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| Middle East |
| Yasser promises elections |
| 2002-05-15 |
| Yasser Arafat, who is under growing pressure at home and abroad to carry out reforms, on Wednesday promised to restructure his government and hold elections, but did not present a detailed plan and instead appealed for patience. In his speech to parliament, Arafat also reiterated his opposition to attacks on Israeli civilians, saying such violence harms the Palestinian drive for statehood. Arafat also said he remained committed to a negotiated peace deal with Israel. "We're gonna have elections. Just wait. Trust me on this..." Legislators listened in silence, his words only acknowledged from time to time with a smattering of applause. Many of Arafat's critics remained skeptical, noting that he has made similar promises in the past. Arafat acknowledged that he has made mistakes, but heaped most of the blame for the current crisis on Israel, dedicating large parts of his rambling speech to listing the damage caused during Israel's six-week military offensive that ended last week. Couldn't be his fault, or the fault of his cronies and thugs. Damn them Jews!... "Our internal situation after the recent Israeli attacks needs a comprehensive review of all aspects of our life," Arafat told the legislature. "I propose ... the immediate preparation for elections ... that would lead to fulfill the principle of separation of powers." Could he be hoping for a nursing home, rather than to end up standing against a wall counting muzzle blasts, or a car that goes "boom" when you start it? He'll go for the Iron Fisted Dictator Emeritus position, of course, unless he can avoid being kicked upstairs entirely... The Palestinian leader did not give details on elections, but Parliament Speaker Ahmed Qureia said he expected some voting, including in unions and political factions, to be held by the end of the year. Qureia said he did not know when a new parliament would be chosen; parliamentary elections were last held in 1996. Sure. "It'll happen someday. Got more important things to worry about now, of course, but we'll get around to it..." |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |