Have you ever heard of Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al- Qudwa al- Husseini? I don't think you have probably heard of this name! Anyways but I guess you have definitely heard of Yasser Arafat. Yes I am talking about Yasser Arafat. The long name in the first line is his full name although he is popularly known as Yasser Arafat.
Yasser Arafat was born on 24 August 1929 in Cairo to Palestinian parents. I would not go into his childhood history because I have something got to discuss. Yasser Arafat died on 11 November 2004.
In his lifetime he was quite popular not only nationally but internationally too. He was the Chairman of the Palestine Liberal Organization, President of the Palestinian National Authority, and leader of the Fatah political party which he founded in 1959. More interestingly, apart from being the Palestinian leader, Arafat was also a Laureate of the Nobel Prize.
Today he is no more with us in this beautiful world. But still he remains a controversial Middle Eastern political leader in the history.
Even today after his death he is considered by a section of the people as a 'legend' whereas there is another section of people who considers him as a 'terrorist'.
People who supported him saw him as a 'warrior', statesman, and peacemaker who was table the Palestinian issue in the world agenda and transform the Palestinian struggle into a legitimate fight for independence (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html).
According to Kofi Annan, Former United Nations (UN) Secretary General Arafat was a man who "expressed and symbolised in his person the national aspirations of the Palestinian people" (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html). Former French President, Jacques Chirac said Arafat was "a man of courage and conviction who for 40 years incarnated the Palestinians' fight for recognition of their national rights" (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html). Even, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin described late Arafat as "a great political leader of international significance." (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html)
However, there is another group of people who have already labelled him a a 'terrorist'. His opponents view him as a manipulative terrorist and authoritarian leader (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html). James Phillips, a Research Fellow in Middle Eastern affairs at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative US think tank, wrote in a 2004 commentary titled "Yasser Arafat's Disastrous Legacy," that "under Arafat's leadership the Palestinian Authority became corrupt, unaccountable, and dedicated to protecting Arafat's interests, rather than those of the Palestinian people." (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html).
But despite all the supports for and criticisms against Arafat, it is agreed by everyone that his ultimate impact on the Palestinian struggle is significant. The present Palestinian Hamas government although hailed the late President as an icon of unity and struggle (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html), but are yet locked in a political stalemate with the Fatah, the political party founded by Yasser Arafat.
People believes that all this wouldn't have happened if Arafat was alive today. During Arafat's lifetime he was able to stop the emergence of any alternative Palestinian leadership.
Even according to Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, "Arafat's death meant losing a symbolic leader committed to the Palestinian cause whether we agreed with him or not.”
Arafat was the leader of the longest- running revolutionary movement. Although his opponents believe the world is better without him, but despite internationally he being a stateless person, he was considered all over the world as a head of state, a great political leader of international significance and the charismatic founder of Palestinian nationalism.
And lastly, I would remind you that today is late Yasser Arafat's 6th death anniversary. The world did react to his death in Paris in 2004 with tears and gunshots; praise and condemnation.
Source:
Al Jazeera English <http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html>
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