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From: Al-Awda Palestine Right to Return Coalition <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: 2008/9/25
Subject: Open Letter to President Mahmoud Abbas
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[image: Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition] Al-Awda, The
Palestine Right to Return Coalition
*September 25, 2008* *The announcement below was received today
from Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
(Palestine)*
Begin Forward:
The following letter was presented to President Mahmoud Abbas's office on
behalf of 78 Palestinian organizations on Wednesday September 22, 2008. Note
that ALL Palestinian political factions have signed on as well.
Please distribute widely.
*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) *Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return
Coalition (PRRC) is a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable
501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of
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