[News] Palestinians will never surrender: Dr Abdul Sattar Kassem interviewed
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Fri Sep 15 08:57:11 EDT 2006
http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2006%20Opinion%20Editorials/September/15%20o/Palestinians%20will%20never%20surrender%20Dr%20Abdul%20Sattar%20Kassem%20interviewed%20By%20Silvia%20Cattori.htm
Palestinians will never surrender: Dr Abdul Sattar Kassem interviewed
By Silvia Cattori in Nablus
Al-Jazeerah, September 15, 2006
Silvia Cattori: You are a strong voice in
Palestine, but a voice we dont hear much in French speaking countries. Why?
Dr. Abdul Sattar Kassem: For 26 years, I am not
authorized by the Israeli authorities to go out
of Palestine. I spent two years in the Israeli
jails and eight months in a Palestinian prison
under Arafats regime. I was injured by four
bullets shot by men recruited by the Palestinian
authorities. But I am always here, with my pen,
to help my people to recover their rights and try
to get a change in the Arab world. I firmly
believe that present Arab regimes must disappear,
because they defend foreign interests and not the
interests of their citizens. Most of these
dictatorial regimes are collaborating with
Israel, so against the rights of the Palestinians
and the Lebanese. These regimes are the puppets
of certain powers, more particularly of the United States.
Silvia Cattori: Were you arrested and the victim
of an assassination attempt under Mr Yasser
Arafats regime because you criticized his
policy? Does that mean that you had no democracy,
no freedom under his government?
Sattar Kassem: Under Arafats regime there was no
democracy, no freedom of opinion at all. So many
people where arrested! In 1999, with nineteen
other persons, I signed a statement saying that
there was so much corruption in the country and
that Arafat was leading that corruption.(1) So he
put us in jail. After that, I wrote an article
entitled Democracy under the prisons where I
criticized Arafat for his undemocratic behaviour.
For that reason, they sent some people to shoot
me. Arafat never wanted to implement any kind of democracy.
Silvia Cattori: Do you mean that the 1996 elections was not a fair election?
Sattar Kassem: Yes. It was not fair because there
was so much fraud in that election. But there was
no opposition, so nobody cared.
Silvia Cattori: So now, for the first time in the
region, you had fair elections, Hamas won and,
for the first time in history, we have seen the
European Union punishing, by way of sanctions, a people under occupation?!
Sattar Kassem: That is true, that is a paradox.
That question should be directed to the
Europeans. We had fair and honest elections but
we did not have the general atmosphere of
democracy, and that was a problem. Probably you
noticed outside too, that after Hamas won the
election, it appeared clearly that a certain
number of personalities -particularly in Fatah
party- did not accept the result of this election.
Silvia Cattori: In such a difficult context, do
you think that the Hamas movement will succeed to
implement that atmosphere of democracy you call for?
Sattar Kassem: I do not think so, not because
they are not able to do it, but because they are
facing terrible problems from so many sides. The
Israelis do not want to let this government
function. Actually, the Israelis have arrested
most of the ministers and many legislative members.
Silvia Cattori: When you complain about Arab
regimes do you include the Palestinian authority?
Sattar Kassem: I include the former Palestinian
authority and Abou Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), the
present President of the Palestinians.
Silvia Cattori: But, when you make such a
statement, is it based upon facts you can prove
on the basis of your personal experience?
Sattar Kassem: I have been an opponent to the
leadership of the PLO in the parliament for more
than 30 years. From my knowledge and research on
Arafat, I learned that he had abdicated his
revolutionary task and that he was not working
for the interests of the Palestinians: that he
worked as a filter for the Israelis and, finally,
that he had damaged the image of the Palestinians
in the different Arab countries he used to live
in; and also that he had damaged the ethical and
the social fabric of the Palestinian people.
Silvia Cattori: Have you an example?
Sattar Kassem: For instance, he used to send the
young, loyal and faithful Palestinians who proved
to be real fighters to southern Lebanon where
they used to get killed. Why? Because one of
Arafat aides used to contact the Israelis to
inform them about the mission of those fighters;
so that they would not be surprised. By that way,
the Israelis killed those young people.
Silvia Cattori: Do you mean that Mr Arafat never
imposed any security policy to his fellows?
