President Olusegun Obasanjo has sent a condolence letter to the interim president of the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Rawhi Fattuh, in which he said Nigerians received the news of Yasser Arafat’s death in Paris yesterday with immense sadness.
In the letter dated November 11, 2004, President Oba-sanjo said the late Palestinian leader “has become the living symbol and embodiment of their lovely and valiant struggle for their rightful place in the comity of nations.”
He urged Palestinians to take solace in the memory of Yasser Arafat’s total dedi-cation and commitment to the service of his people and for the cause of justice.
“Having followed with keen interest his heroic struggles over the past four dec-ades to secure an independent homeland for the Palestinians, we understand very well that Yasser Arafat has become much more than a leader of your people,” Obasanjo said in his letter.
While praying God to grant Arafat eternal peace, Obasanjo said: “May Allah grant his successors the wis-dom, courage and fortitude they will need to assume his mantle of leadership and bring his life-long struggle to a peaceful and happy conclusion.
The veteran Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat otherwise called Muhammad Abdul Rahman Abdul Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, died in a French hospital yesterday nearly two weeks after being transferred from the West Bank.
Mass mourning began in the Palestinian territories after news that the 75-year-old who dominated Pales-tinian politics for 40 years had passed away.
Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority, died at Percy military hospital at Clamart on November 11 at 0330 (0230 GMT)
His body was flown to Cairo for a funeral attended by Arab and other leaders before it was taken to the West Bank town of Ramallah, where he will be buried in his compound.
Mr Arafat had been in a coma since November 3 and on Tuesday suffered brain haemorrhage. In his final hours, he had brain damage and kidney and liver failure.
It has not been made clear what illness the Palestinian leader was suffering from, though doctors ruled out cancer and poisoning.
Flags are flying at half mast outside Mr Arafat’s compound where he was kept under virtual house arrest by the Israelis for two and a half years and people have been wearing chequered head-scarves - Mr Arafat’s trade-mark.
In the Gaza Strip, thou-sands of mourners took to the streets as mosque louds-peakers played quotes from the late leader.
Israel has sealed off the West Bank as a security pre-caution and strengthened security at Jewish settle-ments.
Mr Arafat was brought by a French aircraft from Ram-allah to Paris on 29 October as tests showed he had a low count of blood platelets needed for clotting.
Arafat’s aide, Nabil Abu Rdeneh flew into the Egyp-tian capital on Wednesday to make arrangements for a state funeral there. |
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