U.S. President George W. Bush stepped up pressure on the Palestinians on Wednesday to remove Yasser Arafat, threatening to hold up new financial aid until they embrace reform and sever ties to terrorism.
"I've got confidence in the Palestinians, when they understand fully what we're saying, that they'll make the right decisions," Bush said. But Bush warned: "I can assure you, we won't be putting money into a society which is not transparent and corrupt, and I suspect other countries won't either."
According to Reuters, a senior administration official said U.S. concerns over corruption had already slowed the flow of assistance to the Palestinian people. The United States currently provides about $100 million annually.
While humanitarian aid such as food and medicine can continue, the official said Bush made clear "new resources" were conditioned on Palestinian reforms. "We're not prepared to see funding go down a black hole," the official said.
The threat came as key U.S. allies meeting in the Canadian Rockies resort of Kananaskis expressed little enthusiasm for Bush's call for replacing the Palestinian president with new leaders. Canada voiced concern at Bush's hard-line stance on Arafat. "I don't think it's appropriate to say whether he's fit or unfit," Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham said in a television interview.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, like Bush, said he was frustrated with Arafat. "We've got to have leadership we can negotiate with that is serious about peace and resists and totally rejects terrorism," Blair said.
But he added: "It's for the Palestinians to elect the people that they choose to elect... So this is not a question of us going in and saying to the Palestinians, 'Look, we're going to run your election.'"
Bush, asked who would judge whether the Palestinians have fulfilled his demands for reform, said: "The free world. The people who are going to be asked to put up money."
"I'm never ruling out military. All options are available," said Bush when asked if the U.S. doctrine on fighting terror applied to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. "But in this case... the tool I'm using is diplomatic pressure to work with our friends and allies to convince all parties they have a responsibility to bear." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
