The Last Few Days | Articles | the bombsite

Apart from my tweaking spree the world has seen a few major changes over the last few days. One of the first things to hit me was the death of John Peel. I’ve been listening to this guy for as long as I can remember and was still listening to his programmes on BBC Radio 4 and The World Service right up until his death. It came as a complete out-of-the-blue shock to me as it wasn’t as if he had been ill or anything. He will be sorely missed.

The USA decided to re-elect G.W. We shall see what repercussions come from that decision over the next 4 years.

Yasir Arafat was taken ill and died on Thursday after having fallen into a coma.

Thursday was Remembrance day and we should remember with pride and honour all those who have fallen in conflict in defence of their country and freedom, not least those members of The Black Watch who have died recently.

All these individual events seemed to somehow connect up as this last week progressed. It is coincidental that Yasir Arafat happened to die on Remembrance Day. It is also coincidental that he and John Peel were both buried on Friday despite having died some days apart. (I understand why this was the case so no need to comment on it.) Both funerals were attended in great numbers showing the wide popularity of both men. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns represented the United States at Arafat’s funeral, an official below the many European foreign ministers, African presidents and Arab leaders attending, and a choice that drew criticism that Washington was missing a chance for a fresh start with the Palestinians. The funeral was held in Cairo.

Arafat wanted to be buried in Jerusalem but surprisingly the Israelis won’t allow it. I wonder what they would have done if he had recovered from his illness and wanted to return to the Muqata compound in the West Bank town of Ram Allah where he had been a virtual prisoner for the last 3 years. I know what they said before he left but I wouldn’t trust them an inch. In the event this is where he has been buried temporarily until such time as his remains can be moved to Jerusalem. Meanwhile, amid fears that Arafat’s death could trigger an outbreak of violence, the Israeli occupation army imposed a total security clampdown on the West Bank. Israel announced that the army would prevent private cars travelling from Jerusalem to Ram Allah and instead would allow only public buses. Forces would be deployed within Jerusalem city and on the roads leading from Ram Allah to Jerusalem. And let us not forget that there has been no explanation whatsoever for Arafat’s illness nor for his sudden decline into a coma. I do know that France has very strict laws relating to the release of medical information but at the end of the day this was a very important man and Palestinians have a right to know what happened to their leader in the last days of his life. Had it been G.W. lying in that hospital there would have been detailed hourly bulletins to the world. Does seem odd somehow.

While all this was going on Tweedledum and Tweedledee had a tea-party and then said a lot of things during their well-orchestrated press conference on Friday. It would seem to me that G.W. could really get down to doing a few things that need doing in his second term instead of having to pander to the popular vote as he isn’t going to get a third term. Palestine/Israel would be one. As the question was raised at the press conference he made a good start by actually saying that there should be two independent states living side-by-side, something that doesn’t get voiced very often in the US particularly at presidential level. Nice one G.W. As I said he doesn’t have to think about the Jewish vote next time round cuz there isn’t a next time. Mind you, if I were Jewish living outside Israel, I think I would be ashamed to be associated in any way whatsoever with the State. But I’m not. As it is I’m just ashamed to be living on the same planet with it. Several Israeli newspapers carried a full-page advertisement stating “Arafat is dead. Thank God”. I believe such an ad would be illegal in Britain and probably wouldn’t get accepted anyway but of course we are talking about Israel so different moral and legal standards obviously apply. Other than G.W.’s statement both he and Blare waffled on about the subject for a while but when analysed I couldn’t find much of any real substance in what they said. No change there then. Only time will tell on that one.