Death of a Statesman

Tributes are flooding in from far and wide following the news of the death of Arafat. The man whose commitment to openess was so complete that we still have not learned how he died was described as thus:

The Palestinian people, both within and outside the Palestinian Territories, have lost an historic leader and a democratically elected president, whose devotion and single minded commitment to the Palestinian national cause throughout his life was never in doubt. Bernard Bot, foreign minister of the Netherlands

His single minded commitment was difficult to doubt as he was willing to kill innocent people for his cause. Commitment to peace on the other hand was always in doubt.

The leader identified with the struggle of the Palestinian people for self determination, through exile and after his return. Josep Borrell, EU parliament president

Poor thing, he was exiled from his own land. Not that he was a terrorist or anything.

The best tribute to President Arafat's memory will be to intensify our efforts to establish a peaceful and viable State of Palestine as foreseen by the Roadmap. Javier Solana, EU Foreign Policy chief

I am all for creating a peaceful and viable Palestinian State, but it would seem a strange tribute to someone, much of whose life was spent killing people. You have been warned. Accept the constitution and you future is in the hands of these people and others like them. A European Union Common foreign policy means toadying up to dictators and terrorists.