Southeast Asia.

The constitution of Myanmar: a contextual analysis

On 8 November 2020 the Myanmar (Burma) electorate once again returned to the polls, with many queuing from the early hours to participate in the third set of nationwide elections since the establishment of the 2008 constitution. Expected results at the time of writing indicate another landslide victory for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), a party made up of ex-political prisoners and pro-democracy activists. Nevertheless, there has been increasing scepticism about the success of Myanmar's regime transition from military dictatorship to democracy. The continuing ethnic violence in many of the borderlands, including but not limited to the persecution of the Rohingya, would appear to overshadow supposed institutional and electoral progress in the past twelve years. Yet as this book by Melissa Crouch details, the answer to the success of Myanmar's transition and democratic potential lies not in its electoral process but within its constitution. In 2008, Myanmar held a referendum on the newly drafted constitution which passed with overwhelming success despite the vote being held days after Cyclone Nargis devastated much of the central lowlands. The decision to go ahead and the result exemplified the gap between what was democratic transition on the surface and the realities of the environment in which it was occurring. As the first part of the book outlines, both the oversight and participation of the military in the drafting and securing of the 2008 constitution have not only undermined but completely restricted the process. Though the language of democracy may be used when discussing Myanmar, this detailed analysis of the constitution and of the first two elections held under its aegis in 2010 and 2015 paint a very different picture.

A poesia dos presos políticos

Inscrita no amplo quadro da literatura de resistência à ditadura civil-militar brasileira, a poesia dos ex-presos políticos ainda ocupa um lugar marginal nas bibliografias primárias e nos estudos críticos sobre a produção literária de teor testemunhal. Objetivamos recensear uma amostragem significativa de elaborações poéticas escritas pelos presos políticos da ditadura, situando o campo de impasses que esse corpus diretamente relacionado à experiência do encarceramento arbitrário condensa e encena. Por se tratar de um esforço de sistematização, o presente artigo é de natureza descritiva e não visa apresentar uma análise (estética ou sociológica) dos autores, das obras ou dos poemas mencionados. Com base no campo aberto pelo debate de Heloisa Buarque de Hollanda, empregamos as expressões “poesia de cárcere” e “poesia de presos” para designar as produções poéticas de ex-presos políticos, escritas durante ou após a ditadura civil-militar brasileira. Não ignoramos a multiplicidade e a heterogeneidade desse gênero e as imprecisões e os impasses que tais designações provisórias podem engendrar. Todo esforço de reunir, classificar e inventariar é suscetível de apagamentos e equívocos. Por fim, não pretendemos fazer uma apresentação totalizante, que contemple todos os poetas do cárcere, mas listar uma amostragem significativa encontrada no processo de pesquisa. Para organizar esse trabalho de recensão, dividimos o artigo em três sessões: as obras editadas; a poesia de cárcere e a imprensa de resistência; a poesia dos presos políticos no arquivo.

Por uma Arqueologia Feminista da ditadura no Brasil (1964-1985)

O presente texto é um exercício interpretativo entre as relações de gênero e o mundo material da repressão em Centros de Detenção e Tortura no Brasil. Tomo como base a Arquitetura do DOPS/RS, além dos materiais e outros elementos não humanos utilizados para tortura de pessoas dentro desses espaços. Para tanto, me proponho a examinar esse meio material, através de seu entrecruzamento com os relatos de ex-presas(os) políticas, vistos sob a ótica do feminismo descolonial, com intuito de trazer à luz novos elementos da dinâmica repressiva brasileira, bem como, trabalhar a perspectiva de gênero como forma de valorizar os relatos de mulheres e de possibilitar a sua visibilidade nesse processo.

