RAMALLAH, Wednesday, May 15, 2019 (WAFA) – “Rejecting my visa application or delaying and not issuing visas for Palestinian officials, diplomats and human rights activists reflects the petty and vindictive policies of the current US administration,” said Hanan Ashrawi, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). “This administration does not seek partnerships or dialogue because it is incapable of accepting disagreements or criticism.”
Ashrawi tweeted two days ago that she was denied an entry visa to the US despite the fact that she got her Ph.D. from a US university, has grandchildren and family living there and has travelled there several times in the past where she spoke at conferences and attended many other activities.
“It is official! My US visa application has been rejected. No reason given. Choose any of the following: I’m over 70 & a grandmother; I’ve been an activist for Palestine since the late 1960’s; I’ve always been an ardent supporter of nonviolent resistance,” wrote Ashrawi in her tweet two days ago.
“I’ve met (& even negotiated with) every Sec. of State since Shultz, & every President since George H. W. Bush (present administration excluded),” she added. Nevertheless she was denied an entry visa.
“Along with its allies in the fundamentalist Israeli rightwing, the (US President Donald) Trump administration treats the Palestinian people with disdain and hostility and insists on exacting punishment from the Palestinian people, who refuse to trade their inalienable rights to freedom and independence for money and the promise of ‘better living conditions’ under the cruel regime of occupation,” said Ashrawi in a statement today.
She added: “This ideological and practical alliance between the Trump administration and the rightwing in Israel makes the administration complicit in the ongoing injustice against our people as well as the widespread crimes committed against the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation.”
The PLO official stressed, “Such petty politics, objectionable arrogance, unilateralism, and disdain for international law reaffirm that that this administration is neither qualified nor capable of playing any constructive role in peacemaking in the region,” she said.
“The Trump administration wrongly believes that launching a political and financial assault on the Palestinian people will force the Palestinian people and leadership to surrender. The Palestinian people will not abandon their just cause for freedom and independence, relinquish their legitimate and historic rights to Jerusalem, or abandon the Palestine refugees and their rights, as stipulated under international law,” said Ashrawi, adding, “It suffers from the illusion that such irresponsible policies could ensure the success of its so-called plan in the coming weeks.”
The PLO official concluded: “The Palestinian people will not allow the Trump administration‘s hostile policies and illegal actions to obscure or tarnish their longstanding and principled partnerships with human and civil rights advocates in the US, who challenge this administration‘s objectionable policies and insist on defending the dignity of all people as a universal value.
“The Palestinian people are not alone. We have principled and vocal friends across the United States and the world, who continue to persist in our joint struggle for justice, freedom, and universal human rights.”
M.K.
