(2) PALESTINIAN LEADER CONFIRMS ITALY'S IMPORTANCE IN PEACE PROCESS
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(1) TENS OF THOUSANDS CALL FOR PALESTINIAN STATE
ROME (AFP) March 10, 2002— Tens of thousands of people marched in Rome on
Saturday to call for the creation of a Palestinian state and express
solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The protest — organised by the Democratic Left, the Green party, two
Communist parties and anti-globalisation groups — brought traffic in central
Rome to a standstill, as demonstrators marched in intermittent rain.
Organisers said some 50,000 people participated in the three-kilometre
march
along the Italian capital's main thoroughfares.
The demonstration ended at the Piazza Navona, where speakers called
for peace
in the Middle East and an end to the bloodshed, a day after the deadliest
day
in the 17-month conflict, which left more than 50 Palestinians dead.
Many protesters — among them women wearing Islamic headscarves — said
they
believed Israelis and Palestinians could live together in peace.
Demonstrators said they supported both the security of the state of
Israel,
and the creation of a Palestinian state.
Police were out in force to maintain order — ahead of a Lazio-AS Roma
football match set for Sunday — but no incidents were reported.
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(2) PALESTINIAN LEADER CONFIRMS ITALY'S IMPORTANCE IN PEACE PROCESS
According to Yasser Arafat, Italy could, because of its historical,
religious
and geopolitical ties with the Middle East, and because of its good
relationship with the United States and its position in Europe, become
a
catalyst in the troubled area's peace process. The Palestinian leader
made
this declaration yesterday, on the eve of a summit meeting in Brussels
between the European Union's foreign ministers, where a Saudi Arabian
Middle
East peace proposal will be on the agenda.
http://www.italy-news.net/index_eng.php3- March 11, 2002
