Mbeki to attend Arafat's funeral
Thabo Mokgola
12 November 2004
President Thabo Mbeki will attend the funeral of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, who died on Thursday after spending two weeks receiving medical attention at a military hospital in Paris, France.
The funeral service will be held in Cairo, Egypt on Friday. Arafat will be buried in Ramallah in Palestine.
Arafat, who died at the age of 75, has been head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) for 40 years.
On Thursday, Mbeki joined hundreds of world leaders in conveying his condolences to Arafat's family and the people of Palestine.
"History will record that President Arafat epitomised that rare breed of leaders whose lives were defined by the unflinching sacrifices they made in the noble and just cause of the struggle of their peoples", Mbeki said.
"It will record that despite the hardship, suffering and pain imposed by trying circumstances that defined their lives, they continued to draw inspiration from the
knowledge that the struggle for freedom offers the only hope out of the darkest times."
Mbeki said Arafat had given hope to millions of the "downtrodden and despised" by instilling in them the knowledge that despite current difficulties, they held the gift of freedom in their hands.
Arafat, he said, had bestowed upon millions of Palestinians a legacy that would continue to inspire his people to forge ahead with the struggle to establish a sovereign independent Palestinian state co-existing peacefully with Israel.
He also indicated he would continue to lend a hand in working with the people and leadership of the region as well as the international community in the development of a comprehensive, just and lasting solution in the Middle East.
"President Arafat dedicated his entire life and strength to the finest cause in all the world - the fight for the liberation of all peoples", Mbeki said.
"As we join the international community in mourning such a
great a leader, we feel greatly honoured to have been part of his life, as much as he too was part of ours, in the commitment to bring about a better life for all the world's people."
Source: BuaNews
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