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| Sunday, 17 October 2004 |
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US fortified Sharon's hand - Palestinian Ambassador by M.P. Muttiah Attallah Qubia, Palestinian Ambassador, said that Israeli Prime Minister Aerial Sharon did not want to talk with Palestinian leaders. In an exclusive interview with the `Sunday Observer', the Ambassador said the United States strengthened the hands of Sharon. Israelis did not respect human rights in Palestinian areas. Answering a question on the Gaza disengagement plan, the Palestinian Ambassador said, the Israelis were out to grab Palestinian land. Sharon wanted to show the world that he was for peace, but in fact, his killing spree continued. He said the US support for Israel was the reason for the crisis. The United States had vetoed resolutions supporting Palestinians at the United Nations 29 times, but the international community always supported Palestinian people and their struggle for a state of their own. Replying to a question on the peace process, the Ambassador said he wanted peace not only for his people, but also for Israelis. Palestinians wanted to live together with Israelis, but Sharon opposed peace. It was with that objective Palestinian President Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Agreement. Sharon strongly opposed that agreement. If the former Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin was alive today, the agreement would have ensured peace for the people of Palestine and Israel. Asked whether the Palestinian authority was weakened, Attallah Qubia said that it was the media controlled by Americans and Jews that made such insidious propaganda. Israelis always expected Palestinians to fight each other and hoped to divide Palestinian Liberation Organisation as well as Hamas. For more than a decade, there were no internecine killings. The United States said it did not want to talk to Arafat, except the Prime Minister or others. There might have been backing for this view, but since it came from the United States, people rallied round Yasser Arafat,who became stronger. Answering a question on whether Intifada had brought about any headway in the peace process, the Ambassador said that for 55 days the PLO did not engage in any violence, but it was Sharon who initiated the killings and Palestinians had to obviously resist. Palestinians had lost 3,000 of their people, whereas Israel lost more than 1,500. Palestinian leadership felt sorry for such an enormous death toll. Establishment of a separate Palestinian state would be the answer for the crisis. Palestinians were economically weak, but not morally. They were prepared to die for their cause. The best evidence of this was that no Palestinian had left their respective areas for economic benefits. They were suffering but determined to fight to the bitter end. Asked whether the US Presidential election next month, would change the present situation, the Ambassador said that he expected a change in the policy. President George W. Bush promised a separate Palestinian state by 2005, but had not taken any positive steps to fulfil that. Instead he strengthened the hands of Sharon. Even Senator John Kerry had said he would follow Bush's policy on Palestinians. Whoever wins the elections, he would naturally have to change the policy. Answering a question over alleged corruption in the administration of the Palestinian Authority, Attallah Qubia said that no one could speak about that since Palestinians had a weak economy, but in Israel the corruption was rampant. The Palestinian Ambassador said that Palestinian people were always grateful to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse for the support they were extending. Sri Lanka always stood for the Palestinian cause and supported it at international fora. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine would hold a special general meeting at Visumpaya on October 19 at 7.00.pm. presided by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the President of the committee. A new committee would be elected under a revised Constitution. Rajapakse would relinquish the post of President, but he would continue to be the founder president of the committee, which had functioned for the last 31 years and served as a bridge of friendship between Palestinians and Sri Lankans. |
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