EU source confirms effort to fix Arafat's image
By Gil Hoffman
JERUSALEM (February 20) - European Union special Middle East envoy Miguel Moratinos and US Consul General in Jerusalem Ronald Schlicher aided Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in drafting a letter last week to US Secretary of State Colin Powell regarding the Karine A arms ship, EU sources confirmed yesterday.
A source in the Prime Minister's Office said the help given to Arafat was part of an international effort to help him improve his image.
Arafat has received additional public relations help in the US from a lobbying firm headed by former US consul general in Jerusalem Edward Abingdon, who reportedly authored his New York Times column on February 3.
"There is a desperate lobby trying to save Arafat, but they cannot save him from himself," the source said. "They can write a clear, articulate letter in good English, but even the best letter cannot hide the true Arafat, the one who calls for a million martyrs to converge on Jerusalem."
The source said European nations continuing to embrace Arafat are making a mistake that will only prolong the violence.
"This incident with the letter is just further indication of what we said long ago - the European position is imbalanced - and that's why they cannot play any constructive role in this conflict," the source said.
A spokesman for Moratinos confirmed he met with Arafat and encouraged him to take steps to clarify his involvement in the Karine A affair, but denied any connection with the writing of the letter.
A US State Department official said allegations of Schlicher's involvement are false. The office of Schlicher, who passed the letter from Arafat to Powell, declined to comment.
Arafat's letter, according to a State Department official, assured Powell he would act against those responsible in Fatah for the arms shipment, arms smuggling is contrary to PA policy, and he would make that clear to his people. He also said he would not enter into an arms relationship with Hizbullah.
The story could cloud Foreign Minister Shimon Peres's two-day visit to Spain, which was supposed to begin today, but was postponed after last night's terrorist attack.
Foreign Ministry sources said they are not surprised a meeting of EU foreign ministers failed to reach a compromise on a solution to the conflict. They said recent visits by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and his British counterpart, Jack Straw, were instrumental in ensuring the rejection of a French plan to endorse the creation of a Palestinian state as a starting point for peace talks.
In an interview with Saudi Arabian television yesterday, Peres called Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud's diplomatic proposal "an interesting and positive idea displaying a will to progress toward peace and a solution to the conflict in the region."
Abdullah told The New York Times he intends to deliver a speech at an upcoming Arab summit in which he will call on Israel to withdraw to the pre-1967 lines in return for full diplomatic relations, normalized trade, and security guarantees from Arab countries.
Peres said Saudi involvement is helpful, and could have been helpful had it been volunteered in the past.
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer met with Moratinos yesterday and told him the EU must exert far greater pressure on Arafat to persuade him to change his path and order his forces to act against terrorism. |
