09 May 2002
Bush Says "Time Will Tell" if Arafat Acts Effectively Against Terror
(President denies endorsing replacement of Palestinian leader) (990)
By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File White House Correspondent
Washington -- President Bush says only time will tell if Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat will rout out terrorism and lead the
Palestinian people to a better future.
Speaking with reporters at the White House May 9, Bush repeated what
he had said the evening before: that he was pleased that Arafat had
spoken on television in Arabic against terrorism, following the most
recent suicide bombing in Israel.
Asked by a reporter if he had any confidence that members of the Hamas
terrorist organization arrested by the Palestinian Authority in
connection with that attack will stay in jail, Bush said, "We'll have
to see. I said I was pleased that Chairman Arafat spoke in Arabic
against terrorism. That's good. That's a positive development. Now
it's up to Chairman Arafat to perform, to keep them in jail; arrest
them and keep them in jail. In order for there to be peace, we must
rout out terror. And the answer to your question, time will tell."
Bush denied the accuracy of news reports alleging that in his
conversations in the Oval Office May 7 with Israel's Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon he had said he is not against the idea of moving Arafat
out of a position of power in a reformed Palestinian Authority as long
as Arafat is neither hurt nor exiled.
"No, it's not" accurate, Bush said when asked about the report. "No,
it's not an accurate reflection of what went on in the Oval Office, as
the Secretary of State has made clear -- who was in the meeting as
well."
"What is an accurate reflection of my opinion is that Mr. Arafat has
let the Palestinian people down," Bush said. "He hasn't led. And as a
result, the Palestinians suffer and my heart breaks for the
Palestinian moms and dads who wonder whether or not their children are
going to be able to get a good education and whether or not there's
going to be a job available for their children," Bush said.
"And one of the things that we did talk about was how to put
institutions in place so that a potential Palestinian state can be a
peaceful neighbor with Israel," Bush said.
"Reforms, such as making sure there is a single command security force
that can be held accountable for arresting terrorists; reforms such as
having a kind of economic system that would help promote rule of law
and defeat corruption; reform so that if there is ever a rebuilding
campaign -- which we've expressed an interest in doing and the
Europeans have -- that the money is actually spent on the projects
that we intend them to be spent on. And that's what we did discuss."
Earlier, at his daily briefing, White House Press Secretary Ari
Fleischer said the May 8 statement in Arabic by Arafat to his people
denouncing the most recent suicide bombing against Israel "was a
positive statement" and President Bush "was pleased to hear it."
"This is one of the responsibilities on the Palestinian Authority that
the president spoke about in his Rose Garden address on April 4th,"
Fleischer said. "And so the president viewed the chairman's statements
as positive. The president will continue to watch," the press
secretary said.
Bush "believes very strongly that the Palestinian people deserve a
state, that they deserve a country. The end of the vision, the
Palestinian people deserve a right to live side by side with Israel,"
Fleischer said.
"In order to make that vision a reality, in order to do so faster, the
president is looking to the Palestinian people and officials in the
Palestinian Authority to take the actions that are worthy of a
potential country.
"And those actions are dedication to rule of law, transparency, a
fight against corruption, the very simple and reasonable things that
all reasonable minded people around the world look to from potential
countries or potential leaders to create stability in violent
regions."
Asked if Arafat can provide that kind of leadership, Fleischer said
"it's not the United States's job to pick who leads the Palestinian
people."
But, Fleischer added, "that's going to be a very interesting issue.
And it is something only Yasser Arafat can answer, and there are many
other people in the Palestinian Authority, I think, who have opinions
about that matter who are worth listening to. And the Palestinian
people certainly want to know what the answer to that question is."
"The best way to help the Palestinian people," the press secretary
said, "is to have a Palestinian Authority that is concerned about the
people and takes action for the people."
Referring to the most recent suicide bombings in Israel, Fleischer
said that "from the president's point of view, there clearly are
people who are out to undermine any prospect for peace in the Middle
East. The president understands that. And the president will not be
deterred. And that is one of the reasons that I've warned throughout
this process that this process is going to be lengthy; it will require
patience from the American people; it would also be a process where
some days progress will be made, other days there will be setbacks.
Clearly, this homicide bombing was a setback."
Asked about reported Israeli military movement toward Gaza in
retaliation for the latest suicide bombing in Israel, Fleischer noted
that Israel is an independent nation that forms its own policies.
However, he made clear that the United States' message to Israel is
always "to be very mindful of its responsibilities to protect peace in
the region and work toward a vision of peace. And that's the
president's message to Israel," he said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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