“Doing Peace”: The Role of Ex-Political Prisoners in Violence Prevention Initiatives in Northern Ireland

ABSTRACTWhile a considerable amount of research has been conducted on community-based initiatives aimed at preventing violence, including the role of the ex-political prisoner community in preventative and counterterrorism work, little is known about how the ex-prisoners themselves manage their identity transition between the role they occupied during the conflict and their current role in violence prevention. We argue that it is important to consider the perspective of ex-prisoners who are both architects of their own process of desistance from political violence, as well active leaders of bespoke desistance programs. While many researchers have recognized the utility of the role of ex-prisoners in violence prevention work, theoretically, the way in which ex-prisoners do violence prevention through their use of language and intergroup contact and other resources, is poorly understood. Ultimately, the aim of the article is twofold: to understand the resources (discursive or otherwise) that the community of ex-political prisoners use in their preventative work and (2) to understand how this community understand their role in desistance programs in the context of their personal involvement in violent conflict, including the ways in which participants manage their identity transition.

Suffering and Protest in Rhodesian Prisons During the Zimbabwean Liberation Struggle

This article is based on Zimbabwean ex-political prisoners' testimonies and writings, and argues that, although Rhodesian prisons were spaces of racialised abuse, curtailed freedoms, and heightened repression, they were also spaces of struggle, subversion and negotiation. Indeed, prisoners' testimonies and their written accounts reveal the depravity and brutality of prison life. They capture vividly some of the gruesome experiences in the state corridors of silence. Yet, as this essay demonstrates, these testimonies also disclose the ways in which prisoners were not simply victims of state-sponsored penal terror: prisoners told stories of how they struggled, coped and creatively adapted to the harsh prison regimes. I also argue that, by transforming the prison into an arena of struggle for political and social rights, African political offenders undermined the disciplinary, rehabilitative, and punitive intent of imprisonment. Political prisoners are important historical subjects in the telling of the struggle for liberation in Zimbabwe – prisoners' life stories and writings demonstrate the ways in which political prisoners confronted the colonial regime. As political prisoners, they were important symbols of the struggle for liberation, and were also producers of powerful critiques of the colonial regime through their writings.

Honoring repression: the award of the Peacemaker’s Medal to state agents involved in security (1964-1985)

The article analyzes the awarding of the Peacemaker’s Medal to state officials involved in political repression in Brazil during the military dictatorship. The study aims to understand the characteristics of the medal and the criteria for awarding it, the justifications, the number of members of the intelligence community who were decorated and the time point when the medal was awarded during the period. For this purpose, the list of recipients was cross-referenced with the records produced by ex-political prisoners and human rights groups who denounced state agents for acts of torture. The article’s conclusion is that the number of medals awarded to agents of repression is only a small percentage of the total. However, it is considerably higher in the case of the more prestigious category, “with Distinction”. In addition, it shows that those state agents were decorated because of their involvement in political persecution, in spite of having violated human rights.Keywords: military dictatorship, political repression, Peacemaker’s Medal.

A repressão condecorada: a atribuição da Medalha do Pacificador a agentes do aparato de segurança (1964-1985)

The article analyzes the awarding of the Peacemaker Medal to state officers involved in the political repression in Brazil during the military dictatorship. The research aims to understand the significance and the criteria for the awarding of the medal, the justifications, the proportion of members of the intelligence community who were decorated and the moments of the awarding of the medal during the period. With this aim in mind, the list of recipients was cross-referenced with the records produced by ex-political prisoners and human rights groups who denounced state agents for acts of torture. The article’s conclusion is that the number of medals awarded to agents of repression represents a small percentage of the total. However, it is considerably higher in the case of the more prestigious category, “with Distinction”. In addition, it shows that those state agents were decorated because of their involvement in political persecution, in spite of having violated human rights. Keywords : military dictatorship, political repression, Peacemaker Medal.

