"Arafat has long been a symbol for the struggle of the Palestinian people, both within their homeland and abroad. And, because he is such a symbol, the IRSP believes it is important to take this occasion to reiterate our solidarity with the Palestinian people, in their struggle for national liberation and socialism in Palestine.

"Arafat was also a scapegoat for the Zionist occupying Palestine and their American puppet-masters. In response to their own propaganda, rather than political reality, Arafat had been held personally accountable by US imperialism and the Zionists, for the breakdown of peace talks and the continuing initifada. The reality was that Arafat had long been prepared to compromise and capitulate to Zionism on most key issues for years and, far from being the revolutionary voice of Palestine, represented the reformist section of the Palestinian community.

"The Zionists and their American allies also held Arafat responsible for the continued use of suicide bombing attacks on the Zionists, when it was clear that their destruction of the Palestinian Authority and undermining Arafat left him unable to control the tactics of Hamas or various militant factions within the PLO, despite his own desire to reach an accord with Israel, regardless of the cost. The reality is that it was Ariel Sharon who personally and deliberately provoked the outbreak of a renewed initifada with his visit to Temple Mount. Moreover, it was the Zionists complete failure to negotiate in good faith and to meet their obligations under the Oslo Accord that caused peace talks to collapse.

"We in the IRSP, therefore, raise our voices in solidarity with the Palestinian people and we pay tribute to Arafat, as a symbol of their continued struggle for national liberation and social justice. With Arafat's death causing him to leave the political stage, the Palestinian people will be searching for new leadership. We encourage them to recognise that nothing will be changed through attempts at compromise and conciliation towards the Zionists. The Zionists will never respect Palestinian sovereignty. The Way Forward, as the PFLP have said, lies through the defeat of Zionism and the establishment of a unified, secular, democratic, and socialist Palestine.

He concluded, "Accordingly, we in the IRSP do not mourn the end of the undemocratic and reformist tactics of Arafat, but we grieve at the sense of loss experienced by the people of Palestine and we salute their determination in carrying their struggle forward in the wake of Arafat's death."

STATEMENTS ENDS