Yasser Arafat’s death in Paris yesterday closes one of the most dramatic chapters in the contemporary history of the Middle East. It is natural that the world should know, as well as like or dislike, Arafat for the role he played as the leader of the Palestinians. But his 40-year-long political career had a much broader impact on regional and world politics.
When he emerged at the head of an obscure guerrilla group named Al Fatah (Victory), the Arab states, having suffered three successive defeats at the hands of Israel, appeared more discredited than ever. Arafat offered an attractive alternative: People power emanating from the barrel of a gun. As a long-term strategy, this was doomed to failure. But then there was the law of unintended consequences. Arafat’s revolutionary politics, condemned by many as terrorism, achieved what the Arab armies had failed to do: Forcing the world, and eventually Israel itself, to acknowledge the existence of a Palestinian nation. This meant that a people who had been treated as refugees surviving on handouts, while their very name was not mentioned even in UN resolutions, were able to regain, if not their rights, at least the recognition of their rights. The recognition restored part of the dignity that the Palestinians had lost since the “nakba” (catastrophe) of 1948. Arafat, however, was destined to end his life in tragic failure. Having embarked on the rollercoaster of international diplomacy he saw his fortunes rise to their peak with the Oslo Accords crowned by a Nobel Peace Prize. The year 2001, however, brought the downside, with Arafat becoming a prisoner in his forlorn compound in Ramallah.
It is too early for us to judge a man of such a stature as Arafat. That task must be left to history. The best that the people of Palestine and their friends can do is to acknowledge Arafat’s achievement but also recognize his shortcomings. Among the latter was his dogged determination not to allow Palestinian politics from being institutionalized. His administration was also marred by incompetence and corruption. A towering giant of a tree he would not allow others to grow in his shadow. But even then, when all is said and done, Arafat must be remembered as the man who leaves behind a national identity, a set of deeply felt aspirations, and years of experience in waging war and seeking peace.
Tomorrow as Arafat’s mortal remains will be laid to rest in Ramallah, all men of good will would remember the sufferings of the Palestinians and the justice of their aspirations. But, once the moment of grief is gone, the new Palestinian leadership should move quickly to revive the stalled peace process and prevent the imposition of a unilateral Israeli solution with the Gaza plan as its prologue.
As President George W. Bush has said, we now have new opportunities for peacemaking. These opportunities must not be wasted. The radical elements that are waiting in the wings, both in Israel and the occupied territories, to kill all chance of peace must not be allowed to seize the initiative. The best way to remember Abu Ammar is to work to achieve his dream of an independent Palestinian state, living in peace and harmony with its neighbors.
