|
Bush Steps-up Anti-Arafat Rhetoric, Arafat Popularity Soars
 |
| Who’s
going to have his way?
|
KANANASKIS,
Canada, June 27 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – While U.S.
President George W. Bush stepped-up his anti-Arafat rhetoric during
the G8 summit in Canada, his desire to oust Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat only fuels the Palestinian leader’s popularity among
his people despite Washington’s wish to the contrary, analysts
warned.
Bush
ramped up pressure Wednesday, June 26, on the Palestinians to dump
Yasser Arafat, but that keystone of his Middle East peace plan
generated little enthusiasm among assembled G8 leaders.
Bush
threatened to withhold new U.S. aid from the Palestinians if they fail
to shed the Palestinian Authority chairman in elections early next
year, as the White House said the president had “given up hope”
for Arafat to enact reforms, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
“The
status quo is simply unacceptable and it should be unacceptable to
them,” Bush said, referring to the Palestinians, as he met with
British Prime Minister Tony Blair near here on the sidelines of the G8
summit.
However,
political analyst Hassan Al-Kashef told AFP that “Every time
pressure is exerted on Arafat, his popularity has surged among the
Palestinians.”
He
was commenting on Bush’s speech Monday, June 24, that called on
Palestinians to vote out their leadership “compromised by terror,”
a barb directed at Arafat.
Talal
Awqel, a political commentator, said Bush’s demand for “new
leaders, new institutions and new security arrangements” as
conditions for U.S. support for a Palestinian state that he said could
emerge in three years “created a reverse effect among the
Palestinians.”
“The
Palestinians consider their attachment to Arafat as a challenge
against what they see as undemocratic interference by the United
States in their internal affairs,” Awqel said.
Palestinian
criticism of their leadership, which is frequent, practically vanishes
when Arafat comes under strong U.S. and Israeli pressure. When Israel
surrounded Arafat’s Ramallah headquarters for five weeks this
spring, Arafat’s support soared.
One
Gaza student, affirming he was not a keen supporter of Arafat, said
the leader”s popularity was due to his refusal to give in under
pressure. “Israel’s hostility toward Arafat is because of his
refusal to make more concessions and it is for this reason that we do
not want him replaced,” he said, requesting anonymity.
Awqel
believes Washington’s demand for a new leadership places Arafat in a
difficult position. “Arafat needs to implement immediate and radical
reforms in order to win the battle of political survival”, he said.
The
Palestinian leadership announced Wednesday presidential and
legislative elections for January 2003, in an apparent response to
Bush’s demands. And fair elections will not weaken the position of
Arafat nor his support among the average citizen, the analysts said.
“I
don’t think any figure, even supported by Hamas, could seriously
compete with Arafat. He benefits from the fact that public opinion
sees him as the one Israel and the United States want sidelined,”
said Abdul Karim Abu Salah, head of the law commission of the
legislative council (Palestinian parliament).
International
cooperation minister Nabil Shaath said on Wednesday, June 26, Arafat
would run in the elections. However other senior officials said that
continued U.S. and Israeli pressure on him makes it premature to
discuss this.
The
Palestinian leadership is also waiting for other parties, notably the
European Union, Russia and the United Nations, who form part of the
so-called Middle East “quartet”, to clarify their views on the
Palestinian leadership.
G8
leaders gathered in Kananaskis generally echoed Bush’s frustration
with the Palestinian president but stopped short of joining the call
for his ouster, insisting it was up to the Palestinians to choose
their own leaders.
Bush
drew a muddled response from Canada, with Prime Minister Jean Chretien
saying replacing Arafat “might be a good thing” after Foreign
Minister Bill Graham said it was not “appropriate to say whether he
is fit or unfit.”
Meeting
with Bush early Wednesday, Blair did not explicitly say Arafat must
go, but warned the Palestinians they should not expect progress
towards an independent state unless they elect a leadership that
“resists and totally rejects terrorism.”
“It’s
for the Palestinians to elect the people that they choose to
elect," he said. "But it's for us to say the consequences of
electing people who aren't serious negotiating partners is that we
can't move this forward.”
French
President Jacques Chirac said it was "up to the Palestinian
people, and to them alone, to choose their representatives" and
called for an international conference to discuss Bush's plan.
Earlier
Wednesday, Arafat threw down a challenge to Bush, calling for January
elections that the Palestinian leader is likely to win and expanding
on his proposed reforms.
Faced
with the prospect of Arafat winning re-election, Bush warned the
“free world” could withhold aid to the Palestinians unless they
showed concrete progress on the reforms he has demanded.
“I
can assure you we won’t be putting money into a society which is not
transparent and corrupt and I suspect other countries won’t
either,” he replied when asked who would judge whether the
Palestinians have gone far enough.
U.S.
officials hastened to explain that Bush was not referring to current
humanitarian aid - such as food or housing assistance - but to
potential future assistance to Palestinian institutions.
Bush
said he would use “diplomatic pressure” to convince the
Palestinians to abandon terrorism, but said: “I’m never ruling out
military. All options are available.”
“We
all have responsibilities and in this case the tool I'm using is
diplomatic pressure to work with our friends and allies to convince
all parties they have a responsibility to bear,” he said.
|
