Arafat Admits Errors and Offers Reforms

Under intense pressure at home and abroad, and fighting to resurrect the Palestinian Authority after weeks of Israeli onslaught, Yasser Arafat tried to win over his people yesterday with promises of sweeping reform.

He came as close as he has ever come to criticising himself, but blamed most of the Palestinians' problems firmly on the Israelis.

Although he stopped well short of the description by the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, of the Palestinian Authority as "a corrupt terror regime which is rotten and dictatorial", he conceded: "Our internal situation needs a complete revision."

If there had been mistakes, he said, then he was the person to blame and the person to rectify them.

"There are always mistakes in every movement," he said, apparently referring to Palestinian criticism of his handling of the Bethlehem siege, which ended with the deportation of 13 men accused by Israel of terrorism.

It was his first address for months to the parliament, hastily assembled for the occasion in an education ministry hall in Ramallah.

The day chosen was Nakba [Catastrophe] Day, the 54th anniversary of the expulsion of Palestinians from their land during the creation of Israel. It is normally marked by big demonstrations but this year most Palestinians were too busy recovering from their much more recent catastrophe.

Acknowledging complaints about his one-man style of government, Mr Arafat promised the separation of judicial, legislative and executive powers, and the rule of law.

In the past the judiciary has often been bypassed by Mr Arafat or his security forces, and laws passed by the parliament have gathered dust awaiting his signature.

He also promised "immediate preparation for elections", though there was no hint when they may be held.

"Free elections are the basic means to choose in building a civil society," he said. The last Palestinian elections were held in 1996.

He repeated his opposition to attacks on Israeli civilians, making it clear that this was not merely to placate international opinion.

"Palestinian and Arabic public opinion have reached a point where they agree such operations do not serve our goals," he said.

His remarks drew applause at some points, and there was even laughter at a few jokes, but Mu'awiya al-Masri, an opposition member of the assembly, was unimpressed.

"There is no change. It's the same ideas, the same words," he said.

Hanan Ashrawi, another member, was slightly more charitable. "It's a statement of intent, not a framework, about the need to address these issues," she said in a television interview. "The Palestinian people need to see immediate, concrete, effective steps."

Mr Arafat had already taken one small step on the day before his speech, signing a law recognising the independence of the judiciary which had lain on his desk for about 18 months.

A Palestinian spokesman, Samir Rantisi, said: "Mr Arafat is trying to restore his authority and to end speculation and rumours. He wanted to make a point that he is responsible for the decisions that were made... nobody else is to be blamed.

"He was also stressing that he wants to introduce democratic reforms."

It was unclear how many reforms can or will be attempted while the conflict with Israel continues. Mr Sharon insists that there can be no peace without Palestinian reforms, but some Palestinians argue that reform will be difficult or even impossible without a Palestinian state.

Mufid Abed Rabbo, an assembly member from Tulkaram, said: "Elections seem very important to the people but there are too many obstacles. First we have to solve our political problems with the Israelis.

"After there is a Palestinian independent state we have got to design a new law for the elections."

The parliamentary Speaker, Ahmed Qureia, told the Associated Press that he expected some elections to be held by the end of the year.

The EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, told MEPs that Mr Arafat had told him that elections would be held "as soon as possible... That means the end of summer or the beginning of autumn".