INDIA: NEW DELHI: PALESTINIAN LEADER YASSER ARAFAT VISIT
Arabic/Eng
Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat has accused
Israel of killing the
Middle East peace process.
He said the construction of a
Jewish neighbourhood in east
Jerusalem and the prolonged security closure of
Palestinian areas had plunged the process in a serious crisis.
Arafat was speaking in
New Delhi, where he attended a foreign ministers' conference of the non-aligned
Movement, which is seeking a greater voice in world affairs.
Foreign ministers of the 113 member non-aligned Movement gathered in the
Indian capital for a two-day conference.
Among the guests on Monday - an unexpected Yasser Arafat, seeking support from the non-aligned nations for pressure on Israel.
He delivered a special plea to the ministers, many of whom are sympathetic to the
Palestinian cause.
The Palestinian leader used the forum to accuse Israel of declaring war on the
Palestinians and the
peace process.
He cited Israel's construction of a Jewish neighbourhood in east Jerusalem, the sector the Palestinians claim as a future capital, and Israel's prolonged security closure of Palestinian areas.
SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
"
The peace process in the region has been plunged into a serious crisis that threatens it with total collapse, undermining all the hopes and achievements which have been realised so far. All this is the result of the continuity of the current
Israeli government's (Likud) policies and attitudes based on the arrogance of power, intransigence, dictations and imposing fait accompli on the ground."
SUPER CAPTION: Yasser Arafat, Palestinian
Leader
He also urged the foreign ministers from the 113-member group to support convening a U-N
General Assembly session to discuss the crisis.
He said the fact that
United States had used its veto to block resolutions directed against Israel required an emergency meeting of the larger U-N forum.
SOUNDBITE: (
English)
"And you know we are obliged to do so, because of the two vetoes from the
American administration within 10 days in the
Security Council. We have no other options but to go to the General Assembly of the
United Nations under the platform of uniting for peace, uniting for peace."
SUPER CAPTION: Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Leader
Arafat's approach to the non-aligned countries coincided with their own desire to regain the relevance they once had as a decisive bloc during the
Cold War era.
U-N secretary-general
Kofi Annan gave the movement a boost by supporting the demand for a more powerful voice in any restructuring of the United Nations.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I would therefore hope that one of the consequences of the expansion in the
Council's membership would be to correct, among other things, the under-representation of the non-aligned and developing countries."
SUPER CAPTION: Kofi Annan, U-N
Secretary General
Members are likely to pass a resolution favouring expansion of the U-N Security Council - with countries such as
India keen for support for a permanent Council seat.
And Arafat's speech was adopted as a conference document, giving it a stamp of approval.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The non-aligned countries movement are pushing now in the General Assembly of the United Nations for the special meeting, uniting for peace."
SUPER CAPTION: Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Leader
The Middle East peace process came to a standstill after Israel pushed ahead with a plan to build the housing development in east Jerusalem.
It was also set back by a
Palestinian terrorist attack in
Tel Aviv that stiffened Israel's demands from Arafat to control
Palestinian militants.
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