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| Middle East |
| Yasser hedges on vote |
| 2002-05-17 |
| Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat told reporters Friday that elections would only be held once Israeli occupation had ended, but his advisers later clarified that the voting is being linked to a far more modest withdrawal. "What the Arafat has said he was open to changes, but has not given specifics. He can't think of any. Things seem just peachy to him right now, so why the hell change? On Thursday, Abdel Rahman, the secretary of the Palestinian Cabinet, told The Associated Press that Arafat wanted to hold elections within six months, as part of a reform package. Asked Friday when elections would be held, Arafat told reporters in English: "As soon as they (the Israelis) finish this occupation from our land, according to the agreement that was supposed to be at the beginning of 1999." In 1999, Israel and the Palestinians were to have reached a final peace deal. "As soon as they keep their end of the bargain we didn't keep our end of." However, Palestinian Planning Minister Nabil Shaath said the goal remained to have presidential and parliamentary elections within six months. Shaath told The Associated Press on Friday that work on putting together rosters of eligible voters had already begun. "But these elections need an Israeli withdrawal to the places (troops held) before September 28, 2000," Shaath said, referring to the day the fighting began. "Otherwise, we'll just have to continue as a bloody-handed autocracy whose severity is only tempered by the incompetence of the kleptocrats at the top and the fact that the Great Dictator is lapsing into senility." Shaath said the Palestinians also insisted that residents of traditionally Arab east Jerusalem be permitted to vote, as they were in the last Palestinian election in 1996. "If that happens, then everything will be prepared. We are working on it now," he said. "We'll let you know what our further conditions are later, as the deadline comes and goes. But don't forget to ship in the dozen busloads of sex-crazed Britney Spears lookalikes who like portly, balding olive-complexioned men, otherwise that vote will never take place!" |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |