Democratic Palestine : 31 (ص 16)
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- Democratic Palestine : 31 (ص 16)
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PFLP 21st Anniversary
On December 2, 1988, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine celebrated the first anniversary of
the intifada and the 21st anniversary ot its own establishment at a mass rally in Yarmouk Camp,
Damascus. Addressing the over 5,000 in attendance were Politbureau member Abdullah Shatfeh, the
South Yemeni Ambassador to Syria; George Hawi, General Secretary of the Lebanese Communist Party;
Jesus Barriero, the Cuban Ambassador to Syria; and the keynote speaker, Dr. George Habash, General
Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Also in attendance at the four hour pro-
gram were Nayef Hawatmeh, General Secretary of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
and representatives of the PFLP-General Command, Palestinian Struggle Front, Palestinian Communist
Party, Palestinian Liberation Front, Saika and the Syrian Communist Party. Below is the speech of Dr.
George Habash.
Speech of Comrade Habash
Sisters and brothers, comrades and guests:
We meet today on the occasion of the first anniversary of
our people’s great uprising and the 21st anniversary of the
establishment of the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine. We meet to celebrate the announcement of the in-
dependent Palestinian state. Based on the fact that the PFLP
constitutes a major organization in the United National
Leadership, we announce to our Arab masses that the PFLP
will work to continue the uprising, to deepen, escalate and ex-
pand it. We will work towards achieving its political slogans on
the Palestinian, Arab and international levels until the upris-
ing, through the masses’ struggle and sacrifices, succeeds in
achieving freedom and independence. In my capacity as
General Secretary, it is my obligation to announce to the
Palestinian masses, wherever they may be, and to the Arab
masses... that the PFLP will remain true to its political line.
The main point in this line is the PFLP’s understanding of the
Zionist entity, considering its major feature to be colonialism.
We will fight year after year, generation after generation, until
we rid all Palestinian and Arab land of it.
We also meet to celebrate the announcement of the in-
dependent Palestinian state. The PFLP realizes the difference
between the announcement of this state and its establishment. I
announce in the name of the PFLP that we will build the bridge
with our bodies to span the distance between the dream of an-
nouncing the state and the reality of establishing it on the land
of Palestine.
16
Comrades, the uprising of our people in Palestine has great
meaning and repercussions. I know very well that you are here
today to listen to what occurred at the PNC - how the PFLP
understands the Declaration of Independence and the political
statement that was issued; what we suffered from the policy of
political concessions; and why we refused UN resolutions 242
and 338. Still, allow me to speak briefly about the repercus-
sions and great meaning of our people’s uprising in the oc-
cupied territories. The PFLP Central Committee said in its last
session before the PNC, that the uprising represents a new
stage in the Palestinian national struggle and it could become a
new stage in the entire Arab national struggle.
FEATURES OF THE UPRISING... THE NEW
STAGE
What do we mean by this? What is this stage concretely? We
must know this in order to understand it, so that our masses
understand it and all struggle for it. We have begun to live in a
new stage that has its own specific features. For the first time,
the central burden of confronting the Zionist plan has been
transfered to our masses inside Palestine. You might say such
talk is not new. This is correct theoretically, and perhaps other
organizations wrote that our masses in Palestine are the center.
But what was happening on the ground in the days of the arm-
ed struggle trend in Jordan and Lebanon? What was happen-
ing was that the central movement was taking place from out-
side, due to Palestinian presence outside of Palestine. Now, for
the first time since 1948... the 40% of our masses who are in-
side Palestine are the ones who are in the forefront confronting
the Zionist plan. This is the first new feature.
The second feature: The Palestinian struggle against the
Zionist plan was always an integral part of the Arab-Zionist
struggle, and this principle must be preserved. This was what
happened in the 1950’s during the Suez War, and in the 1960’s
during the June War, as well as in the 1970’s during the Oc-
tober War. The main form of the struggle was the Arab-Zionist
struggle, marginally encompassing the Palestinian-Zionist
struggle. Now, for the first time in the 40 years of this struggle,
the Palestinian appears to say, «I am the center and the essence
of this struggle, and will remain so.» Without meaning to
detract in any way from our understanding of the pan-Arab - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 31
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