The *FREE ARAB VOICE*
August 10, 2000

Dear Readers of the Free Arab Voice,

On August 7th, we distributed a special news report titled 'Palestinians
Stone Azmi Bshara at Baqaa Refugee Camp in Jordan' (Available upon request).
  In response, it seems that Haartz, the "Israeli" news daily, has taken it
upon itself to discredit our report and exonerate Azmi Bshara of being the
subject of Palestinian popular protests.

Attached, you will find the report circulated by Haartz which happens to
contain a great deal of inaccuracies.  Contrary to Haartz's claims, al
Yarmouk Club was not closed down, but apologized to Azmi Bshara for not
being able to host him upon the eruption of popular protests at al Baqaa
Camp.  The DFLP volunteered to host him at their headquarters instead. The
protests grew stronger after which fights almost broke out between Camp
residents and the handful of DFLP supporters who wanted to have Bshara speak
anyway. The protests were not restricted to members of Fateh/Intifada, and
were pretty widespread.  Azmi Bshara's car was pelted with stones, which is
why he turned around and went back where he came from. Jordanian security
stepped in to break up the fights around DFLP headquarters AFTERWARDS.  The
DFLP was supported in this by the remnants of Arafat's supporters in the
Camp.  Very few supporters of the PFLP were involved.  The people who went
to apologize to Azmi Bshara at his hotel in Amman for the protests against
him know, just like everybody knows, that they don't have significant weight
at al Baqaa Camp.

It's up to you, however, if you want to believe the Free Arab Voice or
Haartz.

Moreover, the Free Arab Voice is proud to be vehemently opposed to
"Israel's" right to exist.  But it's not only about that.  Please read our
previous issues over the last few years to verify that fact for yourself.

Finally, we need to clarify to the readers who asked that our opposition to
Azmi Bshara's line does not emanate at all from the fact that he is from the
lands occupied in 1948.  The Palestinian Arabs in the lands occupied in 1948
are part and parcel of our people as the Palestinian National Charter
states.  Our opposition against him is no different from our opposition to
all those who deny the Arab identity of Palestine, proclaim  "Israel's"
right to exist, undercut the armed struggle, condemn the human bombs tactic,
and generally spread defeatist notions that only serve to legitimize the
invaders occupation of our land.

The Free Arab Voice
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The Haartz Report in Response to the Free Arab Voice:

Palestinians block Arab MK's talk to refugees

By Amira Hass
Ha'aretz Palestinian Affairs Correspondent

Palestinian protesters stopped MK Azmi Bishara (National Democratic
Alliance) from giving a talk on Monday at the Baqa'a Palestinian refugee
camp in Jordan.

The protesters were supporters of Abu Mussa, who abandoned Fatah in 1983 and
helped dislodge Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from his base in Tripoli.

Bishara, currently vacationing in Jordan, was invited to speak at the
Yarmouk social club by a number of organizations active in the camp,
including Fatah, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestinian and
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. When the club was closed
down by Jordanian security forces, the lecture was moved to a DFLP meeting
hall.

Bishara claims that about ten Abu Mussa supporters demonstrated outside the
hall because they were opposed to an Israeli MK speaking at the camp. He
said a fist-fight then broke out between them and Fatah, DFLP and PFLP
supporters.

Bishara said that there was no truth whatsoever in a report by the
electronic newsletter "The Free Arab Voice," which said the majority of
refugees had objected to his appearance and threw stones at his car. The
newsletter's Web site reported that Bishara had been invited by the DFLP and
other "Arafatists," as it termed them.

The site is run by Palestinians who vehemently oppose Israel's
existence. The newsletter, which reaches a large number of Palestinian
subscribers in Israel and abroad, gave several reasons for the refugees'
opposition to Bishara's lecture, including his presumed support for a
binational Palestine. This would mean that "Palestine is not Arab, as set
out in the Palestinian covenant."

Bishara said representatives from the various refugee organizations at the
camp visited him yesterday to apologize for the incident and asked him to
return and speak at the camp.

[End of Haartz Report]

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