Suha Arafat calls the shots

2004-11-08 15:49

Ramallah - Palestinians used to dismiss Yasser Arafat's wife, Suha, as a spoilt socialite who chose life in Paris over standing by her husband's side in his besieged West Bank headquarters.

Now, Mrs Arafat - after rushing from Paris to Ramallah to be by her husband's side when it became apparent he was gravely ill - has suddenly emerged as a major player in the succession struggle.

In a one-minute-long telephone call to the Arab satellite television network, Al-Jazeera early on Monday, she set off a political storm and made public the behind-the-scenes power struggle that has been brewing since her husband fell ill last month.

Suha Arafat - who until now remained largely outside the political scene - forced Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and the PLO's number two, Mahmoud Abbas, to postpone their trip to Paris by accusing them of conspiring to "bury" her husband "alive."

They rescheduled their trip for later on Monday.

Tayeb Abdel Rahim, a senior Arafat aide, called an urgent news conference early on Monday to publicly declare the anger of the Palestinian leadership over Mrs Arafat's remarks.

"What came from Mrs Arafat doesn't represent our people," he said, accusing Mrs Arafat of "wanting to destroy the Palestinian leadership's decision and to be the lone decision maker".

Palestinian officials, the Israeli media and analysts blamed Suha Arafat for the fog surrounding her husband's health condition, saying her silence has created a vacuum that has been filled by a slew of rumours.

West Bank Palestinians have sarcastically dubbed her Arafat "Madame Susu" because of her control over the flow of information out of Paris.

Since Arafat's hospitalisation 10 days ago in a military hospital outside Paris, his wife has largely controlled access to the 75-year-old symbol of Palestinian national aspirations.

In recent days, Mrs Arafat has aligned herself with Palestinian officials opposed to the current leadership, including Abbas, Palestinian officials said.

She's found herself in a common position with the PLO's hard-line foreign affairs chief, Farouk Kaddoumi, who opposed the 1993 interim peace accords that led to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority.

The hard-line group appears to be jockeying for control of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the most powerful and influential Palestinian body.

Some analysts said Suha Arafat, who has received a generous monthly stipend from her husband and is under investigation by French authorities for the alleged illegal transfers of $11.4m into her accounts, is elbowing into the Palestinian political scene, but it remained unclear why.

"It appears to be a kind of conflict over money and properties, because Suha has no political position in the Palestinian system," said Palestinian newspaper commentator Hani Masri. However, it is also possible she is planning a political putsch, he said.

- AP