Damascus: Arafat's policy does not serve Palestinian cause

Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam has asserted his country's rejection to the policy pursued by the PLO because it does not serve "the cause of Palestine."

But Khaddam, on the other hand, asserted that Damascus will not launch a campaign against Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Khaddam added that the "handshake" between the secretary general of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Nayef Hawatemah, and Israeli President Ezer Weizman is a "Palestinian internal matter."

Khaddam's statement was made in a press conference held on Wednesday night. On the short meeting between Hawatemah and Weizman during the funeral of King Hussein, Khaddam said, "Our stances are not built on stances taken by the opposition. If one of the Palestinian opposition leaders shakes hands, if he makes a mistake, his organization has to make its own (decision regarding) him."

On the possibility of reconciliation with Arafat, the Syrian vice president said: "Syria's policy concerning the cause of Palestine is not linked to those who are pro or those who oppose. The Palestinian cause is a national cause. (In) all revolutions under the British mandate, the Syrian were took part as leaders or participants in these revolutions."

Khaddam indicated that the "PLO made a political mistake which we see as not serving the cause of Palestine."

The PLO's first mistake, he said, was that, "It dropped the national dimension of the Palestinian cause and considered that the cause of Palestine is an independent decision, which means that it is a decision of a person and if that persons goes up or down this cause will also go up and down."

Replying to another question, Khaddam added, "We cannot, as we had offered dear blood in Syria and the Arab nation, for the sake of Palestine, link our interests and conceptions with the policy of the PLO leadership," because it is "not in our interest that Israel is taking land and expanding.