Sattar Kassem: What I can tell you is that
information used to flow into the hands of the
Israelis. Arafat never made any kind of
investigation within the PLO to know who was
leaking information to them. So, if you insist on
such behaviour, this means that the leaking of
information is receiving your consent. It is for
that reason that I am saying I knew that he was
not revolutionary but that he was filtering. The
faithful Palestinians used to be put aside by
different means, and Arafat generally kept around
him those Palestinians who cared about their personal interest.
Silvia Cattori: So, in your opinion the leaders
around Mr Arafat where compromising from the start?
Sattar Kassem: Yes. From the early seventies,
Arafat always depended on suspect people who, I
think, have security ties with the Israelis. They
were corrupt when they were in Lebanon, in
Tunisia, in Jordan. When Arafat was in these Arab
countries he intended misbehaviour. He never
prevented his aids to misbehave and do many wrong
things in the Arab streets. For instance, when he
would let one of his fellows humiliate a tribal
Jordanian leader; this would lead the whole tribe
to start hating the Palestinians. When the PLO
was fired and kicked out of Beirut by the Israeli
army, they went to Tunisia. The Tunisians tell us
that when the Palestinians came to Tunisia, they
brought with them brothels, whore-houses. All
whore-houses flourished because there were so
many clients - Palestinian clients. The
Palestinians made bars and dirty places in
Tunisia flourish. For the Tunisians, the
Lebanese, the Jordanians and the Kuwaitis, these
are the true Palestinians. Thats what they
think. From that time we have been hated in
Tunisia, Kuwait and Lebanon. I wrote several
articles against this scandalous corruption
warning that these leaders where guiding their
people towards a very terrible end. Except for
people who had direct experience with these
leaders, very few believed me. From 1994, after
Arafats arrival in the West Bank and Gaza, the
people started to realize that what I was telling
them was the truth. It is unfortunate that they
discovered the truth too late. True he is dead
now, but we are still suffering from all his
policies. Therefore, I can say that he was no
different from any other Arab leader.
Silvia Cattori: Did these people of Arafats
circle belong to the staff that came back to Palestine in 1994?
Sattar Kassem: Yes, alas.
Silvia Cattori: But did Mr Arafat know that his
aides were misbehaving? Was he aware of what was happening around him?
Sattar Kassem: Yes, he was aware and he was very
clever. If you are challenged several times and
you dont correct your behaviour then you intend
such behaviour. Arafat was warned hundreds of
times by so many people that his aides were
misbehaving, but he did nothing to stop that. He
was supported by the money he got from Arab
countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the
United Emirates. So, because Arafat was the man
of Israel and America, these countries were asked
to finance him. He had a lot of money; he was the
richest so called "revolutionary man" in the
world. How can that be when revolutionaries are
generally under siege? Without the consent of
Israel and America, these countries wouldnt give
him money. These arent independent countries.
Now it is on orders from Israel and America that
they arent giving money to Hamas.
Silvia Cattori: Did you work with the people in Mr Arafats entourage?
Sattar Kassem: Yes. I worked with them for some
time and I saw what I am telling you about. This is the truth.
Silvia Cattori: Did you write about that?
Sattar Kassem: Yes. I wrote a book in Arabic
called "The Road to Defeat" about what Arafat and his aides used to do.
Silvia Cattori: If I understand you well, this
means that Mr Arafat was far from the reality and
from the real expectations of his people?
Sattar Kassem: I think that the Israelis consumed
him. Thats what the Israelis do to their agents.
Once they are consumed they throw them away and I
think that is what the Israelis did to Arafat:
after spoiling him, they threw him away because he was of no more use to them.
Silvia Cattori: When I met Mr. Arafat in April
2002, I got the feeling that he was surrounded by
a number of opportunistic people. Was he not the victim of bad advisers?
Sattar Kassem: Yes, but he was the leader, the
centre. He never tried to have honest advisers;
he always lived with dirty people. And dirty
people always give dirty advice. I even have a
definition for Arafatism and I spread it
internationally. Arafatism means that Arafat
was the one who used corruption to bring the Palestinians to their knees.
Silvia Cattori: But in the opinion of the leaders
of the solidarity movement, for instance, or of a
writer like Uri Avnery who considered him as his
personal friend, Mr. Arafat was a great man
living in a very simple way, a partner to build a new hope!
Sattar Kassem: That is true; he used to live a
very simple life. However, I believe that
Arafats mission served the Israelis, but not the
Palestinians. His life was very simple, but his
aides were very rich. Some of them lived in 5
star hotels and used to go to Monte Carlo and Las
Vegas. You know how difficult life is in
Palestine. I invite those people who supported
Arafat and believed that he was honest with the
Palestinians to come and talk openly about his policies. I am ready.
