World leaders reacted to the death early on Thursday of Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat.
French President Jacques Chirac, said: "With him disappears a man of courage and conviction who for 40 years incarnated the Palestinians' fight for recognition of their national rights."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the peace process was the "highest priority" for the international community.
In Moscow, a Kremlin spokesperson quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying that Arafat's death was "a heavy loss for the Palestinian leadership, (for) the whole Palestinian people."
In Jordan, Prime Minister Faisal Al Fayez has declared a three-day period of public mourning in the kingdom, following the passing away of Arafat. According to Petra, during this period the Jordanian flags will fly half-mast over government offices and other public buildings, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister on Thursday.
Spokesman for the Arab League Hossam Zaki said Arafat's death is "a great loss, not only to the Palestinian cause but to the Arab world." "Arafat was the embodiment of the Palestinian question and his absence will certainly be greatly felt," Zaki noted.
South African President Thabo Mbeki voiced his "deepest regret" at the death of a "giant of the struggle of the poor and struggle of the oppressed," in the words of presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo. Khumalo said Mbeki would attend Friday's funeral service in Cairo.
Asian states praised Yasser Arafat as a hero and the “ultimate embodiment” of the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Arafat, 75, died Thursday in a military hospital in France.
Chinese President Hu Jintao called Arafat "a brilliant leader" and "a great friend" of China and urged Palestinians to continue efforts to bring peace to the Middle East.
India hailed Arafat as "an enduring symbol of Palestinian nationhood."
Former Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan will be dispatched to the funeral of Arafat. In a statement issued after the news of Arafat's death, the ministry expressed deep sorrow, expressing hopes that the Palestinian people swiftly recover from the shock and the loss of their leader.
"Arafat will be remembered as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate devoted to global peace. We also wish for swift fruition of his efforts to attain peace in the Middle East," the statement said.
Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar described Arafat as “a great leader who dedicated his life to defend the rights of his fellow Palestinians.”
“It is a terrible loss as he had long been a beacon of hope for Palestinians in their struggle to live with dignity,” Syed Hamid told The Associated Press.
In Indonesia, a government spokesman lauded Arafat as a “hero to us all.”
“He was the ultimate embodiment of decades of the just struggle of a nation for its undeniable rights to self determination,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said.
“We share in this great loss and we fervently hope that it will translate into renewed momentum for the attainment of freedom, eternal peace and prosperity for the Palestinian people in their own country,” he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called Arafat “a pioneer who had laid out the foundation for the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
“I sincerely hope the Palestinians overcome their sorrow and continue with their effort toward achieving peace and prosperity in the region,” Koizumi said in a statement.
In New Zealand, Foreign Minister Phil Goff said Arafat’s achievement was to “win acknowledgment for the existence of the Palestinian nation and to advocate for the rights of a dispossessed and disadvantaged people.” (albawaba.com)
