Monday 6 July 2009

PFLP: National dialogue must not be subject to U.S./Israeli conditions

Link

mizher-thabet.jpg

Comrade Jamil Mizher, member of the Central Committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, spoke on July 4, 2009 at a soccer tournament commemorating the martyr Mansour Thabet, where he commented on the breakdown of the Hamas-Fateh talks in Cairo, stating that no agreement that fails to address the fundamental issues of the division is acceptable.

Comade Mizher stated that the Front cannot be a "false witness" to these kinds of bilateral negotiations, when they ignore and undo previous agreements reached on a comprehensive national level including all factions in previous meetings. He compared these kinds of negotiations to the Mecca agreement, a previous Hamas-Fateh bilateral agreement, which led to the current state of division. He noted that the occupier only exploits these divisions and attempts to increase them, and that such an agreement would only place a new power in the hands of the occupier to block the hope of the Palestinian people and exacerbate the suffering of our people in Gaza and the West Bank.

He stated that the recent bilateral dialogue between Fateh and Hamas indicates that they are not seriously committed to a firm agreement that restores unity and reconcilation. In prior sessions of the national dialogue including all factions, some factors were agreed upon, including a government of national consensus, proportional representation, rebuilding the security services on a national and professional basis, the election of the Palestinian National Council and the rebuilding of te PLO and its institutions. However, these previous decisions were left aside in the recent bilateral dialogues, said Comrade Mizher, which undermines the national interests of all Palestinians.

He criticized attempts by the parties to hide behind U.S. mirages, pointing out that the U.S. is a firm and strategic ally and supporter of the Zionist occupation. He demanded that any Palestinian government must reject the so-called "Quartet conditions" (which demand that Palestinians recognize the occupation state, crush Palestinian resistance, and accept the disastrous Oslo path) as they are unjust and unacceptable attacks on our people, our soverignty and our national resistance. Furthermore, he stated that all attempts to satisfy the U.S., whether above the table or behind the scenes, must be rejected, noting that "no Obama, Dayton or Carter will give us our legitimate rights." He stated that the only mechanism to do so is to maintain our national unity and uphold the resistance in all of its forms and reject the U.S./Israeli plans against our people.

Comrade Mizher called for a comprehensive national dialogue including all factions that would start from the previously agreed upon points, rather than from the beginning again. He demanded that Fateh and Hamas cease all political arrests, release prisoners, respect civil liberties and democracy and close this file forever. Furthermore, he reiterated that the weapons of the resistance must be kept pure and clean, and called for a review of the Palestinian political strategy of a united Palestinian people that can strengthen the steadfastness of the resistance rather than depending upon the disastrous path of "negotiations" with the occupier.

Furthermore, he denounced the attempts of the U.S. and the so-called "Quartet" to rewrite international legality, demanding instead a legitimate international conference to implement the existing international resolutions that demand the recognition of Palestinian national rights.

Comrade Mizher also spoke about the achievements of Comrade Mansour Thabet, the martyr in whose name and memory the soccer tournament was held. He paid tribute to the involvement and leadership of Comrade Thabet in the first Intifada in 1987 and his leadership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, his responsibility for military action in the area, his commitment to fighting oppression and his long years in prison, which only proved his determination and steadfastness. He also recalled his love of children, his creativity and his writing. The event was attended by many leaders of social organizations in Gaza's Central Province, including the Union of Health Work Committees, the Medical Center Foundation, and the Voice of the People radio station.


http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/063G15f5ISbgn/610x.jpg

Comrade Dr. Maher al-Taher, member of the Political Bureau of the PFLP and the leader of its branch outside Palestine, also spoke on Al-Jazeera about the Front's position on the national dialogue, stating that the PFLP is deeply concerned about a bilateral agreement between Hamas and Fateh that only perpetuates the division. He stated that the Front wants to prevent any such agreement and wants to end the division through a fully inclusive national dialogue.

He continued to say that Palestinian people face a clear threat at the hands of the extremist Zionist Netanyahu government, and that this challenge requires that the factions agree upon a clear political line, end the negotiations and fully reject the line of Oslo as a failure, and must instead restore the Palestinian national movement, including the rebuilding of the PLO and its institutions, which requires a comprehensive national dialogue with full participation of all factions.

Comrade Taher noted that any other mechanism will only lead to further division, noting that forming a "committee of factions" to coordinate work between Gaza and the West Bank rather than a unified consensus government only cements the division of political systems and of the people on the land of Palestine, and that such division will never be acceptable to the Front.

No comments: