Egypt Delays Czech PM's Visit for Remarks on Arafat

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, February 20, 2002

Egypt Delays Czech PM's Visit for Remarks on Arafat

Egypt on Tuesday decided to delay Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman's visit due on February 28 to protest against his remarks on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

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Egypt on Tuesday decided to delay Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman's visit due on February 28 to protest against his remarks on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher announced the decision.

In a recent interview with an Israeli newspaper, Zeman said that "at the time, (Adolf) Hitler was the biggest terrorist in the world. Then there was no call to conduct negotiations with him, just as today negotiations should not be conducted with terrorist."

Asked if he compared Arafat to Hitler, Zeman was quoted as saying "of course. Indeed, it is not my duty to pass judgement on Arafat, but anyone who supports terrorism, anyone who sees terrorism as a legitimate means, anyone who uses terrorism that causes the death of innocent people is a terrorist in my eyes."

The Palestinian side has swiftly lashed out at Zeman's remarks as showing a "most racist attitude toward the Palestinian leadership."

In addition, Arab League chief Amr Moussa on Tuesday expressed displeasure over Zeman's remarks, saying that such remarks prove that Zeman is not fully aware of how the situation in the Palestinian territories is going, and has never listened to both sides.

Also in the day, Zeman denied having compared Arafat to Hitler, saying that he has been misquoted by the newspaper.

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