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Al-Ahram Weekly 5 - 11 August 1999 Issue No. 441 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 5 - 11 August 1999 Issue No. 441
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Focus Interview Features Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters General triggers PA wrath
THE PALESTINIAN Authority (PA) called on Tuesday for the dismissal of Syrian Defence Minister Mustafa Tlas for his harsh criticism of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat."We call on President [Hafez] Al-Assad to sack General Tlas over his insulting comments against the symbol of the Palestinian people," Palestinian Cabinet Secretary Ahmed Abdel-Rahman said.
The same sentiment was expressed in even stronger terms by Palestinian Minister of State Hassan Asfour who asserted, "President Al-Assad has to remove Tlas, otherwise we [would] understand [that] Al-Assad is a partner in this political conspiracy against the Palestinian cause and against President Arafat."
Using obscene words, Tlas fiercely attacked Arafat in a speech marking Army Day in Syria and Lebanon on Monday. Tlas accused Arafat of abandoning the Palestinian cause and said his supporters have sold Jerusalem. "You [Arafat] should have told the White House that the holy city is the capital of the future Palestinian state," Tlas remarked in the speech which was filmed by local and international media.
However, the Syrian general denied making any derogatory remarks about the Palestinian leader, the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported from Damascus.
"I have criticised the Palestinian Authority president's policy of making concessions since the signing of the Oslo Accords, but I did not make any coarse or improper remarks about him," he said.
Tlas' attack ran counter to recent signs of an improvement in relations between Syria and the Palestinian leader. It prompted Azmi Bishara, an Arab member of the Israeli parliament who just visited Damascus, to give an Israeli television station an interview condemning the minister.
"I condemn each and every one of the comments made by General Tlas if it turns out that he really made them," Bishara said, stressing that he was relying on reports on the minister's comments and had never met Tlas personally.
Relations between Syria and the Palestinians had been improving recently following years of tension caused by the signing of the 1993 Oslo peace accord with Israel.
