Posted on 07/02/2002 3:19:01 PM PDT by krodriguesdc
Egypt, Qatar Reaffirm Support for Arafat
Xinhuanet 2002-07-03 05:07:23
CAIRO, July 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Egypt and Qatar on Tuesday reaffirmed support for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, defending the Palestinians' rights to choose their leadership.
"Both countries call for respecting democracy, legitimacy and the palestinians' will represented in the 1996 Palestinian elections," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told reporters.
He made the remarks after the first session of talks between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani.
"No other party has the right to speak about the change of the current Palestinian leadership, an internal affair on which the Palestinians can decide," Maher stressed.
The Qatari emir arrived here earlier in the day for a two-day visit to Egypt.
During the talks, the two leaders agreed on the need to implement positive ideas set out in U.S. President George W. Bush'srecent Mideast policy speech, Maher said.
In his June 24 speech, Bush conditioned the creation of a Palestinian state on the change of the current Palestinian leadership.
However, Bush failed to provide a timetable or any concrete measures to ensure the settlement of such thorny issues as the status of east Jerusalem, borders between Palestine and Israel as well as Palestinian refugees.
You're either with us or with the terrorists...
Arafat was elected to a six-year term. When does that end?
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