Editorial:

A symbol of the struggle against tyranny

Yasser Arafat died a hero and martyr of the Palestinian 
people. He was respected in many countries around the world but 
not by the leaders of the US, Australian and Israeli 
governments.

An estimated 100,000 Palestinians packed the square as his 
funeral was taking place in Ramallah. They expressed their love 
and affection for the man and his commitment with his years of 
struggle on their behalf. Only the security arrangements of the 
occupying forces prevented a gathering of a million mourners 
taking place.

Yasser Arafat has been the symbol of the Palestinian people's 
struggle against the most unrelenting oppression. He personified 
the striving of his people for a homeland and provided leadership 
to the three million people making up the Palestinian Diaspora.

It was always a David and Goliath struggle and Yasser Arafat and 
the Palestinian people never gave up despite the enormous odds 
facing them. Arafat did not betray his people and remained 
steadfast in defiance of the unrelenting aggression from the 
occupying Israeli forces.

He was there through the decades of armed struggle waged by the 
marginalised inhabitants of the region's refugee camps. He led 
these forces away from possible annihilation while in exile in 
Lebanon in 1982. He took personal responsibility for directing 
the Intifada that led to the breakthrough Oslo Agreement of 1993.

He rejected the subsequent attempts to rob the Palestinians of a 
viable homeland and stood firm in the demand for the return of 
all the lands occupied by Israel after the June 1967 invasion.

These facts were recognised by the international community when 
Yasser Arafat was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

This is why the Palestinian people shed tears and came to mourn 
in such numbers and with such emotion.

But even as he lay dying, the US and their military arm in the 
region, Israel, relentlessly pushed for a "change" of leadership 
that would capitulate to their demands and abandon the struggle 
for a Palestinian state. Of course, the push was not presented in 
this way. Arafat was said to be an obstacle in the way of a 
peaceful settlement who was unwilling to put an end to violence. 
Yet it was the Israeli leadership which only a few months ago was 
considering his assassination or expelling him from the occupied 
Palestinian territories.

It was the Israeli right-wing who years earlier assassinated 
Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, an Israeli leader who was prepared 
to sit at the negotiating table with the Palestinians.

It is the government of Israel that is building an apartheid wall 
to separate the Palestinians from the Israelis and to carry out a 
massive land grab. It is the Israeli army that destroys the 
houses and orchards of the Palestinians and protects 
fundamentalist settlers who seize the lands of the Palestinians.

The Palestinians, with no standing army and facing the biggest 
military force in the Middle East, were left with no other course 
but to strike back in guerrilla raids.

The supporters of Israeli aggression, including the Howard 
Government, ignore all this.

The Australian Financial Review's headline declares that 
Yasser Arafat was "the dreamer who failed to deliver". Rupert 
Murdoch's Australian newspaper claims that Arafat's death 
"gives peace a chance".

John Howard declared that "history would judge Arafat harshly". 
Will it? All the scurrilous comments by the media in Australia 
and in other countries where the fundamentalist Zionist lobby 
remains strong and influential will not wash away the truth.

It is Howard's place in history, as a US sycophant who lied to 
the people to go to war, and much more, which will be a cause of 
shame and disgust.

Yasser Arafat will be long remembered not only by the 
Palestinians but also by many others who recognise in him a 
symbol of national liberation fighting against a terrorist state.