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Palestinian Elections Supposed to Be Today

Aired January 20, 2003 - 14:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Last year, Yasser Arafat called for open presidential elections for the Palestinian people. Those elections would have been held today, but they've been postponed by the continued presence of the Israeli military.
Our Michael Holmes had an exclusive interview with the Palestinian leader, and they talked about the present conflict and the future in the Middle East -- Michael.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Yes, it was a rare interview, in fact, with Yasser Arafat. He hasn't sat down for a one on one interview in several months, so we covered things like the elections.

He's obviously disappointed that they haven't taken place. He said he was looking forward to some competition in the race for his own job as president, but as you pointed out, Israeli troops are in most of the West Bank. The elections could not be organized, logistically impossible.

Israel, of course, saying the troops are only there because of continued suicide bombings inside of Israel.

On the issue of Iraq, he warned the U.S., don't go to war with Iraq without a U.N. mandate unless it's under the auspices of the U.N. He said that would be a mistake. He spoke about the chances of resumption of a peace process in this very troubled area. He said that would only be likely if he could find a partner for peace, someone he said like Yitzhak Rabin, the former Israeli prime minister, with whom he signed the Oslo Accords.

He also spoke about corruption. There's been allegations that Yasser Arafat has squirreled away hundreds of millions of dollars, in fact billions of dollars in bank accounts around the world. He said, Show me the evidence. He said my books are open to the IMF, the World Bank, and anyone else who wants to look.

He denied that allegation. He also denied that Palestinian Authority is not doing enough to stop suicide bombers reaching their targets. He said, We don't have a security apparatus. He said, Israel is in charge of security, but we do what we can, passing on information and the like.

Now, he also talked about leadership and his own position. There's been a lot of calls for him, from the U.S. and Israel, to step aside. They say that they can't deal with him when it comes to a peace process of any sort. He said he's not going anywhere. But he made a point of saying that there is a new crop of young politicians in his own Fatah movement, and he said that -- he called it a very Democratic movement, and he said there would be a replacement for him, but it wouldn't be when Israel or the U.S. decides it would be. And he said that leaving his post at this stage is simply not on his agenda -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Michael Holmes. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 20, 2003 - 14:20   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Last year, Yasser Arafat called for open presidential elections for the Palestinian people. Those elections would have been held today, but they've been postponed by the continued presence of the Israeli military.
Our Michael Holmes had an exclusive interview with the Palestinian leader, and they talked about the present conflict and the future in the Middle East -- Michael.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Yes, it was a rare interview, in fact, with Yasser Arafat. He hasn't sat down for a one on one interview in several months, so we covered things like the elections.

He's obviously disappointed that they haven't taken place. He said he was looking forward to some competition in the race for his own job as president, but as you pointed out, Israeli troops are in most of the West Bank. The elections could not be organized, logistically impossible.

Israel, of course, saying the troops are only there because of continued suicide bombings inside of Israel.

On the issue of Iraq, he warned the U.S., don't go to war with Iraq without a U.N. mandate unless it's under the auspices of the U.N. He said that would be a mistake. He spoke about the chances of resumption of a peace process in this very troubled area. He said that would only be likely if he could find a partner for peace, someone he said like Yitzhak Rabin, the former Israeli prime minister, with whom he signed the Oslo Accords.

He also spoke about corruption. There's been allegations that Yasser Arafat has squirreled away hundreds of millions of dollars, in fact billions of dollars in bank accounts around the world. He said, Show me the evidence. He said my books are open to the IMF, the World Bank, and anyone else who wants to look.

He denied that allegation. He also denied that Palestinian Authority is not doing enough to stop suicide bombers reaching their targets. He said, We don't have a security apparatus. He said, Israel is in charge of security, but we do what we can, passing on information and the like.

Now, he also talked about leadership and his own position. There's been a lot of calls for him, from the U.S. and Israel, to step aside. They say that they can't deal with him when it comes to a peace process of any sort. He said he's not going anywhere. But he made a point of saying that there is a new crop of young politicians in his own Fatah movement, and he said that -- he called it a very Democratic movement, and he said there would be a replacement for him, but it wouldn't be when Israel or the U.S. decides it would be. And he said that leaving his post at this stage is simply not on his agenda -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Michael Holmes. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com