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<font size=3>Women call for unity government or interim government;
anything to engender reform <br>
<a href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=800&Itemid=1" eudora="autourl">
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=800&Itemid=1<br>
<br>
</a>(Bethlehem) Najib Farag <br>
Monday, 16 October 2006 <br><br>
In an appeal “for the sake of Palestine,” the collective Palestinian
women's organizations called for intensified dialogue to form a national
unity government. <br><br>
The women condemned internal fighting and violence, and called to remove
armed persons from the streets and remove the political affiliations from
security organizations. The organizations said today that the coalition
government should be formed on the basis of the National Accord Document,
which all parties agreed upon during the several-day national meetings
earlier in the year. <br><br>
The women's organizations pointed out the President Abbas and Prime
Minister Haniya have already agreed on the Accord Document and so there
is no need to hash through other agreements or external conditions. The
two have agreed on something, and that is enough. The call is for the new
government to be formed as early as the end of Ramadan. <br><br>
The women's memo was signed by dozens of institutions and female
officials, professional, and educators. Included was an additional call
to create an interim government to function for one year, working to
address internal affairs. The players should be independent in order to
leave behind as much political muckraking as possible. <br><br>
The issues of the economy and social deterioration must be dealt with,
poverty and unemployment addressed, and the political and economic
blockade must be broken to ensure that international aid can begin to
flow and that the Israelis will pay taxes on the funds they froze.
Administrative and financial reform is also required. These points are
crucial, wrote the women, “for the good of Palestine.” They continued to
say that "organizing against occupation as the Wall takes more land,
working to end occupation and human rights violations, these are the
issues we should be dealing with." <br><br>
The women also supported the role of the Palestine Liberation
Organization as the source of the political authority to follow-up on the
political file. Monday's memo called for immediate reform as “the country
can no longer wait.” <br><br>
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