Yasser Arafat commemorative center inaugurated
Board members of new institute expected to choose late Palestinian leader's nephew, Dr. Nasser al-Qudwa as director
A ceremony will be held in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday evening to mark the inauguration of an institute for the preservation of former Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's legacy. Current PA President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to attend.
The center is to be headed by Arafat's nephew, Dr. Nasser al-Qudwa. Ninety members that sit on the institute's board of trustees are expected to pick Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa as president of the commemorative center.
"Yasser Arafat's legacy is painted with the entirety of modern Palestinian history. The man is an international symbol to all supporters of freedom in the world," Hadash Chairman MK Mohammad Barakeh said.
"As someone who had a very strong relation with Arafat, I feel a personal political obligation to fight for the ideals that he fought for," he added.
Barakeh was appointed as a member of the center's board of trustees alongside MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al), MK Wasil Taha (National Democratic Assembly), MK Taleb el-Sana (United Arab List) as well as other intellectuals and academics.
Work to establish the center for Arafat's legacy began a year ago and has won support from all over the Arab world. It is expected to deal primarily with the collection of archival material, commemerating his legacy, preserving Palestinian culture and conducting research.
"The purpose of the center is to honor the memory of the rais among Palestinians and the whole world. It is important to initiate humanistic and academic activities in order to increase support among women and children, to encourage excellence and to strengthen the unity and national connection between all Palestinians," a statement describing the center's goals read.
Among other things, the institute will establish an archive of articles, pictures and audio recordings related to Arafat in Ramallah. In addition, a museum is to be set up in Arafat's honor and the monument erected in the Muqata compound in Ramallah will be preserved as a symbol of national history
