20 Questions: Yasir Arafat

Journalist Morgan Strong first went to speak with Yasir Arafat for a "Playboy Interview" in the September 1988 issue. He met with Arafat in Tunisia and then in Baghdad, after spending six months following the elusive leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization through various exotic ports of call.

Arafat was always on the move then, with reason. He and his troops had been forced to abandon their base in Lebanon after the Israeli invasion.

Strong and Arafat eventually met in Arafat's Tunis headquarters in late 1987. He was perhaps the world's most notorious outlaw at that time.

Now Arafat is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and has been a guest at the White House. The signing of the Peace Accords on the White House lawn in 1993 was a historic event.

Strong reports: "Arafat's aides tell me that in some small measure Playboy was responsible for the accords. They insist that the breakthrough 'Playboy Interview' with the 'Old Man,' as he is referred to by his cohorts, caught the attention of the Reagan administration and led to the beginning of talks between the PLO and the American government in Tunisia.

"It caught Israel's attention as well. The entire interview was reprinted in 'Ha'aretz,' Israel's leading newspaper, and caused enormous--and positive--public reaction.

"Arafat has endured and may finally triumph. After decades of terror and counter-terror, there appears to be a glimmer of hope, despite the fact that Israeli and Palestinian extremists have tried desperately to derail the Peace process.

"In many ways the current peace has become more trying than the years of war, and desperation is evident in Arafat's demeanor. Once a, vigorous and tireless man, he now seems drained and exhausted.

"Arafat faces deliberate resistance to the peace Process and has an exasperating opponent in Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as in Netanyahu's cabinet member Arial Sharon, who tried to kill Arafat."

1.

[Q] Playboy: The last time that we spoke at length was in Baghdad nearly a decade ago. Has a lot changed in the Middle East since then?

[A] Arafat: No, not really, just that we're meeting in Jericho now. [Laughs]

2.

[Q] Playboy: But you've won a Nobel Prize and are closer to the realization of your dream of a Palestinian state. You once told us you would never see that come to pass.

[A] Arafat: I meant I personally might never see it.

3.

[Q] Playboy: What do you mean?

[A] Arafat: You know they have tried to kill me. Thirteen times at least. Ariel Sharon tried to kill me.

4.

[Q] Playboy: Why would they want to assassinate you now?

[A] Arafat: To stop the peace process. That's why they killed my partner Yitzhak Rabin.

5.

[Q] Playboy: But you sit at the same negotiating table now with Ariel Sharon.

[A] Arafat: Yes, but we are separated by a table. [Laughs] I don't talk to him. I have never talked to him.

6.

[Q] Playboy: Do you still have hope for the peace process?

[A] Arafat: Yes. I have hope. I think there will someday be a Palestinian state. But Netanyahu is destroying the peace process. I was not expecting an Israeli government that would destroy the peace process. And I am not the only one saying this. The Americans say it, the European Union says it, the Egyptians say it, the Jordanians say it.

7.

[Q] Playboy: The Israeli government says that you are not living up to your end of the deal.

[A] Arafat: That's not true. I am not responding to those charges. We are meeting our obligations, but the Israelis always demand more. Let them live up to their promises and to their obligations.

8.

[Q] Playboy: Has Clinton been helpful in the process? Do you think he's sincere?

[A] Arafat: Yes. He has taken some big steps. He's trying. Netanyahu met with Clinton's opposition when we visited Washington. Can you imagine that?

9.

[Q] Playboy: What are the consequences of failure?

[A] Arafat: If we made peace, it would change the world. And the Israelis are already losing the chance.

10.

[Q] Playboy: What, specifically, do you mean?

[A] Arafat: All the doors were opened for Israel when we signed the peace agreement. China, Indonesia, Russia, the former Communist countries--all those from which Israel had been barred--opened their doors.

11.

[Q] Playboy: And now?

[A] Arafat: The world is closing to Israel because Netanyahu opposes the peace process.

12.

[Q] Playboy: Are you suggesting that you are doing more for Israel than it is doing for you?

[A] Arafat: No. I'm not doing it just for Israel. I'm doing it for the people of the Middle East. Including Israel. I want to make a new Middle East.

13.

[Q] Playboy: What does Israel stand to gain from Netanyahu's obstinacy? Does he know the consequences?

[A] Arafat: Nothing. Certainly he knows. The majority of the people of Israel know that what he's doing is wrong. And the majority of the people of Israel understand this.

14.

[Q] Playboy: On the positive side, you are now the president of the Palestinian National Authority and you have won the Nobel Prize. Years ago you were considered an outlaw.

[A] Arafat: I was only thought of as an outlaw by some. Most of the world did not regard me as an outlaw.

15.

[Q] Playboy: So the world can change its mind?

[A] Arafat: Yes. Look at Nelson Mandela of South Africa. He was imprisoned and called a (concluded on page 146) Yasir Arafat (continued from page 119) terrorist. Now he is the president of the white and the black South Africans. So things can change and the world will recognize that. They recognize that I am president and am no longer considered an outlaw by any nation.

16.

[Q] Playboy: You've also married and had a daughter. How has that changed you?

[A] Arafat: Well, it is my duty to give my daughter more of my time.

17.

[Q] Playboy: You don't see her often?

[A] Arafat: No. Her mother raises her. But it is very difficult for me. I miss being with her. I rarely see her.

18.

[Q] Playboy: You've been devoted to your cause for a long time. Have you ever thought of stopping or taking a rest?

[A] Arafat: No. When there is a Palestinian state I will rest. Then I might go away. But it is my destiny to continue until then. It is my life.

19.

[Q] Playboy: Is there a message you would like to deliver to the American people?

[A] Arafat: I want to tell them that peace is not just for Palestinians but for every nation.

20.

[Q] Playboy: Do you believe the Americans will help you realize your dream?

[A] Arafat: You remember Beirut. The Americans, the French and the Italians made an agreement with me that if I left with my fighters they would protect the refugee camps at Sabra and Shatila. They did not keep that agreement and thousands were murdered. We must always remember that.

the leader of the plo on assassination attempts, keeping peace and life without his daughter