Sackur's world
|
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7603910.stm Version 0 of 1. By Stephen Sackur BBC Hardtalk Mahmoud Abbas does not do public emotion. Stephen Sackur with Mahmoud Abbas Not for him the dramatic gestures and wild mood swings of his predecessor as Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat. Instead he has the air of a mildly harrassed bank manager - grey hair, grey suit and, according to his Palestinian critics, grey personality. Nonetheless Mr Abbas's body language sent a clear message during his brief sojourn at the Ambrosetti Forum on the shores of Lake Como a couple of days ago. His presentation to the assembled gathering of international movers and shakers was delivered with the weary air of a man well used to life's disappointments. Alongside him on the podium was his old diplomatic dance partner President Shimon Peres of Israel. The two of them spoke of road maps, peace tracks and framework agreements. There was still hope, they insisted, that significant progress on the path to a lasting Middle East peace could be achieved before the end of the Bush presidency. The audience listened politely, but this was a duet with neither heart nor soul. Nobody seemed convinced, not even the speakers themselves. A private encounter A short time after this public appearance I had my own private encounter with the man known to Palestinians as Abu Mazen. We spoke of the frustrations of pursuing Middle East diplomacy in a period of deep political uncertainty. Israel's prime minister Ehud Olmert is rapidly sinking into the legal quicksand. President George Bush - he of last year's grandiose Annapolis push for peace - cuts a forlorn figure in a Washington preoccupied with the race to replace him. I do feel disappointed and frustrated. But I keep it to myself. My duty is to give hope "There must be moments when you are utterly demoralised at the situation you find yourself in", I suggest. "I canât think of any other leader in the world that is in quite the desperate situation you are in." "I do feel disappointed and frustrated. But I keep it to myself", said Mr Abbas. "My duty is to give hope and not sell a delusion to my people. I have to seize every opportunity possible so that future generations cannot say we lost any opportunity to make peace". But there would, he said, be no rush to sign an agreement for agreement's sake. The Israelis have suggested a partial or "shelf" deal might be signed before the year is out - with the most contentious issues like Jerusalem and the fate of refugees left for a later date. All or nothing is the Palestinian response. Facing the painful reality It is not easy being Mahmoud Abbas. At home in Ramallah he's hemmed in by Israeli checkpoints, assailed by the insistent rumble of internal discontent. Every day he faces the painful reality of Palestinian division. On his watch Hamas seized control of Gaza and piled humiliations upon the old guard from Fatah. And now the economic and political misery endured by fellow Palestinians casts a shadow over his every move. His appearance at the venue for the Ambrosetti Forum, the five star Villa d'Este hotel with its panoramic views of Lake Como, could hardly have been further removed from the grim reality of everyday life in the Gaza strip. President Shimon Peres and President Abbas meet in Lake Como The Palestinian president, aware of the corrosive taint of corruption that has stuck to Fatah in recent years, made a point of forsaking the Villa's seductive charms as soon as our interview was done. "If I leave now, I will be home to break the fast", he told me with deliberate emphasis. Polls suggest that most Palestinians give Abu Mazen credit for being a relatively honest politician. But they also see him as a man whose political strategy has failed. Will he run for another presidential term when his four-year term runs out early next year? Maybe, maybe not, was his evasive answer - "the people of Palestine will decide". He was just as cautious in his response to my probing on the impending US presidential election. "We have to deal with whoever is elected... all negotiations and discussions held so far with the Israelis under the patronage of the USA can be handed over to the new administration so they can resume the negotiations", he said, before adding a dig at the Bush Administration: ".. and not act like the current administration did and wait for seven years before beginning a dialogue". Destined for disappointment? I first encountered Mahmoud Abbas almost fifteen years ago - I was a Middle East correspondent caught up in the excitement of the post-Oslo visions of a negotiated two-state solution. Physically Abbas has changed remarkably little in the intervening years. His strategic vision hasn't changed much either. But here's where the difference lies: back then an historic lasting peace seemed possible, now many Palestinians and Israelis believe the moment of opportunity has been and gone. Abu Mazen remains a dogged negotiator, he hasn't given up; but as we parted, and he headed across the Villa d'Este's manicured lawns, he had the air of a man destined for disappointment. <a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7604041.stm">Click here to see the interview with Mahmoud Abbas</a> <hr /> Previous Sackur's World stories<a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7505276.stm">Read about Stephen's interview with Ingrid Betancourt</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7473869.stm">Read Stephen's take on the US presidential elections</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7426434.stm">Read Stephen's thoughts about the wisdom of age</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7312918.stm">Read about Stephen's week in China</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7252639.stm">Read about Stephen's trip to Moscow</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7218403.stm">Read about Stephen's encounter with Studs Terkel</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7144042.stm">Read about Stephen's clash with Al Gore over climate change</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7106182.stm">Read Stephen's Damascus diary</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/6949809.stm">Read about Stephen's visit to India</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/6226312.stm">Read about Stephen's visit to Glastonbury</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/4589238.stm">Read Stephen's thoughts about life on the road</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/4163612.stm">Read Stephen's Gaza diary</a><a class="bodl" href="/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/4181814.stm">Read Stephen's Pakistan diary</a> |