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Arafatâs fighters condemn corruption
JERUSALEM -- The armed wing of Yasser Arafatâs Fatah political movement has called for a comprehensive campaign against corruption in the Palestinian Authority, recommending that Arafat relinquish some of his powers and that militant groups -- including Islamic organizations -- be granted a formal governing voice, according to a report obtained by the Washington Post. The proposal presented to senior Palestinian officials by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is the first formal attempt by an armed resistance group to seek a political role in the Palestinian Authority since the current uprising against Israel began nearly four years ago.The document calls for the expulsion and prosecution of government officials involved in corruption, a wholesale purge of relatives and cronies of senior officials from government payrolls and a halt to the practice of government officials monopolizing sectors of the Palestinian economy to line ââtheir private pockets." The paper lashes out at ââwives and sons and daughters of officials who are registered as employees and receive high salaries from the Palestinian Authority and are either at home or abroad." It attacks bureaucrats who ââhold official titles and government jobs . . . when in fact they have no role other than the salary and position." It demands ââeradication of the corruption in most of the PLO embassies and representatives" overseas. Some Palestinian officials described the appeal as a major shift in the strategy of militant fighters and one of the most blistering internal criticisms yet of corruption in the Palestinian government. ââThe impact of this initiative is that for the first time, something is coming from the ground up. It has credibility," said Ahmad Ghunaim, a member of Fatahâs most influential governing councils and a representative of the movementâs wing of young reformers. Zakaria Zbeida, who heads the al-Aqsa group in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, said al-Aqsa leaders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip crafted the proposal partially in response to Israelâs announced plan to withdraw soldiers and Jewish settlers from Gaza. ââWe want to take part in this stage and not have the political process bypass us," Zbeida said at a hideout in the Jenin refugee camp. ââWe come with this initiative to prove we are not just a group of fighters throwing bullets here and there. . . . We are ready to sit and talk." The al-Aqsa document urges the separation of powers between the Palestinian Authority and the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization, saying ââit is inconceivable" that both organizations be headed by the same person. Arafat is chairman of the PLO executive committee and president of the Palestinian Authority. ââThereâs no doubt what itâs calling for is significant," said Khalil Shikaki, a Palestinian pollster and political analyst. ââThis is a way of saying to Arafat that âItâs time for you to step down as head of the Palestinian Authority.â . . . Itâs a clear indictment of the whole old guard." Some Palestinian officials said the entrenched Palestinian leadership was unlikely to accept al-Aqsaâs demands, which are far more detailed and wider in scope than reforms of the Palestinian Authority currently being sought by the United States, Israel, and other outside governments and institutions. Spokesmen for Arafat and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel dismissed the document. Arafatâs spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said it did not sound ââserious." Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Sharon, said the proposal represented a power struggle between Arafat loyalists and younger Palestinian leaders. Al-Aqsa, Gissin added, ââwill replace one regime of intimidation with another. . . . Those who are with them will benefit, and those who are against them will be shot in the street." Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-07-09 |
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