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| Sunday, 24 October 2004 |
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Arafat hails Sri Lankan support by M. P. Muttiah Yasser Arafat, President of Palestine and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, has expressed his sincere appreciation of the Government and people of Palestine for the sustained support of Sri Lankans and the Sri Lankan Solidarity Committee during the struggle for the freedom of Palestine. In a message sent to the Special General Meeting of the Palestine Solidarity Committee of Sri Lanka, held at Visumpaya on Tuesday, Arafat said that they were waiting for the fulfilment of the obligations of the Road Map initiated by international mediators including the United States, the European Union and the United Nations. He said that the second Intifada which had raged for four years now, was a powerful manifestation of the Palestinian people's resolute resistance to Israeli occupation. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, who was Chairman of the Solidarity Committee for 31 years, addressing the meeting said the struggle of the Palestinians was based on human justice. He called on the media to give enough publicity to the struggle and the just cause of Palestinians. Alavi Mowlana, Western Province Governor chaired the meeting. He said the LSSP was in the forefront to support the struggle of Palestinians. He said that although there were different approaches on the Palestinian question among major political parties, they were one in supporting the liberation struggle of Palestinians. Palestinian Ambassador, Attallah S. Qubia said the contribution made by late Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was immense. He added that the building of the wall was illegal as the UN Security Council's resolution 242 and the Oslo accords prohibit the acquisition of territory by use of force. Resolutions passed at the Special General Meeting condemned the Zionist practice of killings of the innocent Palestinians, demolition of their houses, grabbing their lands and depriving them of their livelihood, besides arresting and torturing the Palestinians. It also condemned the construction of the wall and hailed the decision of the International Court that the move as illegal. It urged the Western countries, especially the United States, not to be dictated by the Zionist lobbies and turn a blind eye to Jewish crimes in the occupied territories. The resolution also appealed for the Sri Lankan Government to continue its support to the Palestinian people in keeping with the independent foreign policy. The Sri Lankan Solidarity Committee with Palestine also urged the United Nations to abandon its subservient stance and protectionist policy of Israel and take concrete measures to protect Palestinians from Israel. It also emphasised the importance of adopting adequate measures to deal with Israeli crimes, in keeping with the spirit of the organisation. The Special General Meeting elected Minister Athauda Seneviratne and Imtiaz Bakeer Markar as co-Presidents of the committee. T. Jayasinghe and S.M.A. Niaz were elected co-General Secretaries. A committee consisting of prelates, political leaders, irrespective of parties, and social workers were elected. |
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