MIDDLE EAST: France insisted yesterday that Yasser Arafat was not poisoned, but Palestinian leaders still concerned about the mystery cause of his death said they would send a delegation to Paris to seek more details.
The 75-year-old leader died in a military hospital outside Paris last week, but doctors have refused to release his medical records, citing strict French confidentiality laws.
Only Mr Arafat's next-of-kin can publish his medical records, something his widow, Suha, has so far declined to do.
Le Monde newspaper fuelled the controversy by quoting doctors yesterday as saying that Mr Arafat had succumbed to an unusual blood disease and a liver problem.
Palestinian leaders have dismissed speculation that Mr Arafat was poisoned by Israel, which has denied any role in the death of its long-time enemy. No evidence has been provided to back the allegation of poisoning.
"The conditions surrounding the death of President Yasser Arafat raise questions," said Palestinian Prime Minister Mr Ahmed Qurie's office in a statement in Ramallah.
Mr Rawhi Fattouh, Mr Arafat's interim successor as President, told reporters: "A delegation will go to France to obtain clarifications on the medical report on what caused the death of our martyr leader, Yasser Arafat."
Officials said the group was to be headed by Health Minister Mr Jawad al-Tibi and would include Justice Ministry officials, doctors and Muslim clerics.
In Paris, French government spokesman Mr Jean-François Cope dismissed talk that Mr Arafat had died of unnatural causes.
"If doctors had had the slightest doubt, they would have referred it to the police. I note that permission was given for him to be buried," he said after the weekly Cabinet meeting.
"Yasser Arafat received the best care possible, and all the tests that should have been done were done," he said.
Mr Arafat died last week after being flown in from his headquarters in Ramallah on October 29th suffering from stomach pains, diarrhoea and vomiting. Aides quoted doctors as saying he had weight loss and a low count of platelets, which help the blood to clot. They later said he had gone into a coma, suffered a brain haemorrhage and lost the use of his vital organs one by one.
Dr Ashraf al-Kurdi, a Jordanian doctor who treated Mr Arafat for a quarter of a century, reiterated calls for an autopsy in an interview yesterday. - (Reuters)