The Palestinians backed off from an immediate ban on the UN Mideast envoy after he criticized Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, but step-ped up their attacks against him and didn't rule out a future ban.
Terje Roed-Larsen, a Norwegian diplomat who describes himself as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's "eyes and ears on the ground" in the Middle East, was at the center of a diplomatic storm after a briefing to the UN Security Council on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Nearing the end of his Mideast mission, Roed-Larsen expressed frustration at the lack of progress toward peace and blamed Arafat for blocking vital reforms in the Palestinian Authority and peace moves backed by the world body.
PHOTO: AP
Arafat's top adviser, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, described the UN envoy as "useless" and said he was no longer welcome in Palestinian areas. But Nasser Al-Kidwa, the Palestinian observer at the UN, said Roed-Larsen's legal status has not been decided and would be discussed with Annan when the secretary-general returns next week.
Al-Kidwa refused to say whether the Palestinians will ask Annan to remove Roed-Larsen, but he made clear that comments by Rdeneh and others reflected "real Palestinian anger" at the UN envoy's positions -- and that anger is not about to go away.
"We respect the United Nations as an institution. We know the rules and we play by the rules. No actions will be taken to prevent Mr. Larsen from entering the Palestinian territory. However, the position of the Palestinian officials is something else," Al-Kidwa said.
Al-Kidwa called the UN envoy's briefing "absolutely unacceptable," arguing that it "reflects basically an amalgamation of Israeli and American positions."
His office issued a six-point rebuttal of Roed-Larsen's briefing, complaining that it made "scant mention" of the world court ruling demanding that Israel tear down the separation barrier it is building to isolate the West Bank and "incomprehensively praised [Israeli] Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's initiative" in calling for a withdrawal from Gaza.
"The briefing waged unfair attacks against the Palestinian Authority and its president," it said. "Moreover, the briefing constituted a vulgar interference with internal Palestinian affairs and more importantly, it exempted Israel, the occupying power, from its direct responsibility for the current serious difficulties facing the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people."
After Tuesday's briefing, Roed-Larsen insisted that his report was balanced, noting that he also pressed Israel to pull out of the West Bank and Gaza and remove restrictions on Palestinians.
Roed-Larsen was not available for comment on Wednesday, but Annan came to his defense, as did US Ambassador John Danforth.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS