Marwan Bargouthi identifies fundamental flaw in dealing with Abu Mazen

[IMRA: "You cannot describe Fatah as terrorist while you have relations
with it. You either recognize Fatah and its leadership, like (Mahmoud Abbas)
Abu Mazen whose appointment as a prime minister you welcomed, and he is one
of Fatah leaders, or you don’t recognize it,” he stressed."

An excellent summary of the fundamental flaw in the roadmap, Oslo, and all
other programs based on dealing with Fatah. President Bush doesn't want
Al-Qa'ida to replace Bin Laden with one of his deputies, nor the Ba'ath
Party in Iraq to replace Saddam with one of his aides.]

Witnesses Against MP Barghouthi Refuse to Testify
http://www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=1&id=702
07/04/2003

Palestine Media Center- (PMC)[Official arm of the PA]

Palestinian MP Marwan Barghouti refused to mount a defense and contest the
Israeli “murder” charges against him, and insisted he is a political figure
and is not involved in “violence” when his trial opened on Sunday in a Tel
Aviv court, saying he does not recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli
court, at a time when three Palestinian detainees declined to stand witness
against him.

However, despite Barghouti’s objections, the Tel Aviv District Court in
January appointed a public defender to represent him. On Thursday, the legal
team asked Israel’s Supreme Court to let them resign from the case, arguing
it was impossible to provide him with a proper defense because he refused to
cooperate with them.

The court said it would not accept the lawyers’ appeal, and it was
withdrawn. The judges said the appeal could be re-filed after the trial
resumes.

Barghouthi, 43, addressed the Israeli-appointed defense lawyers, saying,
“You are part of the occupation. You are in agreement with the judges’
stance, which is part of the occupation,” adding, “You don’t represent me.”

The MP’s Palestinian lawyers watched the proceedings of the court from a
distance. They described the trial as a “failed play,” produced and directed
by Israelis with an extremist public of Jews, who are called the “families
of the victims of terrorism.”

Barghouthi angrily refuted the prosecution’s charges that he leads a
“terrorist organization.”

“I don’t lead a terrorist organization. To be the secretary general of Fatah
is not terror. Fatah is the backbone of the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO), which you recognize. You cannot describe Fatah as
terrorist while you have relations with it. You either recognize Fatah and
its leadership, like (Mahmoud Abbas) Abu Mazen whose appointment as a prime
minister you welcomed, and he is one of Fatah leaders, or you don’t
recognize it,” he stressed.

Barghouti was the head of Fatah in the West Bank, and is also a member of
the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). He has been detained in Israeli
prisons since he was kidnapped by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the
reoccupied West Bank city of Ramallah over a year ago.

The Parliament Member has emphasized that Palestinians have the right to
resist the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but that he
supports moving towards a peace deal that would set up a Palestinian state
alongside Israel.

The trial on Sunday opened on a fiery note with a Palestinian witness called
by the prosecution refusing to answer questions and then storming out of the
courtroom.

Barghouti has indicated he will respond the same way, after being advised by
his Palestinian attorneys to adopt a passive defense and exercise his right
to silence.

Three witnesses were brought in Sunday to testify against the West Bank
Fatah leader.

All three, namely Nasser Abu Hmeid, Bilal Al-Barghouthi and Ismael
Al-Radaideh, refused to listen to the prosecution’s and the judges’
questions and ridiculed them before police escorted them out of the court
room in a noisy scene.

The session opened with a statement by General Yossi Kupperwasser, of the
occupation army’s intelligence branch, who recounted a list of incitements
to violence he said Barghouti had made in the press.

Around 100 witnesses in all are due to be called over an expected 14
hearings in the trial, Israeli court sources said.

The three Palestinian witnesses called on Friday by the prosecution all
questioned the right of Israel to try Palestinian “resistance fighters”.
After 90 minutes the court ordered further testimony to be held behind
closed doors.

One of his lawyers, Khadr Shkeirat, told AFP that Barghouti’s policy of
stonewalling the trial was working.

“This is a big failure for the Israelis,” he said after the court went into
a closed session. The hearing is to resume Monday.