People's Democracy

LEFT SALUTES COMRADE ARAFAT

Memorial Meet Reiterates Support To Palestine Cause

IN A well attended memorial meeting, leaders of Left parties remembered Comrade Yasser Arafat by expressing their continued support with the Palestinian people’s just struggle for their homeland.  The meeting called upon the Congress-led UPA government at the centre to reverse the previous BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government’s bonhomie relationship with Israel.

The meeting organised at the Constitution Club by four Left parties – CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Block – saw attendance from the student, to the teacher to the worker and artist, all rubbing shoulders in their Red salute to the departed Comrade Arafat.

Addressing the gathering, CPI(M) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet recalled different facets of the struggle led by Arafat and the close bonds between Indian leaders and Arafat and the Palestinian cause.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury who had attended the funeral of Arafat called him the true mass leader of the Arab world amidst many rulers. He reminded the audience that it was one of the biggest gatherings of world leaders assembled in Cairo. “The best tribute  would be to continue to support the Palestinian movement till its aim of a free state was realised.” he stressed.

The Palestinian ambassador to India, Musa, in his homage to Comrade Arafat said the Palestine people will continue their fight till their homeland was free. “And free it will be one day”.

The speakers at the meeting charged the previous BJP-led NDA government of ignoring the sentiments of the Indian people and betraying the Palestinians by cementing ties with Israel, particularly ensuring new heights are reached in the ties in the field of defence. A few even recalled BJP leader Jaswant Singh’s sojourn of bonhomie in Israel. The NDA government broke the record of successive Indian governments which extended support to the freedom movement of the Palestinians against Israeli occupation, they said.

Terming the Palestinian movement as one of the oldest and longest freedom struggles in the world, the Left leaders said it was in 1938 that Mahatma Gandhi denounced the illegal occupation of Arab land. Since then India had always stood behind the Palestinians who were fighting for their freedom. Even the UPA government’s Common Minimum Progrmme supported the Palestinian movement, they said and cautioned against any deviation from the spirit of the CMP in this regard.

Even after the United Nation’s resolution on the Palestinian issue, Israel, with the support of imperialist forces such as the United States and the United Kingdom, never allowed freedom to the Palestinians. The citizens of Palestine are living under Israeli occupation and being subjected to all kind of human rights violations and sufferings. India would continue to support Palestinian till they were free, the leaders said.

Among the leaders who addressed the meeting included A B Bardhan and D Raja of CPI and Abani Roy of RSP and Debabrata Biswas of the Forward Bloc. (INN)