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Arafat family thankful for support

ABU DHABI — Touched by the support and care they received during their grief, the family of late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat expressed their thanks to the international community, particularly France, for the support extended to them not only during Arafat’s stay at the French hospital but also after his death.

“We are deeply touched by the support and care we received from everyone from all parts of the world. We are particularly grateful to the French government, led by President Jacques Chirac, who also pledged full support to the Palestinians,” Dr Mohsen Arafat, younger brother of the late Palestinian leader said, speaking on behalf of his family.

He said Chirac’s statement after the demise of Arafat showed his country’s respect to the Palestinian leader and its understanding of the Palestinian cause.

The world mourned Arafat’s death, as many consider him as father of Palestinian nation, a great fighter and a martyr. Leaders around the world saluted his devotion to the Palestinian cause as several Arab and Muslim countries declared days of mourning.

At a brief ceremony in Paris, French President led the tributes, calling Arafat “a man of courage and conviction who for 40 years incarnated the Palestinians’ fight for recognition of their national rights.” Mr Chirac extended his sympathy to Arafat’s family. “The respects he paid to our brother befitted a head of state,” Dr Arafat stated.

Denying reports that he discussed with French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier the issue of the health dossier of his late brother, which France has handed over to the late Palestinian leader’s nephew Nasser Al Kidwa, Dr Arafat, an Abu Dhabi-based dental surgeon, said what he meant was that the French government was pushing ahead with its efforts towards peace and it would be wiser for “us now to dedicate those efforts to accomplish the unfinished mission of our late leader and turn his dream of establishing an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital into reality.

“France government’s stance was very supportive of the Palestinian cause and the peace process. The French officials, led by Mr Chirac and Mr Barnier, pledged from the very outset that they would continue to support the Palestinian people.