Silvia Cattori: But how can we believe that Mr.
Arafat's mission was to accomplish what the Israelis wanted?
Sattar Kassem: At least for me, all my
expectations about Arafat turned out to be true.
I am convinced of what I am saying. For instance,
in 1979, I wrote that the PLO was going to
recognize Israel. At that time, the people didnt
believe me and started saying that I was a spy,
because I raised doubts about Arafat. In 1994,
when Arafat came to stay in Palestine, I wrote
that he would do the same thing he used to do in
Lebanon; that he would open whore-houses, he
would damage the Palestinian ethical and social
structure and he would co-operate security-wise
with the Israelis. Unfortunately, all that I
wrote turned out to be true. I told all this
frankly to the authorities. That is why they shot me.
Silvia Cattori: When you speak of the
Palestinian ethical and social structure, what did you mean exactly?
Sattar Kassem: Any people should live with an
ethical code, so as to be able to respect others
and to live with them. If the ethical code is
absent, then everybody will be against everybody
else. If there are no ethics how can we live
together? This is what happened during Arafat's
time. All the bad people, the gangsters, became
strong and all the good people stayed at home.
Arafat time established a system of terrible
values, which caused respect among people to disappear.
Silvia Cattori: Despite all of that, it appears
that PLO leaders succeeded in winning the
sympathy of the left all over the world. Until
today, most of the leftist parties consider
Arafat and PLO representatives as revolutionary
leaders and they still support them, and distrust Hamas authorities?
Sattar Kassem: Generally speaking, Arafat was
entrusted with giving that image. But he was not
honest at all. Of course, Arafat was not the only
leader in Palestine. There were leftist leaders
too, like George Habache, for instance, the
leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine. There was Nayef Hawathme also, who is
the leader of the Democratic Front for the
Liberation of Palestine. Arafat and his aides -
although they knew beforehand that the
international community was not going to liberate
Palestine - gave that false image that they were
really working for Palestine with the help of the
international community. The Palestinian leaders
and the Arab leaders in general, used to show to
the international community that they care about
their people. In fact they are the true allies of Israel.
Silvia Cattori: If the PLO representatives are,
like you say, detrimental to the interests of the
Palestinians, why doesnt the Hamas government remove them?
Sattar Kassem: From the time Hamas won the
elections, Fatah leaders, with the support of
their representatives outside, started working
very hard against the new government. They have
been co-operating with the United States, with
Arab countries and with Israel to topple the
Hamas government. Of course, that is part of
Arafats heritage. They have been working very
hard to rob Hamas of its authority and topple the
government. That is why they have been
concentrating on the PLO since Hamas won the
elections. The PLO was so disregarded by Arafat
and his aides they did not care about the PLO.
They did not even care about the Palestinian
National Charter. When they signed the Oslo
Accords, despite the fact this agreement was
contradictory to the Palestinian National
Charter, none of them cared. Now they care,
because they want to strip Hamas of its
authority. So, that is part of a conspiracy. It
is an international conspiracy.
Silvia Cattori: Do you mean that the PLO
representatives are part of a conspiracy against Hamas?
Sattar Kassem: Yes.
Silvia Cattori: Do you consider Mrs. Leila
Shahid, the PLO representative in France for more
than twenty years, and who was appointed recently
by Mr Abou Mazen to the European Union, as part
of what you call a conspiracy?
Sattar Kassem: All of them are cooperating with
the Europeans States, the United States and the
Israelis against our real national interests. I
personally believe that Leila Shahid is part of
Arafats court. For me, as a Palestinian, Leila
Shahid is not a reliable person. I do not trust
her. If I was in the Authority, I would remove
her, because what she has been talking outside of
Palestine all about for so many years is a kind
of surrender. This will not bring any just peace
to the Palestinians. We want peace, but the peace
we believe in is the peace that will bring the
Palestinian refugees back to Palestine. Other
than that, on the contrary of what she says, we
have not to talk about. So, all the Palestinians
who are part of the Oslo Accords, for us, are not
accepted. They are part of Arafats policies,
part of the corruption, and part of the
collaboration with the Israelis. Now, if some
people say that they won us some friends, we too
can win friends. We can explain our situation;
everybody can explain the difficulties and the
miseries the Palestinians have been facing over
the years. And, as for the leftists and for the
rightists, we can also talk to them and try to
convince them of our real aspirations. So, to
gain supporters in Europe is not enough. What
Leila Shahid, and all the others who follow her
participated in is the liquidation the
Palestinian cause. And that is why today most of
the Palestinian people support Hamas.
