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PLO: 'Armed chaos' must stop
19/11/2004 13:55 - (SA)
Gaza City - Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO)leader Mahmud Abbas stepped up calls on Friday to end "armed chaos" in the occupied territories, as the new Palestinian leadership prepares the ground for presidential elections in January.
During a week-long visit to the Gaza Strip, expected to end on Saturday, Abbas has been locked in talks with faction leaders and security chiefs ahead of the New Year poll to find a successor to Yasser Arafat in the New Year.
Speaking to Voice of Palestine radio, he called for an end to the "armed chaos" in the territories, echoing an identical call lodged a day earlier by prime minister Ahmed Qorei.
Continued lawlessness is "in the interests of no one," he said, also citing the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory as the biggest obstacle to holding the leadership election, scheduled for January 9.
Looking towards elections
"The Palestinian leadership has opened contacts with different countries so that the obstacles, particularly the occupation, be eliminated so that the election can go ahead normally."
Abbas is expected to wrap up talks in Gaza on Saturday, ahead of the intended arrival of outgoing United States Secretary of State Colin Powell for two days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials on Sunday.
Fears that Arafat's death last week could worsen the already fragile security situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were underlined on Sunday when gunmen opened fire inside a mourning tent for the late Palestinian leader.
The gunfight erupted shortly after Abbas, Arafat's replacement as Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman arrived on the scene.
"Armed chaos must cease, armed demonstrations must cease. Everybody must respect law and order," Qorei said after meeting MPs from the Gaza Strip and various leftist groups on Thursday.
Similarly, the Fatah central committee issued a statement calling for "rapidly putting an end to the security chaos."
Stop hate propaganda
Although Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday reiterated calls for the new leadership to put an "end to terrorism" and "disarm the terrorist groups," he conceded it was a "complex process" that could not be completed overnight.
Instead, he called for an "immediate stop to hate propaganda on Palestinian television and in other media," which his spokesperson said on Friday was "some kind of right of passage for the new Palestinian leadership". But so far his track record on security has been marginal. He resigned as Arafat's first prime minister in September 2003, after a bruising row with the late leader on trying to reform the sprawling Palestinian security apparatus.
During his brief stint as premier, he also failed to persuade militants to lay down their weapons. Despite securing an agreement among factions to halt anti-Israeli attacks, the ceasefire broke down after just seven weeks.
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