Arafat ailment still a mystery

2004-10-29 21:42

Clamart - A diagnosis of the illness of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who was flown to France for treatment, will not be available for several days, said the representative in France of the Palestinian Authority on Friday.

"Doctors in the hospital treated Yasser Arafat within the first hours of his arrival," said Leila Shahid after Arafat was admitted to a French military hospital.

"He is in his room at the moment. The doctors are undertaking all necessary examinations to obtain a true diagnosis."

"We won't know much before the examinations are complete and that could take several days," Shahid told journalists outside the Percy de Clamart military hospital west of Paris.

She said the Palestinian leader had an "intestinal influenza", but declined further details.

'Happy to be in France'

"Yasser Arafat is very tired, but he is conscious and relieved to be here," she added.

"He has asked me to thank the French authorities and the hospital for receiving him so speedily. He is happy to be in France."

The Palestinian official said Arafat's wife, Soha, was with him: "She is relieved to know that he is the hands of the best doctors in France."

"The most-important thing for us is that he is being cared for, that he is obtaining a diagnosis and the best treatment, so that he can recover his strength, return to his people, and resume his tasks," she said.

Moved by France's gesture

"Not only he, but the whole Palestinian people are moved by France's gesture," Shahid added.

She said Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qorei had asked the French authorities to receive Arafat for treatment.

French President Jacques Chirac personally took the decision to admit the Palestinian leader for treatment in a French hospital after a sudden deterioration in Arafat's health, his staff said on Friday.

A doctor attending Arafat who did not wish to be named said the blood disorder which the Palestinian leader had was potentially fatal.

Arafat arrived on Friday afternoon at the Percy military hospital at Clamart near Paris after being flown from his headquarters at Ramallah on the West Bank.

Chirac explained his decision at a news conference in Rome, where he was attending the signing of the new European Union constitution by EU leaders.

"It was natural that France, land of refuge, would not question the right of the president of the Palestinian Authority to come for medical treatment in our country," he said.

The hospital at Percy was chosen for the treatment of Arafat because of the high quality of its haematology department.

- SAPA