Silvia Cattori: Did you vote for Hamas?
Sattar Kassem: Yes. I voted for Hamas. Why?
Because we want to regain the Palestinian cause,
because we should keep our just cause alive. And
the Palestinian cause is not the establishment of
a so called Palestinian authority; that is not
what we care about. We care about the return of
five million of refugees who have been suffering
for around sixty years and living under very
difficult and dire conditions in refugee camps.
That is what we care about. And besides, Arafat
and Fatah and all of these PLO people who pretend
to represent us have also been conspiring against
other Arab countries, such as Syria and Lebanon.
They have been contributing to the Israeli and
United State propaganda. They have also been
standing against Iran, although Iran has been
extending so much help to the Palestinians.
Again, if we talk about financial aid that these
people insist we should get from Europe that is
an adventure. How can I depend, and my live, on
the Europeans? At any time if they feel
displeased with me, they will say, OK, I am
turning off the tap. That is what happened.
Although the European states insist on democracy,
it appears that they do not defend democracy,
they do not want democracy, and they want a
democracy that is tailored to their own
interests. So, if we want to live, we have to
depend on ourselves. And under occupation, it is
the responsibility of Israel to provide enough
food and to provide salaries for the people under
occupation. That is international law. Besides,
if I need some help and some financial
assistance, I should get it from friends, not
from those who are supporting Israel.
Silvia Cattori: Who are these friends?
Sattar Kassem: At least I can get it from
Malaysia for instance; I can get it from Iran. I
was a presidential candidate in 2005 and I told
the people: if I am elected, I am not going to
take a penny from those who are not our friends,
because at any time they may threaten us. I want my live secure.
Silvia Cattori: Are the people who succeeded Mr. Arafat better?
Sattar Kassem: Abou Mazen is a very weak person
and he doesnt have a vision. All Palestinians
know him. I have known Abou Mazen personally for
more than thirty years and I know that he has
been against resistance all the time. So, Arafat
was just putting him there until the time comes.
Silvia Cattori: In your opinion is he an honest man?
Sattar Kassem: I think he is better than Arafat
in that sense, but he is very weak. He is like a
tool. Fatah people supported him to keep him in
power, especially as they knew he was weak.
Silvia Cattori: Was he not the man that Israel
and United States promoted, as from 2003?
Sattar Kassem: He was Israels choice, but all
the influential people in Fatah are the men of
Israel and the United States. So, these three
parties made that choice, but the person chosen is very weak and incapable.
Silvia Cattori: Are the authorities of the Hamas government more capable?
Sattar Kassem: The government of Hamas has
nothing to do with the former Fatah governments.
It hasnt taken the chance yet. Since Hamas won
the legislative elections, all sort of troubles
started to obstruct that government from carrying
out its duties. Hamas hasnt taken the chance so
we cant judge, we must wait. Generally speaking,
Hamas didnt take the offensive. They are scared.
What I mean by taking the offensive is not, of
course, to carry guns and kill everybody.
Silvia Cattori: Are you thinking of the offensive
against corruption? Did you expect that the Hamas
government would open the files as soon as it
took office and arrest the corrupt politicians?
Sattar Kassem: Yes. The new authorities should,
at least, open the files of corruption. But they
didnt do so. They didnt even talk about it.
They are scared. The new government was even
supposed to collect the thousands of cars that
Arafat distributed to his own people, sell them
and use that money to pay salaries to the
employees who have been without income for months.
Silvia Cattori: So why didnt the Hamas
government collect these cars? Do they fear causing a civil war?
Sattar Kassem: As I told you, they are scared.
When they are asked to correct the situation they
will tell you that confrontation will lead to
civil war. This is not an excuse, since, if they
open the files of corruption, they would be able
to make all Fatah people leave the country.
Silvia Cattori: How could the Hamas government
take the risk of a confrontation, since the real
power, like the Security Service, is still under Mr Abou Mazens orders?
Sattar Kassem: I think that our authorities have
good intentions, but they can do nothing, because
whatever they say or do, they will be considered
internationally as terrorists. However, if they
had opened the corruption files, then most of
corrupt Fatah leaders would have left the
country. That isn't terrorism; that has to do with an internal problem.
Silvia Cattori: Are you in contact with members of the Hamas government?
