Posted on 03/13/2003 1:37:37 PM PST by anotherview
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom says he will not meet with Abu Mazen, the man who has not yet agreed to serve as the PA's Prime Minister. Shalom said that Abu Mazen's appointment to the post will not help stop terrorism, nor will it lead to any progress on the diplomatic front, because "the way it looks now, Yasser Arafat is retaining for himself the foreign and defense authorities" and refusing to pass them on to his fellow Fatah-founder.
Middle East Newsline (MENL) reports that the members of a "reform camp" in the PA legislature have been unable to sway the Arafat camp and empower Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) with wide authority in defense, foreign policy, and other fields. The legislature granted him the power to name and supervise Cabinet ministers, but Arafat can fire him and continues to be supreme commander over PA armed forces. For this reason, though the Palestinian Legislative Council approved Abu Mazen's appointment by an overwhelming and unsurprising majority of 64 to 3, he has not yet accepted the post because of the limited responsibilities it grants him.
Several legislators said the PA legislature's wavering would result in a power struggle between Arafat and Abu Mazen. MENL reports that Abbas is said to be seeking to replace the current interior minister, Hani Al-Hassan, who was appointed by Arafat. Abbas also intends to return former PA security chief Mohammed Dahlan to his post.
Palestine Media Center- (PMC)[Official arm of PA]
Palestinian minister of culture and information said that there were no internal Palestinian disagreements regarding moving ahead with the reform process initiated by the Palestine National Authority (PNA), the last of which involved setting up a new prime ministerial post.
The reform process has been called for the diplomatic “Quartet” of Middle East peace mediators, comprising the European Union, United States, Russia and the United Nations.
“It is possible there are some opposing sides, which expect us to be hesitant in continuing what we have started [in the reform process] or expect that internal conflicts would arise on finishing off steps we have taken,” said Yasser Abed Rabbo.
“This is the worst possible scenario,” Abed Rabbo added, “because it will only go to prove the Israeli theory that prime minister Ariel Sharon and his government have been trying to promote permanently.”
Furthermore, the minister said that certain American sides participated in this “campaign”, which have been advancing that the Palestinian leadership and President Arafat lack credibility.
“These claims should be foiled and we should not give way for these claims throughout the next period.” He stressed.
“We must steadily move ahead with the recommendations of the (PLO’s) Central Council, legislative council and Executive committee, and to ensure the unity of the Palestinian leadership and institutions.”
Meanwhile, the minister foresaw a new wave of escalatory Israeli onslaughts aimed at sabotaging the reform process, adding that its success would embarrass Israel before the international community, since it would no longer possess any pretexts for refusing to negotiate with the Palestinian side.
As for the authorities of a new PNA prime minister, Abed Rabbo emphasized that the amendments made to the “Basic Law” give the premier “real, genuine” powers, which cannot be exercised except through “permanent, continuous coordination with President Arafat”, as well as the different Palestinian parties and institutions.
Meanwhile, Abed Rabbo stressed that the PNA lacks confidence in the American stance regarding the fast implementation of the so-called “roadmap” to peace.
“We do not rely on the belief that assigning a new prime minister and forming a new government is automatically tantamount to the American side respecting its obligations and plans it released in the past, most notably the ‘roadmap’.”
The “roadmap” is a blueprint formulated by the diplomatic “Quartet”, which envisions a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, via the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005 and Arab-wide recognition of Israel.
“Nonetheless,” Abed Rabbo continued, “we must do what we can so that no justifications are left to be used by any side, especially Israel or the US administration, to continue to sabotage ongoing political initiatives, including the ‘roadmap’.”
Moreover, the Palestinian minister saw that there are international parties, such as the Europeans, the Russians and the UN, that are genuinely interested in making these Palestinian steps a platform for a new beginning, as he put it.
U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) told members of the Orthodox Union on Wednesday that he opposes an international "road map" for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "The Jewish state has every right to reject proposals that will undercut her fundamental ability to defend herself," DeLay told the O.U.'s Mission to Washington. DeLay said the diplomatic Quartet sponsoring the road map - the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia - consists of "morally ambivalent nations that are more concerned with their popularity among Arab dictatorships than the peace and security of the free world." When asked about the Bush administration's support for the road map, DeLay told JTA that it was "diplomatic mumbo-jumbo that's been going on - I guess making the U.N. and the European Union feel good."
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