[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 19, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S2339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ARAFAT MUST STIFLE EXTREMISTS

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, all of us have been stunned by the 
suicidal missions of extremist in Israel.
  And it is the hope of most people around the world, as well as in the 
Middle East, that the extremists should not prevail and scuttle the 
peace process.
  I was particularly pleased to read in the Chicago Tribune as well as 
the New York Times, the letter of Ray Hanania, President of the 
Palestinian American Congress, which I ask to be printed in the Record. 
Mr Hanania is calling on Yasser Arafat to crack down on the extremists.
  People of good will of every persuasion should join in this endeavor.
  The article follows:

                       [From the Chicago Tribune]

                     Arafat Must Stifle Extremists

                            (By Ray Hanania)

       CHICAGO.--The Israelis are right about one thing: It is the 
     responsibility of Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestinian 
     Authority, to crack down on extremists who are based in the 
     territories that he controls.
       It is not an easy decision to make, but it is one that 
     Arafat must make if the Middle East peace process is to 
     succeed and Palestinians are to have their own state.
       Arafat must come to grips with the responsibilities of 
     Democratic leadership. This is no longer a revolution in 
     which internal criticism is hushed for the sake of survival.
       While he must learn to tolerate criticism and not jail 
     Palestinian journalists who attack his policies, so too must 
     he learn to be more forceful with those who challenge the 
     foundation of Palestinian democracy.
       Palestine is democratic. And Arafat's election is founded 
     on democracy. Democracy requires that leaders no longer need 
     to seek unanimity to justify their actions. Quite the 
     contrary, democracy allows leaders to do what they could not 
     do before--make decisions with the slimmest of majorities.
       Realizing that he can never make everyone, especially the 
     extremists, happy with any decision he makes is a necessity 
     if he and the Palestinian people are to survive as a nation.
       It is a realization he has yet to come to grips with. And 
     when he does, he will discover that the vast majority of 
     Palestinians support a crackdown but fear public expression 
     of this view. The extremists have and will use violence 
     against their own people to justify their means and achieve 
     their goals.
       Our leaders need courage to change this.
       In the United States, the Palestinian-American community 
     has spoken loudly, favoring the peace process. While we, as a 
     community, may not totally agree with every detail, the 
     principle of pursuing a peaceful resolution of the Israel-
     Palestine question is now a mandate for our people.
       Arafat cannot make the mistake of believing that he can 
     walk between the moderates and those who advocate violence. 
     The extremists that he must silence are the very same people 
     who, if given the chance, would silence Palestinian democracy 
     and destroy any hopes of establishing a democratic 
     Palestinian state.

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