|
Feb. 8,
2004
Activists resign en
masse from Fatah
By KHALED ABU
TOAMEH
Fatah
leaders were reeling on Sunday under an onslaught from discontented activists
who resigned en masse, accusing them of corruption, cronyism, and abuse of
power. Some 400 activists representing the younger generation of local
leaders signed a public letter of resignation over the weekend, triggering
the first major challenge to Yasser Arafat's
leadership of Fatah, the largest of the PLO
factions.
In their petition, the disgruntled activists
said they were also angry over mismanagement and a lack of direction in how
the organization handles the conflict with Israel.
They complained that Fatah leaders were ignoring
their demand for holding elections for the organization's governing
institutions. Although Fatah laws call for
elections every five years, none has taken place since 1989.
In Ramallah,
Arafat convened the Fatah Central Committee for
an emergency meeting to discuss the repercussions of the resignations. The
committee consists of veteran Arafat loyalists who came with him from Tunis and
who are accused of blocking efforts to implement reforms in Fatah and the Palestinian Authority.
Many Fatah
officials tried to play down the significance of the resignations by
doubting the authenticity of the letter.
Abbas Zaki, member of the Central Committee, lashed out at
the activists who signed the letter and accused them of fabricating names.
"We have discovered that the list includes names of martyrs like Ala al-Halaykeh and Hisham Abaydeh from the village of
Shayoukh in
the Hebron
area," he said. "The rest of the names are fabricated and don't
exist."
Zaki
challenged those whose names appear in the letter to go public to explain
their case. "If there was one person behind this letter, he would have
at least apologized or defended it," he added. "But it is clear
that the purpose of the letter is to create confusion in Fatah."
Nevertheless, Zaki
agreed that there was a need for reforms in Fatah.
"I strongly believe that Fatah needs a
reassessment of its policy and position, as well as reorganization of its
institutions," he said.
One of Fatah's key
bodies, the "revolutionary council," was scheduled to meet on
Sunday to discuss the internal crisis, but its members said the meeting was
postponed for another week. Although the official explanation for the delay
was described as technical, some Fatah activists
said the resignations were the main reason.
Jibril Rajoub, Arafat's national security advisor and member
of the council, said that each Fatah member has
the right to express his view, but only through the organization's
institutions.
"The letter that was sent to the media
does not serve to repair any of the cases raised by the signatories,"
he said. "On the contrary, this letter plays into the hands of Israel,
which for many years has been targeting the head of this great
organization. We believe that some are trying to create schism and chaos in
Fatah.
Hatem Abdel Kader and Kadoura Fares, representatives of the younger
generation in Fatah, denied any responsibility
for the mass resignations. "This whole issue was planned secretly and
I didn't know about it," said Abdel Kader.
He said that while most of the demands
mentioned in the letter are justified, this was not the right time for
resignations. "This document should indicate to the leadership about
how much we need reform," he explained.
Fares, who also serves as
Minister of State in the PA cabinet, said the story appears to be
fabricated. "Yesterday we couldn't even find ten of those who signed
the letter," he argued. "They are unknown. Maybe whoever wrote
the story just made up the names. I agree with
some of the criticism, but the framework for such criticism has to be from
within the organization. It has to be made at a joint meeting of the
organization where we can discuss all these issues."
|
