Yasser Arafat, the first and last soldier for Palestine By Ghulam Muhammed

Yasser Arafat, the first and last soldier for Palestine

By Ghulam Muhammed

Al-Jazeerah, November 18, 2004

The greatest quality that separates Yasser Arafat from many of the other freedom fighters, was his tenacity and steadfastness against horrifying odds and personal dangers, to stubbornly stick to his deep commitment for a ‘just peace’ --- a Palestine, not of Israeli making, not a truncated country, not an Israeli satellite country, not a ‘golemistan’, but a Palestine proud of its identity, its culture and its history.

No colonized piece of land post-WWII, had been subjected to such prolonged and inhuman years of subjugation. Even the worst of the colonizers, like Dutch and Belgians, had relinquished their colonies. But even after 56 years, the ‘trusteeship’ that was grabbed by the British, was in effect given over to another colonizer of the European migrants, who themselves suffered the worst fate of any racial or religious group in recent history.

Both Britain and the US are the main culprits of this heinous crime of history that has traumatized the whole Arab and Muslim world for half a century. Yasser Arafat was not the kind of Lilliputian leader who will forget this gory past of the western colonizers, and sign on the dotted line.

Much is made by former President Clinton and each and every Israeli leader, that Yasser Arafat had blundered at not accepted the Clinton negotiated peace treaty with Israel. Of all the President after Harry Truman, Democratic President Bill Clinton, a confirmed liberal, tried a fast one on Yasser Arafat, trying to leverage the liberal credentials of all the three participants in the negotiations, that practically stretched to the last days of Clinton presidency. However, a steadfast Arafat was the last one, to have spent half a century of struggle to end with a presidential arm across his shoulders and a continued slavish existence for his people. He knew Israel is not Britain or even America.

Compare this to the leadership of India. Nehru, Patel and even Gandhi succumbed to British machinations and agreed to the partition of their country to get to power in a hurry. And to cover their shame, they are promoting the propaganda that it is the Muslims that have partitioned India. Of course, the more alluring prospect of dividing the Indian Muslim community in two and later in three manageable adversaries was never out of sight. But they did agree for a truncated country. It is on this count, that Yasser Arafat stands taller than even the Indian freedom fighters of the stature of Nehru, Patel and Gandhi.

With Yasser Arafat, dies the hope of any other man of same stature to stand up to Sharon, Bush and Blair in their conspiracy to force their solution on the orphaned nation of Palestine. To that extent, his passing is a great loss to all freedom people of the world.

Bush, in this second term, a reluctant President, having to listen to the rationale of British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, his staunchest ally in America’s neo-con-figured dreams of ruling the world, is the last person with any historical insight into the psyche of prosecuted communities.

His war on terror will be a long long war, unless he opts for a new set of advisers that are not obsessed with Israeli domination and exploitation of Arab and Muslim world.

GHULAM MUHAMMED, Mumbai – India

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

Apartheid Wall


The Israeli Land-Grab Apartheid Wall built inside the Palestinian territories, here separating Abu Dis from occupied East Jerusalem. (IPC, 7/4/04).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python. (Alquds,10/25/03).

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