Abbas sought to abort conference in Athens

Source:  AlJazeera.net (AlQuds Press)

(Διαβάστε στα Ελληνικά.  قراءة العربية)

According to Greek sources
Abbas has sought to abort the Jerusalem Conference in Athens

Greek political source said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas intervened to frustrate the holding of the solidarity of Jerusalem and the conference in the Greek capital Athens, he used strong pressure to limit the attendance, although the conference was successful at the end.

The congress was held on June 22 in Athens  in the form of an international symposium titled “Jerusalem, the capital of Arab culture 2009 - Europe for Jerusalem and Gaza.”  This event was organized by the Hellenic-Palestinian Friendship & Europeans for Jerusalem with the participation of eminent personalities from Greece, Europe and Palestine, including politicians, parliamentarians, religious leaders and thinkers, intellectuals and representatives of civil society institutions.

However, sources in the Greek Socialist Party revealed the accurate information described, that communications are carried out by the Palestinian president in order to “encircle and reduce the participation in the conference as much as possible.”

The source added that Abbas had contacted George Papandreou personally, President of the PASOK Greek Socialist Party, and asked him to put pressure on his party’s parliamentarians and officials and to get them not to attend the conference “so that the level of political presence, to be low as much as possible.” Abbas also held communications to leaders of other political parties in Greece for the same goal, as assurances of the source.

The source said that “the arguments advanced by Mr. Abbas to put pressure on the politicians was that the Greek organizers of the conference, mostly are close to the government of Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza and do not agree with the views of the PLO and the Palestinian Authority to adopt a negotiating approach in dealing with Israel.”

According to the sources, Abbas has also expressed dismay about the increasing activity of groups advocating the right of return for the lifting of the siege of Gaza in Greece, called on “all that is related to the movement of Palestinians should be done through the PLO and its ambassadors and representations abroad exclusively.”