South African President Thabo Mbeki will attend the funeral of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Friday, says Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
In a statement on Thursday, Mbeki joined the international community in expressing sorrow and a deep sense of sadness at the passing away “of that icon of the Palestinian struggle, President Yasser Arafat”.
Arafat died at the Percy Military Training hospital at Clamart, Paris, early on Thursday morning.
Mbeki said: “It is indeed difficult to accept that the greatest leader of the Palestinian people Yasser Arafat, with whom we have shared so many trials and tribulations, has ceased to lead.”
“History will record that President Arafat epitomised that rare breed of leaders whose lives were defined by the unflinching sacrifices they made in the noble and just cause of the struggle of their peoples.
“It will record that despite the hardship, suffering and pain imposed by trying circumstances that defined their lives, they continued to draw inspiration from the knowledge that the struggle for freedom offers the only hope out of the darkest times.
“It will record that he gave hope to millions of the downtrodden and despised, by instilling in them the knowledge and consciousness that despite current difficulties, they hold the gift of freedom in their hands.
“It is this legacy that President Arafat has bestowed upon millions of Palestinians that will continue to inspire his people to forge ahead with the struggle to establish a sovereign, independent Palestinian state co-existing peacefully, side by side, with an Israeli state,” said Mbeki.
“The government and people of South Africa will continue to lend a hand in working with the peoples and leadership of the region as well as the international community in the development of a comprehensive, just and lasting solution in the Middle East,” the president added.
Mbeki extended condolences to Suha, Arafat’s widow, as well as members of the bereaved family, the Palestinian National Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the people of Palestine.
Arafat a ‘long-standing comrade’
The ruling African National Congress has paid tribute to Arafat as “a freedom fighter who dedicated his life to the liberation of the Palestinian people”.
The party’s national spokesperson, Smuts Ngonyama, said he has learned “with sadness and regret of the death of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in Paris this [Thursday] morning”.
“Yasser Arafat will be remembered as a friend of the South African people and their struggle for democracy and freedom. The ANC will remember Arafat as a long-standing comrade, who closely identified with the South African liberation movement.
“The ANC extends its heartfelt condolences to the family and colleagues of Arafat, and in particular to the Palestinian people, who today have lost a dedicated leader.
“The ANC pledges to honour the memory of Arafat by doing whatever it can to support the achievement of a lasting and just peace in the Middle East.”
Cosatu sends condolences
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Wednesday said it joined the people of the world in mourning the passing of Arafat and sent condolences to his family and all the people of Palestine.
“They have lost a mighty leader. We dip our banners in honour of a great national liberation fighter — a symbol of resistance to colonialism, imperialism and dictatorship, both in Palestine and across the world.”
Cosatu added that since its launch in 1985, it has consistently supported the struggle of the Palestinian people, under Arafat’s leadership, for national sovereignty and independence.
“We have opposed the Israeli government’s oppressive policies and mourned the loss of so many lives in the resistance to assassinations, armed raids and the destruction of homes.”
The trade union said it will always remember when, on April 24 2002, the Palestine ambassador to South Africa, Salman el Herfi, addressed the Cosatu central executive committee.
“He painted a horrific picture of Israeli fighter planes, helicopter gunships and tanks destroying buildings, electricity and water systems, killing hundreds of Palestinians and injuring thousands — men, women and children.
“He told us how for weeks the government of President Yasser Arafat was blockaded in its headquarters in Ramallah, holed up like criminals instead of being treated like the internationally respected leaders of their people.”
Cosatu said it is a tragedy that Arafat will never see the day when the independent Palestine nation emerges, but it can be certain that his life and leadership will inspire present and future generations of Palestinians to drive forward their liberation struggle with even greater intensity.
The union federation called upon all its members and workers throughout the world to honour Arafat’s memory by rededicating themselves to the campaign of international solidarity, to force the Israeli government and its “United States backers” to stop their military incursions into Palestinian territories, withdraw all armed forces and “illegal settlements”, and recognise the independence and sovereignty of the nation of Palestine.
Dawn of a new era
Meanwhile, African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe said his party “would like to express its condolences to Mrs Arafat, his family and the Palestinian people at the death of their leader, Yasser Arafat”.
“We hope that his passing away will signal the dawn of a new era in the Middle East and that his successor will strive for renewed peace negotiations with Israel in order to effectively address the numerous difficulties faced by the people of that region,” said Meshoe.
“The ACDP still hopes that a solution will be found to ensure a peaceful co-existence between the Israelis and Palestinians,” added Meshoe.
Arafat was prepared to die
United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa said Arafat was a man who came across as one fighting for his people and who was prepared to die for them.
“Having visited Ramallah two years ago, I witnessed first-hand the horrible treatment meted out to Mr Arafat by his opponents.
“He came across as a man fighting for his people and who was prepared to die for them. He was a strong leader and refused to live in luxury whilst his people were suffering.
“Hopefully, his successors will be from the same mould. The incessant calls for Mr Arafat to renounce violence if he wanted freedom from his military-enforced imprisonment in Ramallah, came, ironically, from those who are the oppressors.
“In South Africa the apartheid regime used the same tactic of calling on Nelson Mandela to renounce violence if he wanted his freedom, despite the fact that they were the ones using overwhelming coercive military force.
“For a decade now the world has depended on a single superpower to resolve the Middle East question. The results have been unimpressive. It is time for the United Nations to assert its role and place this issue at the top of their agenda,” said Holomisa. — I-Net Bridge