Middle East - Fatah congress

Where's the money? Fatah delegates ask

Article published on the 2009-08-06 Latest update 2009-08-06 14:10 TU

Under Arafat's eye - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) in front of a banner depicting late leader Yasser Arafat
(Photo: Reuters)

The congress of Fatah, the leading party in the Palestine Liberation Organisation, erupted in acrimony on Wednesday, as younger delegates demanded accounts of the movement's finances. Delegates heckled speakers, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas when he tried to restore order.

Hundreds of delegates reportedly protested on Wednesday that no accounts of the movement's finances were presented to the conference, which met behind closed doors.

They rejected the leadership's claims that Abbas's opening speech on Monday was a sufficient report of the running of Fatah over the last 20 years since the last congress.

Delegates interrupted a speech by Central Committee number two Ahmed Ghneim, who stormed off the podium.

And some heckled Abbas, who was called into the hall to calm them down, when he told them that accounts are the business of committee meetings.

A new generation of Fatah members, who have sworn to root out corruption and impose transparency on the movement, accused the old guard of rigging leadership elections by adding 700 delegates to the list of 1,500 originally announced.

"What we're seeing now is the young guard trying to take power and trying to overcome the old guard, the founders of the organisation alongside Yasser Arafat," reports correspondent Karim Lebour.

"And this new guard is trying to push for changes inside Fatah, especially as far as democracy, transparency, accountability is concerned," he told RFI. "This is not an easy task because Fatah is not a very transparent organisation, we can say."

Some delegates also demanded an inquiry into the death of former leader Yasser Arafat, after founding member Faruq Kaddumi's charge that Abbas plotted with Israel to assassinate him, according to the Ynet website.

Kaddumi, who lives in Tunisia, is boycotting the conference because it is being held on the West Bank, saying that it is still under Israeli occupation.

In a statement issued ahead of the congress, he accused Abbas and his allies of "accumulating millions of dollars and sterling pounds" for themselves and their families and collecting taxes "for their own pocket".