Democratic Palestine : 9 (ص 10)
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- Democratic Palestine : 9 (ص 10)
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Prospects of the Amman Accord
Why we reject the right-wing leadership
Since Arafat signed the Amman
accord with King Hussein, events have
proven that the Palestinian right wing is
determined to continue its deviating
course. Faced with overwhelming con-
demnation, Arafat and his lieutenants
made a semblance of backtracking.
Arafat tried to avoid admitting that he
had endorsed Security Council resolu-
tion 242, for he knows this violates
repeated PNC resolutions. However,
the Jordanian regime had the last word,
publicizing the terms of the accord while
the Palestinian rightists were _ still
equivocating about its contents. The act-
ing Jordanian information minister con-
firmed that the accord includes accep-
tance of 242.
The accord was approved by the
PLO Executive Committee formed at the
illegal Amman PNC, on condition that it
be adopted as a united Arab position.
Hiding behind the mantle of ‘Arab sol-
idarity’, the illegal Executive Committee
revealed its true position, for such con-
sensus can only be achieved by break-
ing the firm position of the nationalist
regimes opposed to the imperialist
plans, especially Syria. To cover their
deviation, this Executive Committee
issued a statement decorated with the
PLO’s adopted positions: an indepen-
dent state, rejecting ‘autonomy’, Camp
David, the Reagan plan, 242 and any
sharing of the PLO’s representation.
In another face-saving maneuver, a
PLO delegation was sent to Amman in
early March to ‘amend’ the accord. Not
only were their proposed amendments
insubstantial in the overall context of the
accord; King Hussein immediately
announced that the accord had not been
amended.
In late February, Mubarak of Egypt
announced his initiative for pushing the
Amman accord forward: a joint Palesti-
nian-Jordanian delegation to Wash-
ington as a prelude to talks with ‘Israel’,
to be sanctified by an international con-
ference. This was met by the criticism of
Fatah Central Committee and PLO
Executive Committee members. As
these protests have not turned into any
move to abrogate the Amman accord, it
is difficult to take them seriously. After
all, it was Mubarak’s adviser, Osama al
10
Baz, who announced the Amman
accord in Cairo, after playing a signific-
ant role in Arafat and Hussein's talks.
The special danger of the accord is
that it is a key element in Arab reaction’s
efforts to push the Camp David process
forward, by reactivating the Reagan
plan, establishing the «land for peace»
formula for negotiations and in the end
imposing the ‘autonomy’ plan. The
Amman accord was timed to coincide
with intense Egyptian diplomacy to
renew negotiations with the Israelis, at
the same time Egyptian, Saudi and Jor-
danian officials pled for an active US role
in reviving the «peace» process.
The dilemma of the Palestinian
right
The Amman accord is doubly
dangerous because it is being taken
seriously by US imperialism and the
Labor wing of the Zionist leadership. The
latter has been trying to open such
avenues for some time now. Influential
Israelis have pointed out that the major
element in their government no longer
opposes the Reagan plan which was
Originally rejected out of hand by Begin.
This does not mean that US imperialism
or Zionism is willing to meet King Hus-
sein, much less Arafat, halfway. Rather
the enemy has eyed the chance to have
the PLO acquiesce in liquidating the
Palestinian cause and resolving the Mid-
dle East conflict through Israeli-Jorda-
nian negotiations. This is the reason for
US Assistant Secretary of State Mur-
phy’s touring the region in April, to pre-
pare for his boss Schultz's coming in
May. Arafat’s meeting with King Hussein
and the new Jordanian Prime Minister,
just before Murphy's tour, is yet another
proof of the right wing's determination to
be involved in imperialism’s plans.
Yet the equivocation of Arafat and
his lieutenants is not all playacting, for
they are in a genuine dilemma. To be
useful to Arab reaction, they must
appear as the legitimate leadership; this
means hiding the extent of their conces-
sions from the masses. At the same
time, they must give these concessions
and more to appear acceptable in
imperialist eyes. King Hussein is giving
Arafat no leeway for covering his
treachery. In reality, the reactionary
regimes are trying to corner the PLO.
They know full well that the settlement
offers nothing to the Palestinian people,
and that the US and ‘Israel’ will refuse to
deal with the PLO. This refusal will give
the reactionaries the excuse for dispos-
ing of the PLO altogether, in order to
enter direct negotiations with ‘Israel’.
The fallacy of alignment with
Arab reaction
By opting for deviation, Arafat and
his lieutenants have trapped themselves
in Arab reaction’s historical dilemma. US
imperialism considers ‘Israel’ its prim-
ary, irreplaceable ally in the region; any
US solution will resolve the conflict on
Zionism’s conditions. The US response
to the latest overtures of Hussein and
Mubarak is a confirmation of this trend.
Despite encouraging statements, the
Reagan administration continues to
propound the age-old formula of direct
negotiations to be sure that Zionist occu-
pation is legitimized from the start.
Especially after the defeat of its pol-
icy in Lebanon, the Reagan Administra-
tion wants Arab reaction to do all the
work. When the PLO’s role is eliminated,
the US will gladly preside over the fait
accompli of negotiations. The Zionists
adhere to the same tactic. As stated by
Abba Eban, former Israeli foreign minis-
ter, now influential MK, «It is up to Presi-
dent Mubarak and King Hussein to grap-
ple with the problem of forming a Jorda-
nian-Palestinian delegation with which
Washington and Jerusalem would find it
possible to hold dialogue» (New York
Times, March 17th).
Murphy’s visit-
Trapping the PLO
In his mid-April tour of the area,
Murphy conveyed the US conditions for
discussions with any Palestinian-Jorda-
nian delegation: A PLO-Jordanian dele-
gation is acceptable if the PLO accepts
242, 338 and explicitly recognizes ‘Is-
rael’. Otherwise. Palestinians in the
delegation must not be PLO members,
representing or delegated by the PLO. - هو جزء من
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