PALESTINE: "Full Text of the PLO Central Council's Statement..."
sukant....@gmail.com
On June 22, the Wafa news Agency reported:
"The PLO Central Council held a new round of meetings called "Session
of Immortal Martyr Yasir Arafat" under the chairmanship of Salim al-
Za'nun, also known as Abu-al-Adib, speaker of the Palestine National
Council, and in the presence of President Mahmud Abbas, chairman of
the PLO Executive Committee and president of the Palestinian National
Authority, in the city of Ramallah on Wednesday and Thursday, 20 and
21 June.
"Representatives of all national forces, factions, and personalities,
and members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the PNA attended the
session. The PCC chairman opened the session by reading the names of
members to make sure of the quorum. The national anthem was then
played and the PCC members recited the first chapter of the Koran over
the soul of our immortal martyr Yasir Arafat and the souls of our
innocent martyrs - the martyrs of freedom and national independence.
"The session began with a speech by PNC Speaker Abu-al-Adib. He was
followed by President Abu-Mazin, who presented the PLO Executive
Committee's report. Representatives of factions and forces as well as
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad spoke during the session. The PCC also
listened to a speech by Muhammad Barakah, head of the Democratic Front
for Peace and Equality.
"During the general discussion session, a large number of PCC members
spoke. They discussed various issues of concern to the Palestinian
people at this stage in their national struggle. At the conclusion of
its meetings, the PCC issued the following statement: The leadership
of Hamas carried out a bloody coup against the legitimate National
Authority and the democratic system and political pluralism in the
Gaza Strip.
"The gangs of the Executive Force committed the ugliest forms of
crimes against our steadfast people in Gaza. The coupists attacked the
legitimate security centres and killed or executed our soldiers and
officers who were carrying out their national duty. They lowered the
flag of the homeland which was hoisted by generations and martyrs in
order to flutter over the homeland. They replaced it with a factional
flag.
"The coupists and their armed militias violated the sanctity of the
house of our immortal martyr and leader President Yasir Arafat. They
stole his military fatigue and looted his library and symbolic
headdress. None imagined that such ugly things would happen instead of
commemorating the memory of this man, who was martyred for the sake of
liberating Palestine and holy Jerusalem. The coupists continued their
crime by breaking into the house of symbol leader Abu-Jihad. They
looted the house and the handgun with which he defended himself
against the Israeli commando unit which assassinated him.
"The leadership and armed militias of Hamas stormed the headquarters
of the elected legitimate president, President Mahmud Abbas, and
looted, stole, and vandalized it. Our people and the world saw the
masked and fully armed gangs of Hamas sowing corruption in the
Palestinian presidency and the house of the president. The coupists
also destroyed the Unknown Soldier's monument, which stands for the
national steadfastness of our people and the army of sisterly Egypt in
defending the Palestinian national soil.
"They also raided Christian schools. They broke into a monastery and
the Rosary Sisters School without giving any consideration to the
sanctity of Christian worship places. The coupists did not hesitate to
practice the same Israeli methods in dealing with the personnel of the
security agencies. Hamas's gangs killed and slaughtered them with
knives and forced survivors out naked with their hands held up under
the threat of force exactly as the Israeli occupation forces did in
the Jericho Prison.
"The coupists and their armed gangs carried out executions and
killings on identity and political affiliation. The world saw these
blood thirsty gangs carry out their crimes, mutilate the bodies of
martyrs and wounded, and trample them and drag them in streets. The
PCC vehemently condemns this bloody coup against the national
legitimacy and the unity of the homeland, which was planned and
implemented by the leadership of Hamas in full collusion and advance
preparation with foreign parties which do not wish our people any
good.
"These parties want to keep our Palestinian cause a bargaining chip in
their hands to achieve their interests at the expense of our people
and their blood. By its bloody coup, the leadership of Hamas rendered
a big service to Israel in order to fulfil its dream and impossible
aim to separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and cut off access
to the establishment of our independent Palestinian state in the Gaza
Strip and West Bank with holy Jerusalem as its capital.
"The PCC strongly supports all the decisions adopted by the PLO
Executive Committee and President Mahmud Abbas to confront the black
coup against legitimacy and to protect our national independence and
freedom project. The PCC stresses that the leadership of Hamas has
turned against national legitimacy and the Mecca agreement and foiled
with this crime the national unity government and made its
continuation impossible. This prompted President Abu-Mazin to dismiss
the prime minister and form a new government in implementation of the
state of emergency in order to confront the threat the coupists pose
to security and civil peace in the Gaza Strip.
"The PCC supports the declaration of a state of emergency as decided
by the chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and the president of
the National Authority in accordance with the Basic Law to confront
the plot concocted against our political regime and national project.
