Press Release
Date: March 8, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Council for the National Interest, which sent a delegation that included two former ambassadors to serve as international observers at the recent Palestinian elections, offered alternative witnesses for a panel that Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) is holding on Capitol Hill today, but their request was ignored. One of the witnesses was Ambassador Robert Keeley, former president pf the Middle East Institute and Chairman of CNI Foundation. Another was Eugene Bird, president of CNI.
Mr. Bird condemned the hearing in advance as grossly biased against the Palestinians and against the government they democratically elected in January’s election.
Paul Findley, the founder of CNI and former Republican congressman from Illinois who served twenty years in the House, wrote a letter to Henry Hyde (R-IL), the chairman of the House International Relations Committee, suggesting alternative witnesses to the announced slate. A copy was sent to Ros-Lehtinen, chairperson of the Subcommittee on the Middle East, who is holding the hearing. She did not respond.
Mr. Bird will be releasing at the Hearing (scheduled today at 2:30 PM, Room 2200 Rayburn House Office Building) his own testimony on the significance of the Palestinian elections and what they mean for future US relations in the area. It is based on extensive interviews with Hamas leaders in Gaza, the West Bank and Damascus, with other Islamic nationalist leaders in Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon, which the delegation visited before and after the Palestinian elections.
Ambassador Keeley says, “We are not talking to them, and we need to. The resolution that Ros-Lehtinen and Lantos have submitted to the House should be turned aside, since it will serve only to isolate moderate forces and encourage the extremists. From our talks, we believe that Hamas is keen to change and reform government in Palestine and make it more transparent and honest. This is a praiseworthy aim and should not be discouraged.”
Bird added, “We must not fall into the trap of refusing a dialog with a democratically elected government. We have a chance to act as a much more honest broker.”
Transcripts and full interviews (streaming video) with the Hamas leaders are available at www.cnionline.org.