Erekat Abandons Hope For 'Road Map'.

At his Jericho office, Saeb Erekat, the veteran PA negotiator who has resigned from the new Palestinian cabinet (see last week's Recorder) and whose resignation was accepted by PM Abbas, tells The FT: "I came to the conclusion that it would be easier for the Pope to cancel Christmas Mass than for Sharon to accept the road map". Erekat says he realised, during a meeting last week with US State Secretary Colin Powell that Washington is not going to press Sharon to accept the US-backed peace plan. He says he quited after the leadership ignored his advice not to go ahead with a meeting on May 17 between Abbas and Sharon. Erekat argued that the meeting would allow Sharon to claim that he was pursuing bilateral negotiations. Erekat says: "I told Abu Mazen 'Do not allow Sharon to hide behind the term bilateral meetings and don't allow President Bush to hide behind the idea that Palestinians and Israelis can solve it bilaterally'". Erekat, who describes himself as the founder of the Palestinian peace movement, says: "Peace to me isn't a public relations stunt, it's a way of life". He is also critical of unnamed colleagues in the leadership for failing the people. "I believe Palestinians deserve better. I believe we need every possible step towards accountability, transparency, democracy and human rights". He says a date should be set for new Palestinian elections, perhaps in six months, and indicates he plans to run for senior office. He says: "I'll be in the elections for sure... and I promise that each Palestinian who misused his position in any way possible, economically and so on, will not be tolerated". He says he has also quit the PLO negotiations committee but that Arafat has yet to accept his resignation.