Open Letter
to President Mahmoud Abbas
To: President Mahmoud
Abbas Chair of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive
Committee President of the Palestinian National Authority
CC: League of
Arab States Non-Aligned Movement Organization of the Islamic
Conference
Re: The Rights of Palestinian Refugees and the
Final Status Negotiations
Dear Mr. President,
Greetings of Return
We, the undersigned
Palestinian refugee organizations, civil society movements and
institutions in the Palestinian homeland and in exile are national
organizations working to defend the right of return. We appeal to
you now because we are convinced that the alignment of the official
Palestinian position and the position of the Palestinian people with
regards to the final status negotiation issues is of the highest
priority. Foremost among these issues is the cause of the
Palestinian refugees.
We are convinced that
the alignment of popular and official positions is the main
guarantee of a strong Palestinian position in the current
negotiation process, which is taking place in a local, regional and
global context that jeopardizes the national rights of the
Palestinian people. In this context, we are concerned in particular
about the rights of Palestinian refugees and internally displaced
persons to return to their original lands and properties,
restitution of their homes, lands and properties and compensation
for damages incurred over the past 60 years. Based on the fact that
all of these rights are guaranteed under international law, and
based on our awareness of the enormous pressures faced by
Palestinian negotiators and the tactics of negotiations, such as
secrecy with regards to the negotiation proceedings, we call upon
you to adopt a negotiation strategy that is based on openness with
the entirety of the Palestinian people - irrespective of their
current place of residence - regarding all aspects and details of
the negotiation process. Implementation of the Palestinian refugees'
right of return was and continues to be the main purpose for which
the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was established, a
purpose which forms the central pillar of the PLO's legitimacy as
the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
Transparency and candidness of our representatives with all sectors
of our society will guarantee that our rights are best defended, and
strengthen our position in the face of enormous pressures.
It has been clear at
all stages of the negotiations that this process aims to eliminate
the core issue of the Arab/Palestinian struggle for freedom and
justice: the Palestinian refugees and their rights of return and
restitution. In fact, elimination of these central Palestinian/Arab
demands form the center-piece of both Israeli and US policies. It is
also no secret that during the so-called "Oslo Peace Process" these
policies have employed insidious tactics in order to nullify these
rights altogether. Such tactics include attempts to substitute the
return and restitution of the refugees with monetary compensation;
to reduce the number of those entitled to exercise these rights from
over 7 million Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons
to a tiny minority, including so-called "hardship cases" that would
be arbitrarily defined by Israel; to suggest that the refugees
return to homes located in the areas administered by the Palestinian
Authority; and other humiliating "trade offs" whereby Palestinians
are expected to surrender the right of refugees to return to homes,
lands and properties of origin in exchange for other rights and
demands, such as self-determination, borders, the reclamation of
Jerusalem and removal of the illegal settlement-colonies. The
Palestinian leadership has rejected such degrading bargaining
tactics in previous negotiations, notably those known as the second
Camp David summit and the Clinton initiative. The late President
Yasser Arafat rejected these tactics, and he was made to pay for
that with his liberty and his life.
Whereas
the rights of return, restitution and compensation are enshrined in
international law and specifically affirmed in UN General Assembly
Resolution 194 and UN Security Council Resolution 237;
Whereas
we see that increasing US pressure aims to force Palestinian
negotiators to agree to an obscure framework for a solution that is
to be achieved by any means and at the soonest date, and that such a
framework is largely for internal US consumption in the context of a
US Presidential election; Whereas
it has become clear that the US administration is working on other
fronts to market its obscure framework for a solution in the
September 2008 session of the UN General Assembly;
Whereas
we realize, as a result of our movement's long and difficult
experience with Israeli politics, that Israeli political actors seek
to solve the internal Israeli political crisis by venting
destruction on the Palestinian front through various policies and
practices, all of which work to entrench Israeli occupation,
colonialism, and apartheid, and aim to attain international
recognition of Israel as a 'Jewish State;' Whereas
Western and Israeli election platforms must not be employed to put
pressure on the Palestinian negotiators, who should in no way be a
party to the political maneuvers of US and Israeli political
candidates, particularly in order to protect the legality,
legitimacy, and sanctity of Palestinian national rights regardless
of who emerges victorious in foreign elections;
Whereas
we perceive the retreat of the once principled European position,
and the transformation of this position into one that conforms to
the US policy of total complicity and support for
Israel; Whereas
we clearly see the weakness and inability of the Arab countries to
take action or play any effective role; Whereas
we witness the sharp, painful and unprecedented deterioration in the
internal Palestinian political arena;
Whereas
it has become plain and obvious that powerful external pressures aim
to annul Palestinian refugee rights, particularly the right to
return to their original lands and properties and the restitution of
these lands and properties; Whereas
Israel and the US, according to Israeli officials, are
intensifying their efforts to reach a framework for a solution that
is acceptable to both Israel and the US and will be viable
regardless of the ruling party; Whereas
the primary measure of the legitimacy of any solution
remains the extent to which it will lead to the exercise of the
right of self-determination by the Palestinian people, including
foremost the right of Palestinian refugees to choose to return to
their original homes and lands regardless of their current place of
refuge,
We approach you with this statement based
on our strong desire to chart a way forward that is built on the
highest levels of clarity and candidness with the Palestinian
people; a way forward that aims to strengthen the Palestinian
position in this sensitive stage of the Palestinian struggle; a way
forward that ensures that any framework for a solution will include
the following principles in clear and immutable language:
The rights of Palestinian refugees and internally displaced
persons to return, restitution and compensation are fundamental
rights under international law and relevant UN resolutions -
particularly UN General Assembly Resolution 194 and UN Security
Council Resolution 237. The content of these rights is
non-negotiable irrespective of the manner in which they will be
exercised; The right of return
is an individual right held by every Palestinian refugee and
internally displaced person. This right is passed on from one
generation to the next, based on the individual's choice on whether
or not to return, an inalienable and indivisible right, and not
affected by any bilateral, multilateral, or international treaty or
agreement. Any such agreement must respect the fundamental precepts
and principles of international law;
The right of
Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons to return is a
collective right that is not limited to one group or another, and it
is an integral part of the Palestinian right of self-determination;
The right of
Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons to return is
not subject to referendum.
