Christian declares candidacy for Arafat’s job
-24/11/04
A Christian who wants U.S.
Christian declares candidacy for Arafat’s job
-24/11/04
A Christian who wants U.S. officials out of the Mideast peace process has declared his candidacy for Yasser Arafat’s job.
Ghassan Barham, 52, is a Christian lawyer from a West Bank village near Jenin who describes his chances in the Jan. 9 election as “very good”.
He is the first Christian to run for the top post. Three years ago he announced that he would challenge Arafat, but did not pursue his plan because the elections were postponed.
Barham’s declared opponents are Nablus political scientist Abdel Sattar Qassem and Talal al-Sider, a former Hamas activist from Hebron who served as minister of sports in the PA cabinet. Fatah has asked PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to be its candidate while Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have said they intend to boycott the presidential elections.
He promised to thwart any American role in settling the Palestinian cause. “We want the U.N., France, China, and Russia to replace the U.S., which does not deserve to assume the role of honest broker.
Barham said strong US support for Israel showed Washington was no longer an impartial peacemaker.
“The US finances Israel and supports it in carrying out its crimes against the Palestinian people. The US was never our friend and we don’t trust the Americans. The independent Palestinian state we are dreaming of will not be a puppet in the hands of Israel and the US. We don’t want to become watchdogs protecting Israel’s occupation of our land.”
His platform, he told The Jerusalem Post, calls for eliminating widespread corruption in the PA, excluding the US from the peace process, and signing a deal with Israel based on the 1947 United Nations partition plan.
“Corruption is everywhere in Palestinian institutions and I will launch, if elected, a merciless nonstop war on corruption,” said Barham, who described himself as unaffiliated to any political group.
“My first mission would be to wage a merciless war against corruption,” he said. “The current leadership is old and corrupt. We want fresh faces. The time has come for the old guard to step aside.
“The Oslo process has failed. I used to support it in the past, but it has destroyed the Palestinians. Most people are opposed to the Oslo Accords and the current leadership.”
Christian declares candidacy for Arafat’s job
-24/11/04
A Christian who wants U.S. officials out of the Mideast peace process has declared his candidacy for Yasser Arafat’s job.
Ghassan Barham, 52, is a Christian lawyer from a West Bank village near Jenin who describes his chances in the Jan. 9 election as “very good”.
He is the first Christian to run for the top post. Three years ago he announced that he would challenge Arafat, but did not pursue his plan because the elections were postponed.
Barham’s declared opponents are Nablus political scientist Abdel Sattar Qassem and Talal al-Sider, a former Hamas activist from Hebron who served as minister of sports in the PA cabinet. Fatah has asked PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to be its candidate while Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have said they intend to boycott the presidential elections.
He promised to thwart any American role in settling the Palestinian cause. “We want the U.N., France, China, and Russia to replace the U.S., which does not deserve to assume the role of honest broker.
Barham said strong US support for Israel showed Washington was no longer an impartial peacemaker.
“The US finances Israel and supports it in carrying out its crimes against the Palestinian people. The US was never our friend and we don’t trust the Americans. The independent Palestinian state we are dreaming of will not be a puppet in the hands of Israel and the US. We don’t want to become watchdogs protecting Israel’s occupation of our land.”
His platform, he told The Jerusalem Post, calls for eliminating widespread corruption in the PA, excluding the US from the peace process, and signing a deal with Israel based on the 1947 United Nations partition plan.
“Corruption is everywhere in Palestinian institutions and I will launch, if elected, a merciless nonstop war on corruption,” said Barham, who described himself as unaffiliated to any political group.
“My first mission would be to wage a merciless war against corruption,” he said. “The current leadership is old and corrupt. We want fresh faces. The time has come for the old guard to step aside.
“The Oslo process has failed. I used to support it in the past, but it has destroyed the Palestinians. Most people are opposed to the Oslo Accords and the current leadership.”