People's Democracy

The occasion for such a rare sight was the inaugural session of the 17th Congress of the CPI(M) at Hyderabad on March 19, 2002. The two leaders were Mohammed Bakri, the Central Committee member of the Communist Party of Israel and senior PLO leader and Ambassador to India Dr Khalid Al Sheikh. Both were participating in the Party Congress as fraternal delegates.

Below is the text of the interview with Mohammed Bakri, Central Committee member of the Communist Party of Israel :

The Communist Party of Israel fully supports the just struggle of Palestinians for a homeland. They are the only people in the world who have not only been denied their homeland but subjected to inhuman terror by the Israeli occupation forces. The life of the Palestinian people in the occupied areas has become very miserable with the coming to power of the rightist criminal Arial Sharon. Today, the Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and Ramallah are being attacked by Israeli warplanes and helicopters. So inhuman has the Israeli government become that it is even attacking the ambulances and hospitals catering to the injured Palestinians. As a mark of solidarity, our Party has collected sugar, bread, medicines and ambulances for distribution among the Palestinian people in Ramallah. But the Israeli army prevented us from transporting these goods to Ramallah.

Even in 1967 when Israel occupied West Bank and Gaza we had stated very clearly that Israel should get out of these areas and a permanent resolution of the conflict can only be found with the formation of two states for the two peoples. That has not happened till date and, in a dangerous turn, the Sharon government is bent on driving out the Palestinians from these areas and annexing these territories. Our Party is against this. We feel that there can be no real peace in the Middle East unless there is an end to the occupation and formation of a sovereign Palestinian state.

What is the reaction of the Israeli people to Sharon's brinkmanship ?

Sharon came to power promising the people of Israel that he will provide security and peace to them. On both these counts he has not only failed miserably but also aggravated the situation. Today, people are asking where is the peace? Their eyes are opening now. They realise that it is the Israel and Palestinian people who are paying the price for Sharon's brinkmanship. The democratic sections of Israel are increasingly questioning and opposing Sharon's policies. This is reflected in the growing peace movement in Israel. The Democratic Party of Israel has joined with us in holding demonstrations against Sharon government's dangerous policies.

Out of the nearly 6 million population of Israel, Arabs number around 1 million. They do not enjoy even minimum basic rights. In a way they are treated as second class citizens. They cannot move from one place to another without permits. I, being a medical doctor, cannot practice in any good hospital because I am an Arab. I cannot visit my relatives living in Lebanon. The agricultural lands of the Arabs were taken away by the government. The Communist Party of Israel agitated against this discrimination and six of our people were killed in the Israeli police firing on during one such agitation.

The basic truth is that without American support Israel could not have occupied any of these territories and also hold onto them for so long. It could not have committed such blatant atrocities on an entire population. It can also be said that without American support to Israel , Palestinians could not have been denied their homeland for 50 long years. Their strong support for Israel is in lieu of safeguarding the US interests in this oil-rich region. That is why the US is so blatantly supporting all the terrorist acts of Israel government.

Military tanks, F-16's, Apache helicopter gunship attacks will hardly deter Palesetinian's determination to struggle for their homeland, says Dr. Khalid Al Sheikh, senior PLO leader and Ambassador to India. He made it absolutely clear that the resistance of the Palestinian people against the naked aggression of the Israeli government will continue untill their just demands are met. He lambasted the US for adopting double standards in implementation of UN Resolutions.

The nearly three and half decade continous Israeli attack on Palestine is putting the Palestinian people to lots of hardship. Their lives are becoming worse by the day. Israel is using its massive armoury for attacking civilian population in Palestine Authority areas, violating all international norms. But the Palestinian people are determined to face this onslaught. Israel and US are under an illusion that permanent peace can be established in the region by resort to military bulldozers. This will not be possible even under the leadership of war-criminal, Arial Sharon. The main purpose of these intensified attacks is to crush the growing resistance of the Palestinian people against Israeli occupation and undo whatever was achieved by the peace process. But no amount of agression will stop us from fighting for our independence and freedom. We are always ready for peace talks. We want justice. We want our homeland. We want an oppurtunity to enjoy internationally guaranteed legal rights. Anything less than this will force us to continue our resistance. Our demands are justified. The international community has approved our demands through UN resolutions. That is why we are ready to continue the fight for these demands as long as it takes.

