Who Wants Power, He Should Go to Hell
Jun 5th, 2009 by kawther.salam
“We Live to Return” was the First General Conference of the Palestinian Communities in the Diaspora, held in Vienna last week on 30 - 31 May 2009. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas financed the conference with US$30,000 and sent Tayseer Khalid, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the head of the expatriates, the Palestinian in the Diaspora in the PLO, to represent him in the conference.
Farouq Qaddumi, known as “Abu Al-Lotof”, the President of the Political Department of the PLO, the Palestinian Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Diaspora, and the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement, attended the conference to state the opposition of Fatah to both the Palestinian-Israeli-American negotiations, and the new government of Salam Fayyad.
Farouq Qaddumi: “Who Wants Power, He Should Go to Hell“
The President of the Political Department of the PLO, who was talking on behalf of Fatah in the conference, asked all Palestinians for forgiveness, saying that forgiveness is a character attribute of the human and wise commander. He added “We said that there is advantage in power, but the struggle, the Jihad, is in the interest of the people, and who wants the public benefit should come to the conference, and he who wants power, he should go to hell”, (applause).
Qaddumi talked about the importance of unity among the Palestinians. He mentioned that the segregation between the Palestinians due to attaining power will never lead to the national unity. “Never in our national history was it better than when there was unity, but if we continue fighting for power and authority, then we would not get national unity”. He described what happens now between the Palestinians as a dialogue about power, and not about unity or anything else, and this he described as a disaster.
Qaddumi also said that: “the Palestinian revolution is passing through a new, strange development nowadays. There are lots of slips and mistakes. These slips and these mistakes must be fixed, repaired, it’s a shame to continue being divided, but it’s not shame to have differences, that’s something healthy”.
He criticized the continuous support of the Palestinian government for the demands of the USA. He said that since the former American Presidents Bush the father and Bush the son, and until Obama now, the USA only supports Israel. “They are all swindler and liars who help Israel to promote the legitimacy of the illegitimate, illegal and criminal occupation and the Jewish settlements in Palestine, and the Palestinian negotiation with Israel is useless: we have no land any more to negotiate about, however, we hear that they are negotiating. I wonder about what they are negotiating? Is there anything left in Palestine for negotiating?” (applause).
Qaddumi: Iran is better than those who made “Normalization” Relations with Israel.
Qaddumi spoke about Iran and pointed out that in the past there was a “Shah” of Iran, and now there is a revolution in Iran, and those who say Iran, and Iran, … we tell them that honestly we needs all the Muslims weapon, and as long as Iran is against Israel, it is better than those who make “normalization” of relations with Israel. “We do not bribe any Arab or Islamic country, but at the same time we know that we have some friends and some enemies, and we want our friends to blockade Israel”.
Qaddumi also congratulated and thanked Turkey. He said: “we thank and applaud the ruling party of Turkey, who was able to say to Israel ‘go to hell’. Thanks to Turkish President Erdogan, the Arab Muslim hero who strongly criticized Israel’s Gaza criminal offensive, and said no to the Israeli president, Shimon Peres during a panel discussion on Gaza at the World Economic Forum in Davos”. Erdogan left in protest against the President of the Zionist Occupation State, Shimon Peres. It would have been appropriate if the others who were there had followed him out of the room at that time” (applause). This statement of Qaddumi was an indirect criticism of the PA representatives, who stayed in the room.
Qaddumi said that the Arab regimes fear that the Palestinians could change their existing governmental system. They are scared to provoke Israel into a war with them. He pointed out that there are fifty Arab-Muslim States who have “normalized” their relations with Israel: “These countries say to us that we will not find any kind of assistance tomorrow, but we tell them that we do not need your help, but do not push us to do something which we don’t want, our nation says that anyone who accepts to be a leader he should say the truth” (applause).
Qaddumi also thanked Syria saying “we thank Syria for its steadfast support for the resistance”, and he described Europe as unfriendly countries who gives honey promises and soothing phrases but do nothing. He asked who occupied the Iraq: “It’s the devil Britain and USA who want all the oil”.
He praised Hezbollah by indirect way and without mentioning them by name. He wondered: “Is what happened in Lebanon a victory?”, he answered, Lebanon was attacked by Israel several times, and now we find the Lebanese defeating and destroying Israel in this longest of Arab wars of 33 day. We should be proud of Lebanon and the Lebanese , proud that they destroyed Israel in 33 days (applause).
PA would not return to political negotiations with Israel before …
On the other hand, Tayseer Khalid, the member of Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, spoke about the memorial of 61 years of Palestinian Catastrophe, “Nakba”. Khalid spoke on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas. He focused in his speech on the outcome of the Palestinian situation after the catastrophe, until today. He condemned the Israeli policy aimed on the continued building of settlements and the “judaization” of the Palestinian land in the occupied Jerusalem and West Bank, demolishing the Palestinian homes, blockading and the dismantling of the connection between the Palestinian towns and cities. He pointed to the continued building of the apartheid wall and the establishment of more and more of military checkpoints at the entrances of the city of Jerusalem city and around the Palestinian cities and villages in the West Bank, the inhuman restrictions which reflect negatively on the life of the Palestinian people.
Tayseer Khalid mentioned something about the political agenda of the Palestinian Authority in his speech, saying that the PA would not return to political negotiations with Israel before the government in Tel Aviv declares it’s policy about the increased building of Israeli settlements, stops the construction of the Apartheid Wall, accepts the two-state solution within the borders of 1967 and accepts the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with UN resolution 194.
Khalid said that the Palestinian nation and the Palestinian issue are facing great challenges on all levels. He said that a national unity is the only solution for facing these challenges, and he pointed to the need for fundamental reforms of the PLO in all its bodies and institutions to include all parties and organizations .
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