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As the Palestinian people prepared to bury their longtime leader Yasser Arafat, SMSU Political Science Professor Mihrdad Haghayehgi talked to KSMU's Mike Smith about Arafat's legacy, and what the future may hold for the Palestinian people.
From the Associated Press and KSMU News:
From the Associated Press and KSMU News:
Kings, presidents, chancellors and prime ministers from at least 35 nations and organizations were expected to turn out for Yasser Arafat's funeral on November 12th.
The Bush administration, which shunned Arafat, is sending Assistant Secretary of State William Burns to the ceremony in Cairo, Egypt. Others expected to attend include the king of Jordan, the president of Brazil and Britain's foreign secretary.
According to Mehrdad Haghayehgi, a Professor of Political Science at SMSU, the impact of Arafat's death may be diminished a bit because in the last 5 years or so, the Palestinian leader was seen as more of a divider than a uniter. Haghayeghi, who sometimes serves as a comsultant on Middle Eastern affairs for the U.S. State Department says, to stay on top, Arafat would, in the tradition of Middle East despots and dictators, play Palestinian factions against each other, and Haghayehgi says, Arafat lost a lot of support when he turned down a peace deal with Israel brokered by President Clinton.
Meanwhile, the Palestinain Authority has a new President. Parliment speaker Rauhi Fattouh has been sworn in as interim leader of the Palestinian gevernment. Under the law of succession, he is to be a caretaker President for mo more than 60 days, until elections are held.
Yasser Arafat held three top jobs: President of the Palestinian Authority, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and head of the Fatah movement.
Palestinian officials say the PLO had chosen former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to be its next chief. Mehrdad Haghayeghi says that's the most important position, by the process of picking permanent leadership is a complicated one. Abbas is likely to begin wielding effective power immediately, even while the interim Palestinian Authority head holds the official reins. But there's still the question of Palestinian-Israeli relations. Mehrdad Haghayeghi says Israel will exercise the option of holding negotiations while strengthening its positions.
Yasser Arafat's funeral will be held at a mosque at Cairo's international airport and will be relatively modest. Egyptian officials want to limit any risk of an outpouring of popular emotion that might flare out of control.
Afterward, his body will be flown to his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah, where he will be buried.
For KSMU News, I'm Mike Smith.