Ex-PLO advisor : Occupation 'biggest problem' between West,Ummah

Berlin, Dec 11, IRNA -- Western support for 'Israel's' occupation of Palestine remains the 'biggest problem' in the strained relationship between the West and the Islamic world, a former advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said here Friday.

Addressing a conference in Berlin on Islam and the West, Akram Baker said, "Over one billion Muslims have problems with the West. The biggest problem is the occupation. This affects all Muslims deeply and this is and will remain so."

He added the ongoing occupation of Palestine for the last 60 years was "a thorn in the eye of every Muslim."

Baker stressed although the West said it opposed the occupation of Palestine, it was "supporting it by providing money, weapons and political capital."

Linking the occupation of Palestine to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in the early 1990s, the Palestinian activist pointed out while the West used force to end the Iraqi occupation of the tiny Persian Gulf sheikdom, it is refusing to do so in Palestine.

The independent Palestinian political analyst slammed the West for backing 'corrupt Arab regimes, labeling it "shameful."
"Stop supporting these regimes," he urged.

The expert said the West did not really care about human rights and democracy in the Arab countries, as long as it gets oil from them.
The West does "not give a damn about human rights," he said.

"And western democracy is when our guys win," added Baker, referring to the West's rejection of Hamas' victory in the Palestinian elections in 2006./end