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The word is spreading...
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 |
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