Nayif Hawatimah

Nayif Hawatimah was on Aljazeera show with Sami Kulayb. Kulayb is a most able and calm interviewer: I loved his show Ziyarah Khassah. He is a very interesting interviewer--not as successful as a writer judging from his occasional articles in As-Safir. So he interviewed Nayif Hawatimah of the DFLP the other day. He simply asked why he (a man born in 1935) would not resign to give other people the chance to lead (what is left of) the DFLP. Hawatimah would give these long rambling answers, and Kualyb would not have it: he kept pressing him while mocking his ability to give these meaningless long answers. Until Hawatimah started talking about democracy within the DFLP: and then Kulayb asked him why there is no other leader if there is democracy within the DFLP. Hawatimah then said that it is normal for "historical leaders" of national liberation movements to stay (presumably forever), and gave the example of Mandela, thereby comparing himself (the least charismatic of all Palestinian leaders, probably as lacking in charisma as Salam Fayyad, but the latter is not a leader, unless you consider obtaining 2% of the popular vote of the Palestinian people (along with his partner, Hanan `Ashrawi) and support from Israeli occupation a sign of leadership) to a most charismatic leader. Kulayb reminded him that Mandel gave up his position as president, thereby surprising Hawatimah. Hawatimah then was so pressed that he had to volunteer that the offered to resign but that DFLP members (all five of them) insisted the he stays. Anybody who knows anything about the DFLP would know that Hawatimah was lying. Hawatimah would never relinquish power voluntarily, ever. This is a man who insist on signing the organizations memos and little requests (to buy kleenex tissues) for anything. But to his credit: I say this. As the Leninist organization head that he is, he is alone among all Lebanese and Palestinian organizations of the Lebanese civil war who did not squander the wealth and who managed most skillfully the finances of the DFLP.

PS Nimer sent me this (I cite with his permission): "I read your today's posting about Nayef Hawatmah. About 6 years ago, when I used to go on Paltalk, Nayef Hawatmah was invited to a Palestinian room and was talking and bragging. Since I did not have time to ask him the question on the mic, I typed the following question : Since you’re talking about engaging the youth, why don’t you leave your position to a younger one? I was bounced out of the room within seconds."