Sattar Kassem: I see them, I meet them, and I
phone them in Gaza and here in the West Bank.
Silvia Cattori: The Israeli officials used to
portray them as mad people? How are they in fact?
Sattar Kassem: They are nice people. They are
honest and they would like to serve the
Palestinians. Unfortunately they are facing many
obstacles and they are accused of being terrorists, that is the problem.
Silvia Cattori: Do you think that the European
Union supports the United States boycott against
the Hamas government with the intention of
helping the Israelis to win and to constrain the
Palestinians to give up their rights? Further,
has France been pushing in 2004 for the 1559
resolution in order to suppress the only force of
resistance able to constrain Israel to draw back?
Sattar Kassem: Yes. Look at the Europeans: they
want Hamas disarmed; they want Jihad Islamic
disarmed, they want Hezbollah disarmed, they want
Syria and Iran disarmed. So, who is going to
defend the Arabs? Why should Israel not be
disarmed? This is completely unfair and that is
completely unreasonable. It is unacceptable. I
want to defend myself. Who could be so mad as to
accept to be crushed without fighting back? How
on earth can they ask Hezbollah to be disarmed,
while Israel is armed to the teeth? The Europeans
States are actually adopting the Israeli point of
view; they are not adopting a fair and balanced
point of view - they are completely biased. If
they want us disarmed, they should ask Israel to
disarm as well. Then there will be a kind of justice.
Silvia Cattori: The Swiss diplomacy the promotion
of the Geneva Accord, relying on Mr. Abbed
Rabbo; an accord that the majority of the
Palestinian factions have strongly refused.(2) Is
this denial of your aspirations not upsetting the Palestinians?
Sattar Kassem: I think this Swiss initiative does
not represent the Palestinians, but rather the
parties who have compromised with Israel and the
United States. The western powers believe that
there is a kind of democracy that is tailored to
their own interests and to the interests of the
neo-liberal capitalism. If it deviates, then it
is not democracy. That is unreasonable. You know,
they think that they are dealing with an immature
and adolescent people. No, we are mature, we have
our own thinkers, we have our own intellectuals,
we can analyse things and we can read them in the
right way. These Palestinians, who are
cooperating with Israel, with the Europeans
countries and the Americans to halt Hamas, are
actually committing treason. How could these
people, like Rabbo, incite against Hamas saying
that, If you do not support the Geneva Accord,
if you dont support those who promoted it, the
Hamas extremists will ascend to power?
Silvia Cattori: But now, the Hamas government is
in power. Again, why didnt Hamas condemn the
attitude of all those people who go on
participating in masquerades, in contempt of democracy?
Sattar Kassem: Hamas does not have the power.
Until now Hamas has not had the power. The
security services are all under the leadership of
Abu Mazen, and from the time of the elections,
Fatah has been making so many problems for Hamas,
that they did not leave them any time to plan, or
to think about what to do. Fatah has been busying
Hamas in daily problems. Besides, Abu Mazen has
monopolized all the security services; so upon
whom can they depend? Fatah has created a real
problem, not only for Hamas, but for the people.
For example, you can go now into town and you
will see armed people. Who are they? They are
Fatah people. They are armed and they harm the
people, they steal from private properties, they
can threaten, they blackmail the people, and
sometimes they kill. I was shot by these people in 1995.
Silvia Cattori: Are they still doing the same?
Sattar Kassem: Yes, they are still doing the
same. They were brought up by Yasser Arafat and
financed by Yasser Arafat, so many of them now
belong to the security service. The security
service is supposed to preserve and to observe
the security of the people. Instead they are
threatening the peoples security.
Silvia Cattori: That means that, as yesterday,
under Mr. Arafats power, people are scared
because Fatah people are still powerful?
Sattar Kassem: Yes. We are scared of the Israelis
and of Fatah people. Both are making threats to our security.
Silvia Cattori: So, you have two camps: the camp
of Fatah, which is struggling to not lose its
power and the camp of Hamas, who would like to
defend the interests of the people, but which is impotent?
Sattar Kassem: That is true. And the camp of
those who are against our own people is strong,
because they are supported by Israel, by the
United States, and by the European countries. Mr.
Bush said openly, We are supporting Abu Mazen
financially and militarily. They are supplying
him with guns. Guns to use against whom? Against
Israelis? No, against Hamas, of course!
Silvia Cattori: Does this mean that, when Mr. Abu
Mazen and the PLO representatives call the new
Hamas government to respect the results of the
agreements negotiated with Israel, it is just
because they want to preserve the privileges they got?
