Death of Arafat!
By the Editor

THE fabulous icon of a zestful struggle to attain a free Palestine, Yasser Arafat, has passed away leaving behind a great vacuum that would be difficult to be filled.

As his death is being mourned alike by the people of Palestine and their well-wishers all over the world, Palestinians have acted wisely by opting for a collective leadership to run their affairs during the interim period, forestalling chances of any chaos or disorder.

Arafat, who gave his people an identity has left at a crucial juncture in the history of Middle East problem. He has departed at a time when Palestinians were in dire need of a visionary, sagacious, seasoned, powerful and undisputed leader who could steer them out of a most difficult situation.

Arafat, throughout his life effectively proved that he was endowed with these qualities to lead his nation. Despite the fact that the great leader of Palestinians was confined to the PLO headquarters in Ramallah during the last two-and-a-half years by the Jewish forces, his presence and guidance was a great source of inspiration and motivation for his people who never showed any signs of fatigue or disappointment even in the face of worst kinds of atrocities by Israel.

Therefore, the pain and anguish of the Palestinian people over departure of their hero for the eternal journey is quite understandable.

On hearing the news about the death of their leader, tens of thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets of towns and refugee camps with wails of grief and volleys of gunfire. The remarks of a Palestinian worker that “our father is dead” represent feelings and sentiments of the entire Palestinian people.

In fact, because of the immense contribution he made to the cause of Palestine and the sacrifices he endured during the life-long struggle for the noble objective, Yasser Arafat would be remembered as “Father of the Nation”.

Palestinians, who have announced forty-day mourning over the tragedy, are not alone during these moments of shock as each and every just-minded member of the world community shares their grief.

The Ummah [Muslim world] is solely behind them as has been reflective in messages and remarks of leaders and opinion-makers.
Pakistan has also declared three-day mourning on the demise of the Palestinian leader and reiterated its pledge to continue support for the Palestinian cause. It is also meaningful that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz decided to personally attend the funeral of the great leader.

No doubt, with the death of President Yasser Arafat, an era has come to an end. Apart from providing the much needed strength to the struggle of his people, Arafat, because of his personal rapport and frequent exchange of views with world leaders, had earned great respect not only for himself but also galvanized the cause of Palestine.

Nelson Mandela’s tribute to Arafat in the preface of a biography sums up the multi-dimensional characteristics of the personality of Yasser Arafat and his leadership qualities by saying “(Arafat) transformed the Palestinians’ status from that of refugees to that of a nation in the most complete sense of the term’.

It is true that Palestinians are still far away from their ultimate goal but the spirit infused in them by Arafat and the course chartered out by him would serve as a beacon of light for them and they would surely one day realize his dream — a dream of a truly independent Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.

Palestinians would be gainer if they strictly adhered to the legacy of their leader that has so far safeguarded their rights and foiled designs of the enemy.

We caution them because there are clear signs that some forces are bent upon creating rifts in their ranks so as to weaken the resolve of the Palestinians to resist Zionist designs.

The condemnable remarks of Israeli Justice Minister Tommy Lapid over death of President Arafat who not only welcomed his departure but also had the audacity to declare that it was “good that the world is rid of him” showed how much the Jewish State was fearful of the courageous leader as also its intentions.

Likewise, President George W Bush, who shares the blame for bringing misery to Arafat during the last years, has also offered pathetic comments by saying that his death ‘provides a rare opportunity’ for peace in the Middle East.

Palestinians need to be vigilant as both Tel Aviv and Washington are likely to exploit the situation to impose a solution that goes against the wishes, aspirations and interests of the Palestinian people.

In fact, the death of Arafat is already shrouded in somewhat mystery with accusations by Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal who accused Israel of poisoning the blood of Abu Ammar [Arafat].

Though Palestinians have suffered irreparable loss in the death of Arafat, yet we hope that they would show greater unity and resilience to disprove apprehensions of any setback to their legitimate and bona fide struggle.●