[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16712]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        SPEECH OF YASSER ARAFAT

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, this week, Palestinian leader Yasser 
Arafat delivered a speech to the Palestinian Legislative Council that I 
found extremely disappointing.
  The speech, which was given Monday, did not outline specific steps to 
end terrorism against the Israeli people and did not offer any new 
ideas on how to achieve peace in the Middle East. As one senior 
European diplomat said, ``It was a very shallow speech, repeating the 
standard phrases he's used for years now.''
  Perhaps most disturbing of all was Yasser Arafat's outright refusal 
to call for an end to the practice of suicide bombings, even after his 
own interior minister, Abdel Razak Yehiyeh, said that all Palestinians 
should abandon suicide attacks. The omission is especially glaring 
given that drafts of the speech made available to the media beforehand 
explicitly called for the parliament to outlaw suicide bombings against 
civilians. As someone who has continually worked to rally international 
support against this disgraceful practice, I am greatly saddened that 
Yasser Arafat did not have the courage to call for a complete ban on 
suicide bombings.
  Given this most recent failure of Yasser Arafat, I want to bring to 
the attention of my colleagues a report issued by Amnesty International 
titled ``Without Distinction--Attacks on Civilians by Palestinian Armed 
Groups.'' This report, which was released just weeks before the August 
recess, documents 128 attacks between September 29, 2000 and May 31, 
2002 in which 338 civilians were killed. In the press release issued 
with the report, William Schultz, Executive Director of Amnesty 
International USA, says, ``there is no justification for attacking 
civilians, and Palestinian leaders must clearly state that all such 
attacks must cease, whether they take place in Israel, the West Bank or 
Gaza.'' I ask unanimous consent that the entire press release be 
printed in the Record. The full report can be found on the Internet at 
http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/israel_and_occupied_territories/
index.html.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From Amnesty International, July 11, 2002]

           Israel/Occupied Territories/Palestinian Authority

       Washington, DC.--In a report released today, Amnesty 
     International condemned attacks by Palestinian armed groups 
     against civilians as crimes against humanity and possible war 
     crimes, and called for the perpetrators to be arrested and 
     prosecuted.
       ``There is no justification for attacking civilians, and 
     Palestinian leaders must clearly state that all such attacks 
     must cease, whether they take place in Israel, the West Bank 
     or Gaza,'' said William F. Schulz, Executive Director of 
     Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). ``Action must then follow 
     words, with those responsible for these attacks arrested and 
     brought to justice in line with international human rights 
     standards.''
       Amnesty International examined 128 attacks between 
     September 29, 2000 and May 31, 2002 in which 338 civilians 
     were killed. Based on analysis of the attacks and the armed 
     groups claiming responsibility, Amnesty International 
     concludes that the attacks are widespread, systemic, and part 
     of an explicit policy of attacking civilians. Those 
     individuals who order, plan, or carry out such attacks are 
     therefore guilty of crimes against humanity, and the attacks 
     may constitute war crimes. Attacks on civilians are expressly 
     prohibited by the Geneva Conventions and the principles of 
     international humanitarian law.
       The report profiles the groups claiming responsibility for 
     these attacks and reviews the statements of their leaders and 
     officials. For example, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, formed 
     by Fatah members in 2000, has claimed responsibility for 23 
     attacks. Marwan Barghouti, Secretary General of Fatah, stated 
     to Amnesty International that Fatah considers that Israelis 
     in the West Bank and Gaza are not civilians because ``it is 
     all in occupied country.'' Amnesty International asserts that 
     international law prohibits attacks on civilians wherever 
     they are.
       Despite an obligation to investigate and prosecute the 
     perpetrators of attacks on civilians, many of the detentions 
     of alleged members of armed groups by the Palestinian 
     Authority appear to be motivated by considerations other than 
     a genuine concern to bring the perpetrators to justice.
       ``The Palestinian Authority has the responsibility to stop 
     attacks by Palestinian armed groups and claims that the 
     Palestinian Authority has acted with due diligence to stop 
     these attacks lack credibility,'' said Marty Rosenbluth, 
     AIUSA's Country Specialist for Israel, the Occupied 
     Territories and the Palestinian Authority. ``However, the 
     investigation and prosecution of those responsible must not 
     result in further violations. To date, the measures taken by 
     both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have included 
     torture and violations of the right to a fair trial.''

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, this week, Yasser Arafat had the 
opportunity to follow the advice of Dr. Schultz and strongly state that 
terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, must end. Unfortunately, 
Yasser Arafat has again fallen short of what he must do so that peace 
can be achieved in the Middle East.

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