MILLIYET- Columnist Fikret Bila writes on Foreign Minister Ismail Cem’s reaction to Israeli Prime Minister Sharon’s taking Palestinian leader Arafat hostage. A summary of his column is as follows:
Israeli Prime Minister Sharon’s laying siege to Palestinian leader Arafat is turning increasingly into an operation of humiliation, insult and deliberate offense. Sharon, who took the elderly Palestinian leader as hostage, leaving him without food, water or medication, and under circumstances where he could kill him at any moment, is not only trying to humiliate and psychologically oppress him, but also the Palestinians. The first to see Sharon’s intention was Ankara, and it reacted harshly. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem conveyed Turkey’s official reaction to taking Arafat hostage to the US Ambassador to Ankara Robert Pearson and Israel’s Foreign Minister Simon Peres through diplomatic channels. In a statement he issued Cem yesterday harshly protested Sharon’s approach ‘humiliating’ Arafat. In his statement Cem recalled that Arafat was the leader of the Palestinian Authority Turkey officially recognizes. Even during wartimes, heads of state do not receive such treatment. Before he came to power, Sharon charged that Palestinians were offending Israel’s honor through a terrorist campaign and that then Prime Minister Barak had permitted that. It is obvious that the aim of his current operation is to wound the pride of the Palestinians. He can take Arafat hostage right in front of the eyes of the entire world due to the support Israel receives from the US. Similar reactions from every capital, including those of the Arab states, should come to end Sharon’s approach, which complies neither with the standards of human rights nor the rules of war. The UN must quickly intervene and US President Bush must restrain Israel’s Prime Minister Sharon without delay. If the Ankara’s reaction is strongly supported by the Arab states, Arafat may be rescued from the situation he is in. However, the reaction shown by the Arabs, including at last week’s Beirut summit, is weak. This weak stance displayed by the Arab countries is only encouraging Sharon, and he is becoming more daring.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION