 | Six years already? My how time flies. Good times, good times ... |
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories Tens of thousands of Palestinians marked the sixth anniversary on Thursday of the death of Yasser Arafat, whose dream of an independent state seems no closer than when he died.
Waving Palestinian flags and the yellow banners of the Fatah party that Arafat founded, the crowds poured through the shut-down streets to the square across from the white mausoleum where their iconic leader is buried.
| Personally I'd make sure he's still there, and sprinkle new garlic around ... |
In an address from the grave site, where a new museum is being built to honour the veteran leader, Arafats successor Mahmud Abbas vowed he would not negotiate while Israel continued to build settlements on Palestinian land.
| Wonder if the museum will have a section on Arafat's communicable diseases? |
A string of other senior cronies politicians, including Arafats nephew Nasser al-Qidwa, a former Palestinian representative to the United Nations, also addressed the massive crowd. Qidwa, who has long blamed Israel for being behind his uncles death, said Palestinians were determined to pursue the last piece of evidence in the assassination of Yasser Arafat.
Arafat died in a French hospital on November 11, 2004, after several weeks of treatment. French officials, citing privacy laws, refused to reveal the precise cause of death or the nature of his condition, fuelling a host of rumours and theories as to the cause of his illness.
| AIDS being the most likely ... |
To mark the anniversary, the Palestinians are holding a series of events, including film screenings, to celebrate the life of a man remembered by many as a passionate proponent of Palestinian rights who led his people through nearly four decades of armed struggle and peace negotiations.
But in a sign of continuing Palestinian divisions, Gazas Hamas rulers banned any public commemoration of the anniversary, a rights group and Fatah officials said. The Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said Hamas officials had ruled out any anniversary events, citing violence that marred a 2007 rally, when Hamas forces opened fire, killing seven.
| Cheez guys, lighten up, it's just Paleo self-expression to shoot off their guns ... |
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