The PCC also supports the new national government which President Abu-
Mazin formed under the premiership of Dr Salam Fayyad - a government
made up of patriotic persons known for their efficiency, integrity,
and selflessness in serving the homeland.
"The PCC calls on the PLO Executive Committee and the National
Authority government to set up a national committee to investigate the
crimes committed by the coupists and their gangs. It also calls on our
people, who were affected by these crimes, to quickly lodge complaints
to the Palestinian judicial authorities in order to pursue the
aggressors and bring them to justice. The PCC stresses the need to
bolster our comprehensive national unity within the framework of the
PLO, the sole legitimate representative of our people, on the basis of
our national programme and the Declaration of Independence.
"The PCC greets our steadfast people in the Gaza Strip and stresses
the unity of our homeland - land, people, society, and cause - and
calls on the PLO Executive Committee and the government to exert all
possible efforts to provide assistance to our people in the Gaza Strip
and to work hard for the restoration of security and sovereignty of
law and order there.
"The PCC calls on the PLO Executive Committee to prepare a new
elections law for the PNC based on the full proportional electoral
system and to hold elections in and outside the homeland where the
Palestinians are present in order to guarantee the participation and
representation of all forces, factions, and key figures of our people
in the political life. The PCC calls on President Abu-Mazin to provide
the best possible conditions for holding the presidential and
legislative elections in accordance with the full proportional
electoral system at the earliest possible time in order to enable our
people to restore their unity, democratic life, and pluralism.
"The PCC rejects all measures taken by the Israeli occupation in our
homeland and holy Jerusalem. It considers settlements illegal and
should be removed. The racial segregation fence built on our land is
considered a settlement expansion aimed at stealing our land and
preventing the establishment of our independent state. The PCC calls
on the international community to intervene and put an end the
occupation and settlement activity and to implement the advisory
opinion of the International Court of Justice on the need to remove
settlements and the racial fence from our Palestinian land.
"The PCC rejects a state with temporary borders. It insists on
complete withdrawal and on the establishment of our independent
Palestinian state with holy Jerusalem as its capital within the 4 June
1967 borders. The PCC stresses its full commitment to the Palestinian
peace programme as adopted by our PNC in 1988. It calls for holding an
international peace conference under international sponsorship to
implement the Arab peace initiative and the international legitimacy
resolutions in order to reach a final solution to the Arab-Israeli
conflict.
"The PCC rejects partial solutions, unilateral steps, and the Israeli
realignment plan. The PCC stresses its commitment to the Arab peace
initiative, the international legitimacy resolutions, and Resolution
194 on the Palestinian refugees' right to return to their homes from
which they were forced out. The PCC rejects the resettlement,
dislodgement, and migration plans.
"The PCC stresses our people's adherence to their inalienable national
rights and to the independence of decision and national will. It
rejects attempts at imposing trusteeship and subservience and condemns
foreign attempts to interfere in Palestinian affairs. The PCC
denounces and condemns all manifestations of chaos, threats to social
peace, and lawlessness in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and holy
Jerusalem.
"It calls on President Abu-Mazin, the PLO Executive Committee, and the
new government to immediately start work to put an end to security
chaos and lawlessness and to protect, develop, and bolster the
security and police institution and underscore the sovereignty of law,
the one authority, and the one legitimate weapon in accordance with
the valid regulations and laws. It calls for putting a decisive and
final end to chaos and security lawlessness and the phenomenon of
armed militias and masked men, who take the law in their hands because
such practices may lead to the transfer of sedition from the Gaza
Strip to the West Bank.
"The PCC stresses our people's legitimate right to struggle and to
resistance against the Israeli occupation. The PCC stresses the need
to quickly confront anyone who tries to tamper with the security of
the homeland and citizens and violate the sanctity of law and public
order. None has the right to attack facilities and public or private
property. The PCC condemns the attack on the house of Dr Aziz al-
Duwayk, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and calls for
pursuing the perpetrators.
"The PCC has decided to remain in open session to follow up
developments as they happen, provided that it convenes within one
month to adopt the necessary decisions to protect the unity of our
people and restore security and order in the Gaza Strip. The PCC
commends the efforts being made to activate and develop the PLO and
calls on our masses to unite and rally around the PLO, which is the
leader of our national struggle. It greets all national efforts and
initiatives made towards this end.
"The PCC stresses its full adherence to the national programme, the
Declaration of Independence, and the national accord document. It
calls on the PNC speaker to pursue his efforts in this regard in a
manner that bolsters the role and status of the PLO in leading our
national struggle. The PCC greets our steadfast people in the refugee
camps in Lebanon. It stresses its rejection of any attempt to
implicate our people in internal Lebanese affairs.
