RAMALLAH Ñ Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat faces a new opposition
movement established by a pro-Western former aide.
Former Arafat aide Bassam Abu Sharif has announced the formation of a
new political party termed the Palestinian Democratic Party. He said the
party will represent "constructive opposition" to Arafat and focus on the
reconstruction of Palestinian society and the establishment of a Palestinian
state alongside Israel.
"Numerous mistakes were committed in the past," Abu Sharif said. "There
was no transparency. Often, the right man was not in the right position."
Sharif was Arafat's leading spokesman and a key aide in the 1980s.
Sharif left Arafat in wake of the 1991 Gulf war in a dispute over whether
the Palestinians should support the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
A former leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
Sharif said his movement will run in any election. He said his party seeks
an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip with Palestinian
recognition of Israel within its pre-1967 borders.
The former Arafat aide said his party's agenda is part of the PLO's
stated goal for the liberation of Palestine. Sharif said his new movement is
committed to the PLO's political platform.
Sharif did not discuss the funding of his movement. He is regarded as
being close to the United States although he has not been politically active
in years.
In a related development, a key Arafat aide is said to have submitted
his resignation. Palestinian Legislative Council chief Ahmed Qurei resigned
last month in wake of Arafat's refusal to present his new government for
approval by the legislature.
PA officials said Qurei presented his resignation to Arafat but the PA
chairman rejected it. Qurei is said to be suffering from a heart condition
and has been in Paris undergoing treatment.
