Between Israeli interference in Palestinian electorate process via the Israeli Palestinian Liaison Committee which gave, Israel veto power of who could run, and Arafat jailing and torturing Palestinian dissidents to protect his autocracy. And the US brokers who quite frankly were, then as now, brokering from an Israeli security standpoint; it becomes clear that little about that process had much to do with the Palestinian's right to self determine, thier plight, their cause, or their soverignty. Sadly I am not sure much has changed since then. With Sharon at the helm in Israel and the same Palestinian couple at the helm within a PA that is now in shambles, to say nothing of the greed of our present US admin; one might argue their has been further erosion to any hope of reconciliation if all continues on the this current track which IMHO, seems is headed toward transfer, though or course I refrain from any final conculsions.
Abbas was there back than too, standing behind Arafat rather than in front of him. He is not even a lawyer and while at first I thought he was going to work within the construct of Israeli and Western restrictions, I felt he understood the Cause of his people. Now I am not sure anymore as he is not jumping off the page in any real charasmatic way. He seems to be making demands, but they tend to be without vision or are they specific to a solution wholely in solidarity with is own people. Or at least within the restraint he is placed under it becomes increasingly harder to tell. Yes, he does seem to be taking cues from Arafat, but I am not convinced he himself has ironed out any strong course or direction.
Because of the disproporation balance of power exhurted over the Palestinians in this conflict, and the matrix or control tactics exhurted by the occupation, the palestinian Leadership most mobilize in away that begins to unify the people behind non-violent means, instill hope with vision to a people whose cultural identity has been undermined. Abbas must find a way (and no so much on Arafat's say. I am not sure Arafat is capable) to begin to address his people so that their solidarity is of the utmost focus from his side of the negotiating table, not just Israel's security.
Rather than to repeat myself. Although upon rereading it, I would thrush it out further, I wrote this somewhere else:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=34612&mesg_id=34827&page=I would add that Abbas must begin to address outwardly the challenges and obstacles before him as posed from the inside and from the outside. It is a deep subject, and while one article certainly cannot address the magnitude of it, the below article which was written during the Oslo process, does stand true today.
It is analysis from a Palestinian perspective, which I feel loathe to say, as I almost feel I should apologize for placing it in anticipation of the kind of reception I fear it will receive. I am familiar with the usual denigration this particular Palestinian author tends to receive. I have read Weiner's baseless accusations, as well as various Rebuttals to it.
So please let us not waste time going round and round with those arguments, because the Author has dedicated his life to this subject. He is prolific and has much astute criticism, analyses, and historic perspective to offer in regard to Palestinian corruption, Israeli control, as well as the heartfelt understanding of the Palestinian Cause, which is admirable, heroic, and too be expected, as what perspective should he speak on? His is as verifiable and as valid as all others present within this debate, and sometimes more so. We can not escape the fact that Israel and the US must release a bit the strangulation that has been of great harm and damage to the Palestinain identity as well as the emergence of Palestinian unity or a true nationalistic Palestinian process and pride. Enough with this prolonged introduction.
snip
Take as a simple case in point the current Palestinian case, where the failures seem the most glaring and the remedies more easily at hand than anyone has suspected. We have been saddled with poor leadership ever since I can remember, and still we persist in supporting the same bankrupt group through all its mistakes and disasters. On the other hand, we pride ourselves on the many successes of our people -- doctors, lawyers, engineers, entrepreneurs, businessmen, intellectuals, academics, artists. We claim that we want statehood and independence, yet none of the most basic institutions of statehood are in anyone's mind. There is no basic law where the Palestinian Authority rules today, the result of one man's whim not to approve such a law, in flagrant defiance of the Legislative Assembly. Our universities are in an appalling state, starved for money, desperately run and administered, filled with professors who struggle to make a living but have not done a stroke of research or independent work in years. We also have a large and impressive group of extremely wealthy businesspersons who have simply not grasped that the essential thing for any people is a massive investment in education, the construction of a national library, and the endowment of the entire university structure as a guarantee that as a people we will have a future. I have attended meetings for almost twenty years in which hundreds of little projects are funded, but without a central vision of what it is that as a society we need. The absence of a collective end to which all are committed has crippled Palestinian efforts not just in the official realm, but even among private associations, where personality conflicts, outright fights, and disgraceful backbiting hamper our every step.
end snip
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/1948/360_said.htm
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