"It condemns what Al-Absi's gang did against the Lebanese Army and our
people in the Nahr al-Barid camp. It calls for a quick treatment of
the tragic situation in this camp out of our eagerness to maintain the
fraternal relations between the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples. The
PCC calls for rebuilding the camp and for the return of evacuees to
it. It also calls on sisterly Lebanon to recognize the refugees' civil
and human rights. The PCC thanks the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, and the State of Kuwait for their generous
donations to our people in the Nahr al-Barid camp.
"The PCC greets our people in sisterly Iraq and calls on the Iraqi
Government to make all possible efforts to stop the attacks to which
our people in Iraq are exposed. It calls for providing them with
security and protection. The PCC rejects attempts to displace the
refugees and force them out. It stresses their right to return to
their homes and the Palestinian land.
"The PCC greets the prisoners of freedom in the Israeli occupation
prisons and stresses that our national cause today requires national
solidarity and unity against plotters against the unity of the
homeland and people. The issue of liberating prisoners will continue
to be a top national priority. The PCC condemns the Israeli
Government's arrest of PLO Executive Committee members, ministers, and
parliamentarians. It calls for their immediate release and for
intervention by human rights organizations to secure the release of
more than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from the
occupation jails and detention centres.
"It stresses the need to return the detainees to their houses and
families. The PCC stresses its rejection and objection to the unjust
siege imposed on our people. It calls on the international community
and all concerned parties to lift this siege at the earliest possible
time and resume financial and economic aid to our people in order to
confront the internal siege imposed by the Israeli occupation forces
through the racial segregation fence and hundreds of roadblocks which
fragment our homeland and destroy our national economy.
"It also calls on the international community to pressure the Israeli
Government into paying our people's tax revenues which Israel has been
holding for over one and a half years. The PCC calls on the PLO
Executive Committee and Palestinian Government to provide all material
and moral support for our steadfast people in holy Jerusalem and our
national institutions against the Israeli policy of Judaization and
displacement, and preserve the identity of holy Jerusalem and adhere
to it as the eternal capital of our independent Palestinian state.
"The PCC greets the Arab position expressed by the Arab foreign
ministers, who stressed their support for national Palestinian
legitimacy under the leadership of President Abu-Mazin. It also greets
all the countries which expressed their support for national
legitimacy against the bloody coup in Gaza. The PCC also expresses its
appreciation for the Egyptian, Saudi, and Jordanian efforts to support
national legitimacy under the leadership of President Abu-Mazin and
protect our national, political, and constitutional unity.
"The PCC adopted the following decisions:
1. "It condemns the coup carried out by Hamas and its armed militias
against the legitimate National Authority and its security, civil, and
government establishments and the subsequent attacks on the National
Authority's property, facilities, and the life of leaders, cadres, and
citizens. It condemns the attack on the house of late martyr Yasir
Arafat, the presidential headquarters, President Abu-Mazin's house,
and the house of martyr Abu-Jihad.
2. "The PCC stresses the sovereignty of law and condemns all attacks
on public and private institutions and property in the Gaza Strip and
West Bank.
3. "The PCC supports the president's decision to declare a state of
emergency and stresses its support for the new government under the
leadership of Salam Fayyad in accordance with the law and valid
regulations.
4. "The PCC rejects all attempts to separate the Gaza Strip and
stresses the unity of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem as one
political and geographic unit. It also stresses its rejection of a
state with temporary borders.
5. "The PCC calls on the coupists in Hamas's leadership to evacuate
all centres and official headquarters belonging to the PNA, return all
properties and institutions to the legitimate authority, restore the
situation which existed before the bloody coup, and turn the PNA's
civil and security establishments with their property over to the
legitimate president and his new government, considering this an
introduction to any future national treatment of the situation.
6. "The PCC calls for adopting the proportional electoral system in
all Palestinian legislative and municipal elections whether they are
held for the PLO and its departments or the PNA and its bodies. It
calls for amending and enacting law to accomplish this task.
7. "The PCC stresses that the Palestinian people are the main source
of power. It calls for providing the appropriate conditions to hold
legislative and presidential elections at the earliest possible time.
8. "The PCC stresses that the National Authority and its government
are responsible for our people in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and
Jerusalem. It calls on it to fulfil its responsibilities, especially
in the field of:
A. "Extending aid and compensation to the families of martyrs,
wounded, and harmed people in the Gaza Strip and West Bank as a result
of the coup and its repercussions and the state of security chaos.
B. "Improving the economic and social conditions of our people and
fulfilling the needs of the families of martyrs and prisoners in a
regular and permanent manner.
C. "Extending strong and effective aid to our steadfast people in holy
Jerusalem and supporting the cultural, religious, economic, and social
institutions.
D. "Reorganizing and restructuring all security and police forces in
accordance with the relevant laws and regulations.
E. "Re-forming the Board of Directors of the Palestine National Fund
and underscoring its authority in all PLO institutions in accordance
with the observed regulations." - WAM News Agency, United Arab Emirates