In Arafat's shadow
In his first Arab tour, Palestinian Premier Mahmoud Abbas attempts to re-garner support for the Palestinian cause. Dina Ezzat reports
In the first phase of an Arab tour that included talks with top Egyptian and Jordanian officials as well as the secretary- general of the Arab League, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (aka, Abu Mazen) took small but necessary steps to establish himself as an acting Palestinian leader.
This two-legged phase comes ahead of Abbas's first admission into the White House early next week. The second phase of this tour is expected to include Morocco.
During his first top level encounters in the Arab world, Abbas also managed to bring back the Palestinian cause to the forefront of an Arab agenda that has for long been almost completely manipulated by developments in Iraq.
"It was difficult for Abu Mazen to do this, to meet with Arab leaders who have for decades associated the Palestinian leadership with Arafat. But this had to be done. These are changing times. Arafat is still the inspiration for the Palestinian march towards independence but whether we like it or not, it is Abbas who is now acting head of state," commented one Palestinian source on condition of anonymity.
"It was somewhat awkward for Abbas to be there and it was also awkward for those Arab leaders to give him the red carpet since nobody wants to offend Arafat when he is still under siege, but there was much that needed to be addressed," he added.
Topping the agenda of issues addressed by the Palestinian premier was the need for Arab states to give due attention to the situation in the Palestinian territories.
"During the past few months Israel has abused the international and Arab preoccupation with Iraq to expand its scope and level of violations against the Palestinian people. It was important to stress the need for the Arab states to give the Palestinian issue due attention in the midst of the hard times that the Arab world is going through," explained one source close to the visiting Palestinian delegation.
Abbas also urged his interlocutors to speak up for the Palestinian issue during their talks with top American officials. "I think that it is important for the Americans to hear from top Arab officials, particularly in Egypt and Jordan with their obvious good relations with Washington, that pressure has to be exercised to get the Israeli government to show commitment to the requirements of the roadmap. Abbas wanted these Arab-American contacts to be conducted before he arrives in Washington," commented one Palestinian official.
Also on the agenda was the Palestinian concern over the ever-decreasing flow of financial Arab assistance to the Palestinian people. "Most Arab states have all but stopped their agreed upon monthly contribution to the Palestinian Authority. This is a big problem," commented one Cairo-based Palestinian diplomat.
It was perhaps during his talks with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa that Abbas was most open both about Palestinian concerns and his own.
Palestinian sources who participated in the talks told the Weekly that Abbas made it clear that while he intends to do all he can to serve the Palestinian cause in these difficult times, he does not intend to do anything that Arafat would interpret as offensive. With this in mind, both Abbas and Moussa agreed that the Arab League would play a pivotal role in helping the Palestinian head of government do his job while remaining sensitive to Arafat.
"Abu Mazen asked Moussa to talk on his behalf with Arab heads of state since it is not his intention to visit many of them," said one Palestinian delegate. While Abbas will be sending letters to the Arab capitals asking them to resume their financial support to the Palestinian Authority, it is Moussa who will be bringing up this issue in direct talks with the Arab heads of states.
Informed sources said that Moussa, along with the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan, would be exerting their diplomatic efforts to keep tension between Arafat and Abbas in check. "It is very important that Arafat does not feel isolated on the Arab front. He can accept the fact that the Americans refuse to deal with him, but he cannot accept this from the Arabs," commented one source.
It is an open question whether or not these efforts would succeed considering that Arafat himself has for long felt let down by most Arab leaders who, according to Palestinian diplomats, have been giving him "the cold shoulder since he was declared unwanted by the Americans".
Some Arab diplomatic sources believe it is absolutely essential that Arafat not feel that Arab capitals are very forthcoming with their recognition of Abbas's key role. "Otherwise, serious sensitivities would develop between the two men and this time, it might be irrevocable," warned one Palestinian diplomat.
Concern over showing ample sensitivity toward Arafat was very evident during Moussa's opening statement at the joint press conference he held with Abbas following their talks at the headquarters of the Arab League on Tuesday.
"Both of us, Prime Minister Abu Mazen and I, stressed our appreciation for Palestinian President Yasser Arafat," Moussa said. Likewise, Abbas stressed that his consecutive visits to Cairo, Amman, Washington and Rabat were based on an agreement with Arafat. He added that Arafat wanted him to inform Arab leaders about the recent developments in the occupied territories. Abbas said that in order to coordinate Arab-Islamic action to confront the Israeli attack against the holy city, Arafat had delegated him to ask King Mohamed of Morocco "to call for the immediate convocation of the Jerusalem committee".
Shortly after Abbas and Moussa ended their press conference, Arafat called Moussa to inform him of the latest Israeli acts of aggression against Palestinian holy sites. On the surface, Arafat was informing Moussa that the Israeli authorities had allowed Israeli extremists into the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque and imposed a closure on Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Arafat asked Moussa to protest these provocative acts before UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
However, the message behind Arafat's call to Moussa was obvious to many. The Palestinian leader was making it clear that he is still there and that Abu Mazen is merely walking in his shadow.
