"NOYB" wrote in message
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"JimH" wrote in message
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"John H" wrote in message
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The Palestinians are catching on. The Syrians seem to be hearing the
message.
Putin got the message. The Word is spreading...


washingtonpost.com
Palestinians Signal Break With Arafat Era
Lawmakers Approve Cabinet Heavy on Young Technocrats and Reformers

By Samuel Sockol and John Ward Anderson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, February 25, 2005; Page A15

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb. 24 -- The Palestinian parliament on Thursday
approved
a new cabinet composed largely of reformers and technocrats after
forcing Prime
Minister Ahmed Qureia to dump an entrenched group of Yasser Arafat
loyalists.

With a few exceptions, the 24-member cabinet is made up of men with
little
experience in elective office, unlike the old cabinet and alternative
lists for
the new one informally floated this week by Qureia, which were drawn
mostly from
members of parliament and stalwarts of Arafat's Fatah movement, the
dominant
organization in the Palestinian Authority.

Qureia, a member of Fatah who was appointed prime minister by Arafat 15
months
ago, was forced to accept the wholesale shake-up by a newly independent
and
assertive Palestinian Legislative Council. Lawmakers, after years of
subservience in which they simply rubber-stamped cabinets stacked with
Arafat
cronies, exercised their oversight powers for the first time and forced
real
change on the Palestinian Authority's executive branch.

Even members of Fatah, which controls about two-thirds of the
legislature's
seats, turned against Qureia and his proposals for a limited cabinet
shuffle.
Seemingly liberated by the death of Arafat three months ago, and with an
eye
toward parliamentary elections in July, lawmakers across the board
demanded a
major housecleaning.

"It was important to raise a voice clearly against anyone who does not
want to
change and develop," said Mufid Abed Rabbo, a member of parliament from
Fatah's
wing of young reformers. "It was necessary to say no to the old path,
and
therefore it was agreed upon to have a cabinet of technocrats."

In forcing the overhaul, lawmakers said they were reacting to public
demands to
purge corrupt cabinet ministers, professionalize the government and
expedite
reforms, especially the training of security forces and the
consolidating of 12
security agencies. Lawmakers said the new cabinet underscored their
dedication
to reform in advance of a 25-nation conference in London next week that
will
focus on strengthening Palestinian political institutions.

The power struggle over the cabinet played out over the past three days
as
Qureia, who as prime minister has strongly defended the political status
quo and
initiated few changes, informally floated several lists but never
proposed a new
cabinet to parliament because it was clear he did not have the votes.
Threatened
with a no-confidence vote that could have cost him his job, Qureia
finally
relented and stripped the cabinet of most holdovers from the Arafat era.

The new cabinet, approved 54 to 10 with four abstentions, includes seven
ministers from the old cabinet and 17 newcomers. Eleven of the ministers
have
doctorates, and three are engineers.

Maj. Gen. Nasser Yusef was named interior minister, while Mohammed
Dahlan,
formerly a senior security official in Gaza, was made civil affairs
minister.
Both are strong advocates of reform and were often at odds with Arafat.
Salam
Fayyad, a respected former official with the International Monetary
Fund,
retained his position as finance minister.

Arafat's nephew, Nasser Kidwa, the Palestinian ambassador to the United
Nations,
was named foreign minister, replacing Nabil Shaath, who was made deputy
prime
minister and information minister. Negotiations minister Saeb Erekat,
one of the
best-known Palestinian spokesmen for more than a decade, lost his
cabinet post
but remains the Palestinians' chief negotiator with Israel.

"This is a transitional government," Shaath said after the vote. "The
public
wanted to test some younger people, but these younger people will have
some of
the older people with them" to provide continuity, he said. "But the
majority
are new, so rejuvenation is the name of the game."

Anderson reported from Jerusalem.



John H

On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD,
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary
to resolve it."
Rene Descartes

Indeed. Good things are happening across the globe, most especially in
the Middle East. And we can thank GWB for it.

This could have happened way back in 1991...but Bush 41 was afraid to back
the Shiite and Kurd uprising in Iraq, despite publicly encouraging them to
do so.

Bush 43 has certainly sent a strong message that he means what he
says...and the silent majority in the Arab world believes him as is
starting to get bolder and bolder.

"As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you."

Even more good news from the Middle East:


Egypt's Mubarak Orders Election Changes

42 minutes ago

By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF, Associated Press Writer

CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday ordered a
revision of the country's election laws and said multiple candidates could
run in the nation's presidential elections, a scenario Mubarak hasn't faced
since taking power in 1981.

The surprise announcement, a response to critics' calls for political
reform, comes shortly after historic elections in Iraq and the Palestinian
territories, balloting that brought a taste of democracy to the region. It
also comes amid a sharp dispute with the United States over Egypt's arrest
of one of the strongest proponents of multi-candidate elections.


"The election of a president will be through direct, secret balloting,
giving the chance for political parties to run for the presidential
elections and providing guarantees that allow more than one candidate for
the people to choose among them with their own will," Mubarak said in an
address broadcast live on Egyptian television.


Mubarak - who has never faced an opponent since becoming president after the
1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat - said his initiative came "out of my full
conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and
democracy."


The audience before him at Menoufia University broke into applause and calls
of support, some shouting, "Long live Mubarak, mentor of freedom and
democracy!" Others spontaneously recited verses of poetry praising the
government.


Mubarak said he asked parliament and the Shura Council to amend Article 76
of the constitution, which deals with presidential elections. Egyptian
television reported that the two bodies convened emergency sessions to begin
discussing an amendment.


He said the amendment would be put to a general public referendum before the
presidential polls, which are scheduled for September.


As recently as last month Mubarak had rejected opposition demands to open
presidential balloting to other candidates, and he was obviously aware of
the historic potential of his announcement.


"If it happens, it would be the first time in the political history of Egypt
that a chance is given to somebody who is capable of shouldering the
responsibility to protect the people's achievements and future security to
come forward for presidential elections with parliamentary and popular
support," he said.


Egypt holds presidential referendums every six years in which people vote
"yes" or "no" for a single candidate who has been approved by parliament.
Mubarak has been nominated by his ruling National Democratic Party to stand
in four presidential referendums, winning more than 90 percent of the vote
each time.


Mubarak has not officially announced his candidacy for a fifth term, though
he is widely expected to be nominated by his ruling party.


Several opposition leaders have demanded that Mubarak amend the constitution
to let more than one candidate compete for the presidency. In recent
meetings between opposition groups and the government, it was agreed that an
amendment would be discussed after September's presidential referendum,
making Mubarak's announcement even more surprising.


The move also comes amid a dispute between Egypt and the United States over
the recent detention of an opposition leader.


Ayman Nour, head of the Al-Ghad Party, was detained Jan. 29 on allegations
of forging nearly 2,000 signatures to secure a license for his party last
year. He has rejected the accusation, and human rights groups have said his
detention was politically motivated.


The prosecutor general has denied that charge.


His detention has been strongly criticized by Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice \, and Rice canceled a Mideast visit that had been planned for next
week, a decision believed to be in protest of Nour's detention.


Hafez Abu Saada, director of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights,
praised Mubarak's "unexpected step," which he said reflected local, regional
and international pressure.


"It is an important step that gives the Egyptian society a strong push for
more freedom and democracy," he said.

Activist Aida Seif el-Dawla was tentative in her praise.

"This concession is made to the United States of America. It is better for
him (Mubarak) if this decision came as a result of the national dialogue
with the opposition parties and in response to the protests against the
law," she said. "Let us wait and see, because a free campaign of more than
one candidate requires more than a statement from the president."