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| By Associated Press November 18, 2004 |
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Yasser Arafat's nephew, Nasser al-Kidwa, heads to Paris Friday to obtain the medical records related to the Palestinian Authority chairman's death.
Until now, the French doctors who treated Arafat in his last days have declined to say what caused his death last week, citing privacy laws. But French authorities said Thursday they would release Arafat's medical records to al-Kidwa, the Palestinian representative to the United Nations.
"The full medical report of President Arafat is a historical document for the Palestinian people," said Hassan Abu Libdeh, the Palestinian cabinet
secretary.
"We will get the report and the Palestinian Authority will take the necessary decisions including informing the Palestinian people about the full details of the report," he said.
French Defense Ministry spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau said that Arafat's widow, Suha, also intends to formally request his medical dossier. But she proved unwilling during his treatment in France to release much information about his ailments.
Al-Kidwa, on the other hand, has publicly called for an investigation into Arafat's death.
Officials in Paris have insisted that French law prevents them from making Arafat's medical records public, and they have refused to announce the cause of his death in a Paris-area military hospital on November 11.
The lack of information on the cause of Arafat's death has proved fertile ground for widespread rumors in the Arab world that Israel poisoned Arafat, despite official French and Palestinian denials. It also left the quality of care that Arafat received in France open to question and charges that perhaps not everything was done to save him.
The mystery and rumors also risk complicating life for Arafat's successors as they take over the reins of power. That, too, goes against France's wishes, which says it wants a smooth transition for the Palestinian Authority.
Because al-Kidwa is both Arafat's nephew and the Palestinian representative to the United Nations, giving him the records offers France a way out, allowing it to abide by medical privacy laws that restrict information to family members while also responding to the PA's efforts to determine the cause of Arafat's death.
Giving al-Kidwa the medical records would also put the onus on him to explain the cause of death.
Gen. Christian Estripeau, a spokesman for the French military's health wing, said in a telephone interview that al-Kidwa could have access to Arafat's medical records.
"His case has already been studied. I think that if he makes a demand it would be accepted," said Estripeau. As the spokesman for the hospital where Arafat was treated, Estripeau was the first French official to announce on November 11 that Arafat had died after two weeks of treatment at the Percy Military Training Hospital southwest of Paris.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia has ordered an inquiry into the cause of Arafat's death. The inquiry will take testimony from Palestinian and other Arab doctors, Palestinian officials said.
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