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Arab League agrees to fund PA for next 6 months
Arab foreign ministers agreed Saturday to provide Palestinians funding for the next six months to keep the Palestinian Authority operating, the Algerian foreign minister said. Eleven ministers from the 22-member Arab League met to try to work out the language of a statement that reflects how the summit will give a new push to the Arab peace initiative adopted at an Arab summit in Lebanon in 2002. The Palestinian ambassador, Mohammed Sobeih, told The Associated Press that US$50 million per month was needed in the next six months to fund the Palestinian Authority and pay for its employees. The foreign ministers sought Saturday to find a way to revive an Arab peace initiative to Israel and despite Syrian opposition because of the assassination of sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The statement was expected to be included in the final communique of the two-day Arab summit that begins Monday. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa gave no indication of progress when he met Saturday afternoon with reporters. The press conference was postponed for two hours because of what officials said was an unspecified "emergency meeting." However, Tunisian activists said the delay was to keep journalists away from a downtown demonstration by about 1,000 opposition and human rights groups demanding press freedoms in this country. Posted by: Fred 2004-03-27 |
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