| Palestinian Refugee Elections
in the West Bank
On Friday 18 September 1998,
19 representatives of the approximately 20,000 members in the Union of
Youth Activities Centres (UYAC) in the West Bank refugee camps elected
their new Administrative Committee. The new Administrative Committee members
chosen in the elections conducted in the UYAC headquarters in Kalandia
Camp are:
Jamal Shati, Head of the
Union
Wajih Atallah, General Secretary
Mahmoud Radwan, Treasurer
Salah Abed Rabbo, Spokesperson
Adnan Ajarneh, Coordinator-Southern
West Bank Ussama al-Bast, Coordinator-Central West Bank Muhammad Dib, Coordinator-Northern
West Bank
The fact that five of the
seven Administrative Committee members (all except the last two) were re-elected
for a second term confirms the broad community support for Union policy
and projects launched in the previous four-year period. This policy was
summarized by Jamal Shati in his speech of resignation as head of the old
Administrative Committee before the UYAC representatives:
"We have aimed to
build bridges with refugees in the Gaza Strip and in the diaspora. We achieved
to build the bridge with Gaza when the UYAC-West Bank formally united with
the UYAC-Gaza Strip to form the Union of Youth Activities Centres-Palestine
in the spring of 1998. We have continued our struggle for Palestinian independence
and sovereignty, the right of return, and our capital Jerusalem. This was
the platform of the UYAC's initiative for popular refugee conferences from
its beginnings in al-Far'ah in 1995 and until this day. Our refugees rang
the bell of alarm to all those involved in conspiracies against refugees
and their future, and confirmed the ongoing refugee demand for the implementation
of the international resolutions, especially UN Resolution 194 (right of
return)." |