International Reaction to Arafat's Death

2004-11-12

[AFP] Yasser Arafat

The body of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat arrived in the West Bank on Friday (12 November) after a funeral in Cairo. "I grieve with the Palestinian people. The symbol of Palestinian identity, the symbol of their aspirations for nationhood, the symbol of their aspirations for a Palestinian state has passed away,'' Terje Roed-Larsen, UN envoy for the Middle East told the Associated Press at the funeral. "Yasser Arafat was more important for Palestinian identity than their flag and their national anthem.''

Among those attending the funeral were King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Bashar Assad of Syria, Sultan Hasanal Bolkiah of Brunei, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Pope Shenouda III, head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church.

In addition to the dignitaries, the funeral was attended by thousands of Egyptians who clogged nearby streets and alleys at the heavily guarded event. In the West Bank, tens of thousands of Palestinians swarmed the funeral procession.

Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia announced three days of mourning upon learning of Arafat's death. After the PLO's defeat by Israeli forces in Lebanon in 1982, its leadership was invited to take refuge in Tunisia by the late President Habib Bourguiba.

The PLO remained in Tunisia for 12 years when Arafat and the other PLO leaders returned to the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the 1993 signing of the Oslo Peace Accords. Arafat, along with former Israeli leaders Shimon Peres and the late Yitzhak Rabin, won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.

Although Arafat was popular in the Arab world, many in the international community held the view that he was a terrorist.

The leader of the Palestinian movement for independence since the early 1970s, Arafat's death raises questions about the future of the peace process. It also leaves a void not only for Palestinians, but also for many Arabs who looked to him for inspiration.

"Yasser Arafat's life stands for the varied and tragic history of the Palestinian people and the Middle East as a whole," said German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. "In it were reflected many people's hopes for peace, but time and again also their disappointments and setbacks." (AP, telegraph.co.uk)