Commend Al Jazeera

The following article from AL JAZEERA deserves to be read and COMMENDED (YES, YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY). It is an expose of Arafat’s misappropriation of Palestinian funds to his personal bank accounts, and a call to the Arab world to wake up and take a closer look at what’s going on. Two specific quotes that deserve particular notice are:

1. “Why is it Israel's fault that Palestinians live on $2 a day* - when it is now so clear where all the international aid has gone? “

2. “Every time a paper publishes ANYTHING about Arafat's money, we should be asking - Why do you only wake up when Arafat goes into a coma? Where were you? Do the rest of Arafat's cronies who live off theft and corruption have to go into a coma before you will notice their extraordinary wealth?”

It is a tremendously hopeful sign to see this type of introspection going on in the Arab press. Please follow the link below and read some of the reader comments from all over the world.

Make sure to send your comments (via the link) and letters of commendation to editor@aljazeera.com.

Sample Letter: (Please DO NOT copy this letter verbatim. Use it as a general guideline.)

Thank you for your Nov. 1^st article The Fight for Arafat’s Fortune Begins. You have done a tremendous public service by informing your readers of the ugly truth behind the myth that was Yassir Arafat and by exposing the depth and breadth of his corruption. You have also raised the credibility of Al Jazeera several notches in my estimation. Keep up the honest work!

Sincerely,

Sources close to the Palestinian leadership said a bitter fight had broken out over who should control the ailing leader's fortune estimated to be between $4.2 billion and $6.5 billion.

Sources said Arafat has written a will transferring control of his assets to members of his wife's family. Some of his aides, including former Premier Mahmoud Abbas who has stepped in as interim leader, however, believe the fortune belongs to the "beit al-mal" (public treasury), and should be transferred to the Palestinian Authority. The controversy started last week when Suha, Arafat's wife, asked Muhammad Rashid, Arafat's confidant and adviser, to prepare a list of the ailing leader's fortune. According to Palestinian sources Rashid has said he would furnish the list only to the Palestinian Authority.

Identifying Arafat's personal fortune and separating it from numerous secret bank accounts that he maintains in the name of the Palestine Liberation Orgaization and Al-Fatah is no easy task.

According to Jean-Claude Robard, a Swiss investment adviser, Arafat opened his first secret bank account in 1965 with a $50,000 check from the emir of Kuwait. Since then he has set up other accounts in Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands.

Arafat also owns a number of hotels and holiday resorts in Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, and Austria. He is the main shareholder in two cellular telephone companies operating in Tunisia and Algeria.

Some of Arafat's businesses are in partnership with Arab politicians, former officials and entrepreneurs, including Rifaat Assad, a brother of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad, and Barzan Al-Takriti, a half-brother of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Al-Takriti is now under arrest in Baghdad.

Arafat has around $4 - $5 billion of PA money. Where did it come from? Why does Europe have to keep sending money? Why is it Israel's fault that Palestinians live on $2 a day* - when it is now so clear where all the international aid has gone? *Christian Aid statistics

If, however, you believe Suha that it is "personal" money - without asking where it came from - why does the PA send $100,000 from its EU funded budget to Suha each month? Why did the EU stand for this?

Every time a paper publishes ANYTHING about Arafat's money, we should be asking - Why do you only wake up when Arafat goes into a coma? Where were you? Do the rest of Arafat's cronies who live off theft and corruption have to go into a coma before you will notice their extraordinary wealth?