May you remain
steadfast in our struggle for freedom and dignity
Drafted: August
2008 | |
Signed:
194
Association (Syria) Abassiya Association (Palestine) Abnaa
Al-Balad Center for the Defense of the Right of Return (Syria)
Aidun Group (Lebanon) Aidun Group (Syria) Al-Awda
Palestine Network (Holland) Al-Awda, Palestine Right to
Return Coalition (North America) Arab Cultural Forum (Gaza,
Palestine) Arab Liberation Front Arab Palestinian Front
Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Internally
Displaced (Palestine) Badil Resource Center for Palestinian
Residency and Refugee Rights (Palestine) Beit Nabala Association
(Palestine) Bisan Association (Syria) Coalition of Right of
Return Defense Committees (Jordan) Coalition of Right of Return
Defense Committees (Jordan) Committee for the Rights of
Palestinian Women (Syria) Confederation of Right of Return
Committees (Europe: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Greece,
Germany, France, Holland, Poland, Finland) Coordinating
Committee of Palestinian Organizations Working in Lebanon (Lebanon)
Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine (Palestine)
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine Democratic
Palestine Committee Depopulated Towns and Villages Associations
(Gaza, Palestine) Farah Heritage Society (Syria) Grassroots
Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Palestine) Higher
Follow-up Committee on Prisoners (Palestine) Higher National
Committee for the Defense of the Right of Return (Palestine)
Inevitable Return Assembly (Syria) Islamic Jihad Movement
Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] Istiqlal Youth Union
(Lebanon) Istiqlal Youth Union (Syria) Ittijah: Union of
Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations (Palestine) Jafra
Youth Center (Syria) Jimzo Association (Palestine) Lajee
Center, Aida Camp (Palestine) National Assembly of of
Palestinian Civil Society Organizations (Palestine) National
Committee to Commemorate the Martyr Ahmad Al-Shuqairy (Jordan)
National Nakba Commemoration Committee (Palestine) Palestine
Democratic Union [Fida] Palestine House Educational and Cultural
Center (Canada) Palestine Liberation Movement [Fatah]
Palestine Remembered (USA) Palestine Right of Return
Coalition (Global) Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and
Cultural Boycott of Israel (Palestine) Palestinian Civil Society
Coordinating Committee in Palestine and Abroad (Global)
Palestinian Liberation Front Palestinian National Democratic
Movement (Palestine) Palestinian National Initiative
Palestinian People's Party Palestinian Popular Struggle
Front Palestinian Refugee Rights Defense Committee (Balata Camp,
Palestine) Palestinian University Professors Union (Gaza,
Palestine) Palestinian Women's Grassroots Organization (Syria)
Palestinian Youth Democratic Union (Syria) Palestinian Youth
Organization (Syria) Palestinian Youth Struggle Union (Syria
Branch) People's Assembly of the Towns and Villages Depopulated
in 1948 (Palestine) Platform of Associations in Solidarity with
Palestine (Switzerland) Popular Committees to Defend the Right
of Return (Gaza, Palestine) Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -
General Command Refugee and Right of Return Committee (Syria)
Refugee Camp Popular Committees (West Bank & Gaza,
Palestine) Refugee Executive Office (Palestine) Right of
Return committee (Switzerland) Ruwwad Cultural Center (Aida
Camp, Palestine) Salameh Association (Palestine) Secular
Democratic State Group (Gaza, Palestine) Union of Right of
Return Committees (Syria) Union of Women's Activity Centers,
West Bank Refugee Camps (Palestine) Union of Youth Activity
Centers, Refugee Camps (Palestine) Vanguard for the Popular
Liberation War [Sa'iqa] Women's Activity Centers (Gaza,
Palestine) Yaffa Charitable Fund (Jordan) Yaffa Cultural
Center (Balata Camp, Palestine) Youth Assembly (Gaza, Palestine)
Youth Struggle Union (Lebanon) |
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