Verläufe von Traumafolgen bei ehemaligen politisch Inhaftierten der DDR

BackgroundIn a sample of ex-political prisoners in the GDR examined in the middle of the 1990s, a follow-up examination carried out 15 years later investigated alterations in the diagnosis and symptom prevalence of post-traumatic stress syndrome PTSS) as well as other psychiatric disorders. The diagnosis course given by the clinicians was compared with the retrospective subjective estimations by participants.MethodsA total of 93 ex-political prisoners participated in the follow-up study (85 %) with an average age of 64 years. Diagnoses and symptoms were collated using structured clinical interviews and questionnaires. The retrospective subjective estimation of progression of the participants was calculated using a PTSS symptom index based on four symptom groups (intrusions, avoidance, numbing and hyperarousal).ResultsAt the time of follow-up PTSS was present in 33 % of participants (in 1997 it was 29 %). In 1994 this was present in only approximately 50 % of cases and in the other 50 % it concerned newly incident or remission cases. The next most common diagnoses were major depression episodes (26 %), panic (with or without agoraphobia 24 %) and somatoform disorders (19 %). In the PTSS symptom profile intrusions, flashbacks and alienation feelings decreased with time but in contrast irritability and shock reactions increased. The subjective self-estimation of the course of PTSS symptoms by the participants often gave a resilient (never PTSS) or delayed and rarely a remission course pattern in comparison to the diagnosing clinicians. ConclusionsThe results indicate a trauma-related long-term morbidity which is, however less stable than previously assumed.

When Memory Challenges History: Public Contestation of the Past in Post-Suharto Indonesia

AbstractServing to legitimate the power of a political regime, official history is usually radically questioned as the regime collapses. Such is the case in Indonesia since the fall of Suharto in May 1998. Yet, unlike many other countries which have experienced transitions from authoritarian or totalitarian rule to democracy, post-Suharto Indonesia is witnessing an ambivalent critique of the official history, especially regarding the "September 30, 1965 affair" (the killing of six top Army officers by a regiment of Presidential guards which brought about Suharto's rise to power). On one hand, there is a public query over who masterminded the killings; on the other hand, there are reactionary responses towards the claims of victimization among ex-political prisoners associated with the September 30,1965 movement, as they articulate their experiences of the past tragedy. This paper attempts to explore the current controversy surrounding the official history of the September 30, 1965 affair through discussions of the paradox of memory, and the relationship between memory and history.

Glasnost: the Slogan, the Reality, the Magazine

“Glasnost” and “perestroika”, Gorbachev's twin policies designed to reform the failing Marxist economic system to preserve the Leninist dictatorship, are terms whose meaning and practice are matters of intense debate in the Soviet Union. One important challenge is a number of unofficial, critical publications, seemingly encouraged by Gorbachev - “glasnost” is one. Glasnost is also the title that a group of ex-political prisoners and dissident writers have christened the first independent journal ever published in the Soviet Union. The magazine, launched in Moscow in June 1987, circulates freely. However, publishing under Soviet Communism has not been easy. The Kremlin has harassed the editor and members of his staff on numerous occasions but has not halted publication. This study traces the background of the publication, its staff and contributors; discusses the contents, and examines its English-language issues. It is argued that the government of the Soviet Union, with an announced policy of glasnost, i...

Interview

The editor of the independent journal Referendum explains the role of his publication, and why the authorities are softer on him than they were. ‘On the one hand there are still several hundred political prisoners. On the other hand those of us who have been released are at present able to operate relatively freely.’ In February 1987 Lev Timofeev was prematurely released from camp as a result of a government decree, under which a large number of political prisoners were amnestied. Together with Sergei Grigoryants, another ex-political prisoner, he set up the unofficial bulletin Glasnost last summer. Grigoryants now edits Glasnost, while Timofeev has started his own journal, Referendum. He also leads the independent ‘Press Club Glasnost’, which organised an unofficial conference on human rights in December 1987. The Press Club is planning to set up a form of open university, using a number of highly-qualified ex-political prisoners as teachers. I interviewed Lev Timofeev in Moscow in January. As we talked in his study, a neat portable computer - which had come from abroad but quickly learned to speak fluent Russian - was printing out the fourth issue of Referendum. S.L.