Palestinians in tug-of-war over Arafat money

PARIS – Senior Palestinian officials headed for a showdown with the wife of Yasser Arafat yesterday as pressure mounted on her to lift the veil of secrecy she has imposed on the critically ill leader.

Suha Arafat refused to allow any access to her husband even after Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie, Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Secretary General Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Paris late on Monday to see him. But French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier increased pressure on her by noting President Jacques Chirac had visited her 75-year-old husband last week.”These are old friends of Yasser Arafat,” he told France 2 television.”I think it’s simply natural that, in accordance with her, they can meet Yasser Arafat.”Suha Arafat, 41, who is widely criticised by Palestinians for living in chic quarters in Paris while they endured violence at home, has hunkered down behind French privacy laws that give her ultimate control over information on her husband’s health.”Suha still opposes releasing information to the Palestinian leaders on Arafat’s health and has said she will not allow them to visit Arafat in the hospital,” a Palestinian official said.”She believes they are in Paris to strip Arafat of his powers.”The struggle between the Palestinian leadership and the woman Arafat married late in life has set off a whirlwind of rumours about the reasons for her intransigence.One concerns bank accounts she holds in France with transfers totalling 9 million euros (US$11,5 million).She has denied charges these funds were improperly diverted from Palestinian coffers in recent years.- Nampa-ReutersBut French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier increased pressure on her by noting President Jacques Chirac had visited her 75-year-old husband last week.”These are old friends of Yasser Arafat,” he told France 2 television.”I think it’s simply natural that, in accordance with her, they can meet Yasser Arafat.”Suha Arafat, 41, who is widely criticised by Palestinians for living in chic quarters in Paris while they endured violence at home, has hunkered down behind French privacy laws that give her ultimate control over information on her husband’s health.”Suha still opposes releasing information to the Palestinian leaders on Arafat’s health and has said she will not allow them to visit Arafat in the hospital,” a Palestinian official said.”She believes they are in Paris to strip Arafat of his powers.”The struggle between the Palestinian leadership and the woman Arafat married late in life has set off a whirlwind of rumours about the reasons for her intransigence.One concerns bank accounts she holds in France with transfers totalling 9 million euros (US$11,5 million).She has denied charges these funds were improperly diverted from Palestinian coffers in recent years.- Nampa-Reuters