It is a fact that Israel is America's child. Even before Israel was formed, the US had blocked all efforts of the Arab states to evolve Palestine into a complete State. Israel was created by the US to serve its hegemonic interests in this crucial region. Geographically, Israel links the three major regions of the world - Asia, Europe and Africa and is also strategically placed in the oil-rich Middle East. This is the same reason why the US and British imperialists have encouraged setting up of lackey Arab governments in the region. It is also the reason why the US has seen to it that Arab world does not develop and unite. So it would be foolish on our part to expect that today US will act in favour of Palestinians. Without the US support Israel could not have embarked on this naked aggression. According to unofficial estimates, the US helps Israel every year with a financial aid totaling $ 900 crores. The official figure is around $ 300 crores. One more fact is that the US has exercised its veto power in the UN 95 per cent of the time against Palestine and in favour of Israel. Some nations, under the economic pressure of US, have restored their diplomatic ties with Israel.

Coming to Arab nations, we have to recognise that there is a huge gap between the regimes and the people. Under pressure from the US, many governments are silently supporting Israel but the people are with the Palestinians. Unfortunately we are not receiving much financial aid from the Arab nations. Today there is no possibility of all Arab nations uniting against the US. If that could have happened, American hegemony in the region could be checked and the region would develop on its own. The recent studies revealed that Iraq has the largest oil reserves in the world and this is the reason why the US is presently targeting Iraq.

The majority of Palestinians had supported the Oslo peace process. They believed Palestine could regain its rights as a result of this process. That is why after a long drawn struggle for our demands, we signed the peace agreement in 1993. But ten years later there is no change in our situation. Now, an opinion is gaining among the people that we may not be able to achieve our demands through the peace process. The Oslo agreement ended in 1999 but till date we do not have a homeland. Should we throw up our hands and surrender before Israel ? We want peace. We are not that cruel as to throw our people into perennial violence. However we want justice on an honourable, internationally recognised legal basis.

Every nation functions within an agreed international framework. Israel is not adhering to even this and the US is turning a blind eye. On the one hand US is attacking many nations citing the UN resolutions but on the other hand it is not at all enforcing this principle when it comes to Israel. Why? There is a need to expose the double standards of the US in this regard.

We have a message for the US, Israel and the world in general - as long as Palestine issue is burning there will be no peace in the region and the world. Israel also cannot develop as long as this issue remains unsettled.

We want peace of the brave not that of the cowards. The recent events have sparked off thinking among the Israeli people also. They are recognising the fact that there cannot be peace unless Palestine issue is settled. The Palestinian people are left with no choice but to carry on the resistance.

We should see this question in a larger perspective. The "axis of evil" theory propounded by the US is part of its new strategy for achieving total world domination. All those who oppose it will now be branded as "terrorists" and dealt with accordingly. And the list constituting this axis will keep on expanding, as and when necessary. Bush is trying to achieve full spectrum dominance for the US in the world. All democratic and like minded nations of the world must unite to fight against this danger and to save the world from catastrophic wars.

India has been extending both diplomatic and political support to our struggle. It has also regularly given statements in favour of Palestine cause. However, given its standing in the world, we feel India can do more to help us. The present Indian government has good relations with the Israel government and that should be used to nudge them towards achieving peace in the region. Ultimately the instability and violence in the middle east has a bearing on India too because of its extensive financial, political and social links with the region. We request India to play a more active role for achieving peace in the region.

The European nations have been clear in their political stand. They have given statements against Israeli aggression and in favour of the Palestinian cause. But more than anything their financial support to us is of great value. They are helping us liberally in many big projects. The public opinion in these countries is also favouring us. We think that the pressure of these countries is holding back Sharon from launching an all out war against Palestine. In fact the people of Israel are also fed up with the Sharon government. After riding to power on the promise of providing peace and stability, he has utterly failed in delivering his promise. The Israeli people are today realising that without finding a solution to the Palestinian problem there can be no peace in the region. We hope all these positive factors will lead to resolving of this issue forever.