Home>News Center>World
         
 

Arafat death draws mixed world reaction
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-11-11 22:08

Tears and gunshots, praise and condemnation marked the death of Yasser Arafat, whose fight for the Palestinian cause made him a towering and controversial figure on the world stage.

Arafat's death at a French hospital of an undisclosed illness was announced just as the sun was rising in the Middle East. In the teeming Palestinian refugee camps of Ein el-Hilweh and Mieh Mieh in southern Lebanon, burning tires spewed heavy black smoke and guerrillas fired into the air, rites of mourning that expressed frustration as well as sadness.

Houses on Ein el-Hilweh's streets and alleys were bedecked with Arafat's pictures, Palestinian flags and black banners. Arafat has strong loyalties in the camp, but also fierce rivals. Ein el-Hilweh, known for its lawlessness, is home to about 75,000 Palestinian refugees and their descendants who were displaced by war since the 1948 creation of Israel, and who had pinned hopes on Arafat's promises he would lead them home.

At Cairo University, the campus where Arafat earned an engineering degree decades ago, one student was moved to tears.

"Every leader has both mistakes and accomplishments," said 19-year-old Nadia, who gave only her first name. "I think he was a very kind person. His people loved him very much."

Egypt, which was to give Arafat a state funeral on Friday, and Jordan announced three days' mourning.

Egypt called him a "historic leader" who strove for "peace, security and stability." State-run Jordan radio and television replaced regular programming with recitations of Quranic verses interrupted only by hourly news bulletins.

Condolences came from as far away as China, where President Hu Jintao said Arafat was "an outstanding leader of the Palestinian cause."

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi praised Arafat's efforts on behalf of peace and his people, citing his signing of the 1993 Israel-PLO accord that gave him control of most of Gaza Strip and 27 percent of West Bank.

"Yasser Arafat spent his entire life for the Palestinian cause. We pray that his mission is completed after his death," Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Associated Press from Saudi Arabia, where he was performing the Muslim pilgrimage.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder credited Arafat with striving to lead the Palestinians to independence, regretting that "it was not granted to Yasser Arafat to complete his life's work."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Palestinians had suffered a heavy loss, and his Foreign Ministry called for the international community, Israel and the Palestinians to redouble peace efforts.

French President Jacques Chirac, who had visited Arafat days before his death, called him a "man of courage and conviction who, for 40 years, has incarnated the Palestinians' combat for recognition of their national rights."

Praise also came from the European Union, the Arab League and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said Arafat had "expressed and symbolized in his person the national aspirations of the Palestinian people."

Even Arafat's critics acknowledged his death was "a significant moment in Palestinian history," as President Bush put it. Bush, who had accused Arafat of blocking peace with Israel, expressed condolences to the Palestinian people.

"We hope that the future will bring peace and the fulfillment of their aspirations for an independent, democratic Palestine that is at peace with its neighbors," added Bush, the first U.S. president to publicly call for an independent Palestinian state.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, expressing his condolences to Arafat's family and to the Palestinian people and noting that Arafat was a Nobel Peace laureate, also looked ahead.

The "goal of a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel is one that we must continue to work tirelessly to achieve," Blair said in a statement read by a spokeswoman.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said history would judge Arafat harshly. Arafat could have helped secure Middle East peace by accepting a deal in 2000 that would have resulted in the Israelis "agreeing to about 90 percent of what the Palestinians had wanted," Howard said. Howard said he also found it hard to believe that Arafat could not have done more to restrain terrorists.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Nation likely to be 3rd largest trading power

 

   
 

Nutritional imbalance plagues people

 

   
 

Mine blast kills 33, injures 6 in Henan

 

   
 

Coal mining: Most deadly job in China

 

   
 

Shen and Zhao win Cup of China

 

   
 

Consumer price remains stable in October

 

   
  Police lose control of Mosul amid uprising
   
  Arafat buried in Chaotic scenes in West Bank
   
  U.S. may use Iraq meeting to engage Iran
   
  Bush vows second-term push for Palestinian state
   
  Dutch to withdraw troops from Iraq in March
   
  Haiti PM orders arrest warrant against Aristide
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Palestinians mourn death of Arafat
   
Sharon: Arafat's death may revive peace
   
US sees chance of peace hinging on Arafat successor
   
Passing of Arafat draws mixed reactions
   
Palestinian leaders to transfer Arafat powers
   
Hu sends condolences on Arafat's death
   
Arafat during his stay in Lebanon
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲精品欧美精品日韩精品| 在线欧美视频免费观看国产| 国产精品无码永久免费888| 亚洲美女免费视频| 67pao强力打造高清免费| 欧美成a人片在线观看| 国产精品资源一区二区| 亚洲另类无码专区丝袜| 国产精品www| 日本精品久久久久中文字幕 | 亚洲另类欧美日韩| 精品欧美日韩一区二区| 美女扒开内裤羞羞网站| 成人无码Av片在线观看| 冈本视频老版app下载安装进入口 再一深点灬舒服灬太大了视频 | 免费高清理伦片在线观看| 成人免费视频69| 日韩在线视频免费观看| 国产伦一区二区三区免费| 久久99精品久久久久久久久久| 羞羞漫画小舞被黄漫免费| 大胸喷奶水的www的视频网站| 亚洲精品不卡视频| 中午字幕在线观看| 欧洲精品码一区二区三区| 国产在线拍揄自揄视精品不卡| 中文字幕在线播放不卡| 欧美人与zoxxxx另类| 国产农村妇女毛片精品久久| 91最新高端约会系列178| 日韩精品第1页| 四虎影视永久地址www成人| 99在线小视频| 无码人妻久久一区二区三区免费 | 夜爽爽爽爽爽影院| 丰满熟妇乱又伦在线无码视频| 欧美xxxx狂喷水| 国产91精品不卡在线| 欧美bbbbbxxxxx| 国内精品在线视频| 一个人看的www在线高清小说|