Arafat's critics rise from among ranks of former friends

Palestinian president Yasser Arafat has just had one of the worst weeks in his political life. And for that he can thank old friends like Nabil Amr.

Mr. Amr has known Mr. Arafat for nearly four decades. He knew him in Cairo, and was with him in war-ravaged Beirut, from which the two men and other Palestine Liberation Organization guerrillas escaped on a ship to Athens. Later, Amr was the PLO's ambassador to Moscow – and, until a few months ago, one of Arafat's cabinet ministers.

But not until now were Amr's differences with Arafat's leadership apparent, in plain print in the pages of the semi-official paper of the Palestinian Authority, al-Hayat al-Jadida.

"What I said was simply, 'Let us go to elections. Let us try to find a point in the middle.' And by that I mean choosing a prime minister," Amr says.

In his letter, Amr criticized Arafat for failing to take advantage of the opportunity he had at Camp David two years ago, when Ehud Barak was prime minister of Israel. "Our timing is wrong," he wrote. "We reject when we should accept and we accept when we should reject. It is time to recognize that we are mistaken...."

But last week's open letter to Arafat – coming from a man who has, until recently, been an important figure in the Palestinian leader's decision-making circle – was read by many as an open invitation to challenge Arafat's leadership. It helped spark the explosive events of this week, in which Palestinian legislators ,threatening a humiliating vote of no-confidence in Arafat's Cabinet, instead forced it to resign – the greatest act of defiance the 88-member council has ever showed the beleaguered Palestinian leader.

"If the Israelis consider [Arafat] illegal, we will not find anyone to speak with him." says Amr. "The most important thing is how the world deals with our prime minister."

At the heart of the current dispute is the push to create an office of Palestinian prime minister. Most Palestinians, even those who fault Arafat's leadership, still view him as the embodiment of their national aspirations. Establishing a prime minister would give them a more effective day-to-day leader, without sidelining Arafat entirely.

Current Palestinian "Basic Law," as outlined in the Oslo Accords, makes no mention of a prime minister – simply a president or executive branch. But this week's upheaval shows that an increasing number of Palestinian politicians are demanding the creation of prime minister as an elected office.

Under pressure from all sides, Arafat yesterday chose a date – January 20 – for the election. But he has so far ignored calls for a prime minister, concerned – and probably rightly so – that the change would leave him with a virtually titular role.

Amr, a tall and well-spoken man in his mid-50s with a thick head of hair and long pedigree in Arafat's Fatah faction of the PLO, does not rule out running against Arafat or being considered as a candidate for prime minister. But he says he is far less concerned with who leads than with how.

"We must avoid speaking about any specific person," says Amr, who studied law at Damascus University and once ran the Voice of Palestine radio in Cairo. "My business is figuring out how we will put this change in the Basic Law." A Palestinian prime minister, he says, will have to get approval for his actions from the legislative council, as in a classic parliamentary system. Adds Amr: "He cannot turn into another dictator."

Page: 1 | 2