Arafat calls for democratic elections in USA

[Philip Ferguson <plf13@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is kind of amusing.  it was osted on an antiwar/anticap e-list in NZ:




>  http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0626-06.htm
>
> =============================
> Published on Wednesday, June 26, 2002 by CommonDreams.org
>       by Rahul Mahajan*
> *Rahul Mahajan is a member of the Nowar Collective
> (http://www.nowarcollective.com) and serves on the National Board of
> Peace Action. His book, "The New Crusade: America's War on Terrorism,"
> (http://www.monthlyreview.org/newcrusade.htm) has been described as
> "mandatory reading for anyone who wants to get a handle on the war on
> terrorism." His other work can be seen at http://www.rahulmahajan.com .
> He can be reached at rahul@xxxxxx
> =============================
>
> ARAFAT CALLS FOR DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES -- WORLD
> REACTION IS MIXED
>
> Palestinian Authority President Yasir Arafat stunned the world yesterday
> by demanding that the United States hold democratic elections for a new
> Chief Executive before it attempts to continue in its role as broker
> between Israel and Palestine.
>
> "Mr. Bush is tainted by his association with Jim-Crow-style selective
> disenfranchisement and executive strong-arm tactics in a southeastern
> province controlled by his brother," said Mr. Arafat, who was elected with
> 87% of the vote in 1996 elections in the West Bank and Gaza, declared to
> be free and fair by international observers, including former U.S.
> president Jimmy Carter. "Our count shows that he would have lost the
> election if his associates hadn't deprived so many thousands of
> African-Americans, an oppressed minority, of the right to vote. He is not
> the man to bring peace to the Middle East."
>
> Hugo Chavez, elected president of Venezuela with 62% of the popular vote,
> concurred with Mr. Arafat. Chavez has long been a victim of Bush's
> anti-democratic attitude, as the Bush administration funneled hundreds of
> thousands of dollars through the "National Endowment for Democracy" to
> anti-Chavez forces and reportedly gave the go-ahead for an attempted
> military coup by those forces. "After it was over and I was back in
> power," said Chavez, "his administration actually told me 'legitimacy is
> not conferred by a majority vote.' Unless, of course, it's a majority of
> the Supreme Court. I respect the local traditions, however quaint, of the
> United States, but he hardly sets the best example for the Middle East,
> does he? Why don't we get back to that idea of an international conference
> to settle the question of Palestine?"
>
> Bush was not without his supporters, however. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
> Sharon, elected head of a country that legally discriminates among its
> citizens on the basis of religious belief, forbids political candidates
> from advocating an end to that discrimination, and disenfranchises an
> entire people through military occupation, dismissed the call as "absurd."
>
> Hamid Karzai, recently "elected" head of Afghanistan by a grand council,
> or "loya jirga," in which a foreign body, controlled by the United States,
> selected delegates; unelected warlords who had ravaged the country were
> permitted to control the meeting and to threaten delegates who refused to
> vote their way; and the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay
> Khalilzad, refused to allow at least two other candidates to stand for
> election, added his support for Mr. Bush in his hour of need. Said Karzai,
> "In Afghanistan, we have the loya jirga. In the United States, you have
> your own process -- as we understand, it's traditional over there for
> corporations to play a large part in electing officials and writing
> legislation. We're very interested in looking into that kind of system
> ourselves."
>
> Vojislav Kostunica, chosen head of Yugoslavia in an election where the
> United States spent an estimated $25 million to influence the results, was
> also keen to rush to Bush's defense, indicating that he saw no procedural
> problems with the 2000 elections.
>
> And Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, long derided for his claim that "Asian
> culture" is at odds with universal human rights, added, "The elections are
> strictly an internal matter, and should have no bearing on the status of
> the United States as a broker. The Palestinians' high-handedness is a
> serious threat to national independence."
>
> In a surprise move, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, long an ally of the
> United States, supported Arafat's call, saying, "While we're at it, let's
> take another look at our agreement on American independence. George
> Washington was not only unelected, he did rather associate with
> terrorists. Benedict Arnold would have been a much more suitable partner
> for peace, n'est ce pas?"
>
> Arafat, busy working on a plan to find a new Israeli leader not tainted
> with the massacre of hundreds of innocents in Sabra and Shatila to
> negotiate with, could not be reached for further comment.





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