Sattar Kassem: Yes. They want Hamas to adopt the
Oslo Accords so that they will preserve their
personal interests and privileges. The Europeans
and the Israelis needed supporters for the Oslo
Accords. This is why they encouraged the
corruption that Arafat established in the West
Bank and Gaza. For the United States, Israel and
European countries, corruption was an instrument
to get supporters. So, much of the European money
was wasted for the corrupt people. Palestinians
do not believe that the negotiation has been
productive for them; on the contrary. So they dont want it anymore.
Silvia Cattori: Do you think the European Union
will change its strategy and recognise the
legitimacy of the Hamas authorities?
Sattar Kassem: No. The European countries will
never recognize Hamas, never. The European states
are a tool in the hands of the Israelis and the
Americans. There are not independent. They are
not united. If Hezbollah wins the war, the
movement within the Arab countries will accelerate.
Silvia Cattori: What are the differences between Hamas and Hezbollah?
Sattar Kassem: Hamas does not have a strong
organisation, weapons or training. Hamas is under
occupation. Palestinians suffer, but regardless,
they will continue their fight. They will never surrender.
As for the Hezbollah, Israel will not be able to
disarm or cripple them. Hezbollah will remain
strong. What is now important about Lebanon is
that the people should know what terrible things
Israel is doing against this country, as well as
against Palestine. In fact, Israel is not
destroying Hezbollah. Israel is harming the
entire Lebanese civil population. The attack on
Lebanon was huge, but Israel hit the civilians
and hasnt been hitting Hezbollah. Thousands of
civilians have been killed and injured. Tens of
thousands of houses have been destroyed, as well
as bridges, factories and electrical generators.
So the people need to learn about the mentality
of the Israelis and their destructive behaviour.
That is why I think we have to make the
Palestinian cause an Arab and an Islamic one.
Hezbollah has an excellent organization, a good
administration, a good conflict management.
Israel has tried several times to launch attacks
against Hezbollah. This is not the first attack,
but Hezbollah always turns out to be the winner.
The problem for us is that recognition by the
Europeans and the Americans of our right to
resist is something impossible, because we arent
powerful. Unless we are strong enough, we cant convince anyone.
Silvia Cattori: You arrive at the same conclusion
as the Lebanese political analyst, Youssef
Aschkar,(3) who thinks that the so-called war
against terrorism is a war against societies and
against communities, a war cynically designed to
destroy entire countries and peoples. He also
concludes that the latter are no longer protected by their authorities.
Sattar Kassem: Yes, that is alas true. This is
not, as Bush and Blair say, a war against
terrorism. This is a war against all of us.
(1) This refers to the «Appeal of the 20 »
drafted by the members of the Legislative
Counsel, among whom was Hussam Khader. Israel
abducted him in 2003 and since, he remains
imprisoned. This appeal denounced Mr. Arafats
compromises with the occupying Israelis,
corruption, and the difficulties generated by the Oslo-Accord.
(2) The Geneva-Accord, signed in Geneva in
December 2003, is the result of two years of
negotiations. This agreement is consider unjust
and unfavourable to the Palestinians. The
Israeli, Yossi Beilin, and the Palestinian, Abed
Rabbo, were the chief negotiators, along with the
pro-Israeli, Alexis Keller, mandated by Switzerland to pilot this initiative.
(3)
<http://www.voltairenet.org/article136760.html>http://www.voltairenet.org/article136760.html
Les Palestiniens ont voté massivement en faveur
du Hamas lors des élections législatives
palestiniennes de janvier 2006. Il était
impératif de respecter leur choix. Or, lUnion
européenne, les a punis en retirant ses
subventions, réduisant ainsi à la misère des
millions de Palestiniens. Il est à souligner que
la victoire du mouvement islamique a pris à
revers, non seulement les gouvernements qui
misaient sur la victoire du Fatah, mais aussi les
partis et mouvements progressistes qui nont
jamais su se mettre à lécoute de lopinion
palestinienne et de ses véritables aspirations.
Face à la désespérance du peuple palestinien,
il est urgent découter ce que les Palestiniens
fidèles à leur cause ont à nous dire, et den
tirer les leçons. M. Sattar Kassem, professeur de
sciences politiques à l'Université Al-Najah de
Naplouse, a répondu avec franchise et courage,
aux questions que lui a posées Silvia Cattori.
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