After Assad talks, Abbas says PA must coordinate with Syria

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara echoed the call, adding that coordination between Syria and the PA was vital for the entire Arab world, the radio said. The images from Syria showing the leaders of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization talking with Assad are historic, and possibly signal the change underway in the Middle East since the death of Yasser Arafat last month. The invitation of Abbas (Abu Mazen), PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) and acting PA chairman Rouhi Fattouh to Syria also testifies to a shift in relations between Damascus and Ramallah, after years of tension. Bashar Assad’s arrival in Cairo to participate in Arafat’s funeral last month, kept secret till the last moment, symbolized the change. Syrian authorities had not published a mourning announcement until late on the day of Arafat’s death. More than anything else, Syria’s aversion to the man was reflected in the statement made in 1999 by Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlas, calling Arafat „the son of 60,000 prostitutes.” Arafat was not a welcome guest in Damascus, where he last visited in 2000, after a 17-year absence, for the funeral of the current president’s father, Hafez Assad. But since then, PA sources say, „the historical residues and the personal animosity have disappeared.” Al-Shara called twice over the past 18 months, on behalf of Bashar Assad, to ask about Arafat’s health. The recent crisis between the sides broke out in 1993, when Arafat decided to sign the Oslo agreements and create the Palestinian Authority. The Syrians were outraged. A PA source said Sunday that Hafez Assad was personally affronted over being left in the dark, while Syria was left behind. The Syrians refused to recognize the PA, and Arafat continued to be referred to as „chairman of the PLO” on the radio. Arafat’s associates who returned with him to the territories also fell out of favor. Mahmoud Abbas last visited Damascus in 2001, after more than a decade’s absence. The regime in Damascus is known for its long memory and conservatism, reflecting to a great extent the influence of Hafez Assad. In the early 1960s there was a brief romance between Arafat and Assad, when Syria served as a base for the Fatah’s attacks against Israel. But the honeymoon was short-lived. Assad, who thought of Palestine as „southern Syria,” didn’t understand why Arafat insisted on preserving his independence in decision-making. Arafat, for his part, resisted all attempts to manipulate him or dictate his moves. The crisis peaked with a political assassination in 1966, when the Palestinians discovered a Syrian agent, Yusuf Ourabi, among their ranks. After Ourabi’s murder Arafat was imprisoned for 40 days, and the assassin, Abd Al-Majid Zaghmout, sat in a Syrian prison for 32 years, a fact that troubled Arafat deeply. When Abbas lived in Syria for several years he was also forced to spend several weeks under house arrest in the early 1980s. Another crisis broke out when Syria actively backed the rebellion of Palestinian officers against Arafat in 1983, in Tripoli. After that, relations remained strained. The importance of the visit is in its actual occurrence, and in Ramallah there is hope that „it will stabilize the leadership of both sides on a new basis.” MK Azmi Bishara, who is in contact with Syrian officials, was certain the visit would succeed. „The Syrians are aware of Abbas’ positions and are willing to accept them, and they certainly won’t object to Palestinian elections,” he said. Last Tuesday, the spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, Maged Abd al-Fatah, said, „Syria and Egypt are working closely on the Palestinian issues, with the various organizations.” The meaning of this general statement is that Syria is involved in shaping the peace process and doesn’t want to be left behind. Abbas and Qureia were to meet Monday with several leaders of the Palestinian opposition in Damascus – including Khaled Mashal, head of Hamas’ political department; Ramadan Abdullah Shalah, secretary of Islamic Jihad; George Habash, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; and Naif Hawatmeh, head of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine – to discuss a possible joint course of for the Palestinian fand whether a second hudna (cease-fire) can be expected after the elections in the PA. BPI-info