barrykind
Advanced Member
Member # 35
|
posted
Arafat Says He Won't Step Aside
By PAISLEY DODDS Associated Press Writer
published 09:27 AM - JULY 12, 2002 Eastern Time
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat speaks to reporters at his Ramallah headquarters Friday, July 12, 2002. Arafat said Friday he had no immediate plans to step down from power, but at the same time said he hadn't decided whether to run in January elections.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) _ Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat vowed Friday to resist international pressure to step down but at the same time said he had made no decision on seeking re-election in January.
"It is not only up to me. It will be up to many people," Arafat said in an interview with The Associated Press and Bahrain television at his Ramallah compound. He has been periodically confined to the compound for months, ringed by Israeli tanks and soldiers.
In remarks that left room for interpretation in both directions, Arafat also said it would be cowardly to step down.
"I have been elected by the people. I am not a coward. I'm not ready to betray the people who elected me," Arafat said.
He refused to give more specifics when questioned about the apparent contradiction, repeating only that he did not intend to leave office. The Palestinian leader is often vague in interviews and tends to avoid being drawn into giving details on politically delicate subjects.
He said reforms of the Palestinian Authority demanded by the United States were already underway and that he would welcome international participation and support in furthering the process.
Arafat's comments came amid calls by the United States for the Palestinians to choose a new leadership "not compromised by terror."
Since President Bush made the call, many Palestinians appear to have rallied around their leader, despite serious economic hardships and long-standing complaints of corruption in the Palestinian Authority.
When asked how he felt about the U.S. demand for reform, Arafat said he understood that Bush had supported some of the reforms being made. He cited the changes in the Palestinian security forces, which have now been brought under the supervision of a new interior minister.
Arafat said he wanted the United States' support in the reforms, but refused to be more specific.
He said a Palestinian delegation would meet with Israeli leaders on Saturday to discuss "many issues."
After a months-long hiatus, high-level talks started last week between Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and members of Arafat's Cabinet, primarily dealing with easing the economic situation in the Palestinian territories.
Upbeat about the renewed contact, Arafat said he believed further progress could be made if Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "will give them the mandate."
Since three attacks last month killed 31 Israelis, soldiers have occupied seven of the eight major West Bank towns and cities where rolling curfews are still in place.
"How can it be accepted internationally that we are the only people living under occupation?" Arafat said.
In an interview published in Egypt on Friday, President Hosni Mubarak also said it would be bad policy if Israel forced Arafat from office.
Arafat's political weakness is apparent: Palestinians gave him an approval rating of only 35 percent in May, and his control of militants or even his own lieutenants is questionable.
Yet despite accusations that his Palestinian Authority is ineffectual and corrupt, Arafat at 73 is still revered by many as a guerrilla hero who for almost four decades kept the Palestinian cause on the world's agenda
--------------------
The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
| IP: Logged | 
|
Printer-friendly view of this topic
