Arafat was bid farewell in a state funeral in Cairo attended by representatives of 61 countries. Reem Nafie was there Last Thursday, millions of Egyptians watched, with sadness and foreboding, as Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's body arrived in Cairo. The plane's arrival from France was carried live on TV, as announcers recounted the story of the Palestinian leader's life. On Friday morning, kings, presidents and dignitaries from 61 countries, led by President Hosni Mubarak, participated in the military funeral that took place in Cairo to honour Arafat. Egyptian officials had decided, a day earlier, to host the funeral at Al-Galaa military club, since it was close to the Almaza Airbase, from where Arafat's body would then be transported to Ramallah. Both locations were also close to the Cairo International Airport, where delegations participating in the services would arrive. Under strict security measures -- which included a complete sealing off of the Heliopolis district's main thoroughfare, Al-Orouba Street, where the military club is located -- the services began with prayers presided over by Al- Azhar's Grand Imam, Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi. The guests were assembled in a tent set up for that purpose, where Palestinian leaders, including PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the head of the Fatah movement, Farouk Qaddoumi, received condolences. Amongst those who took part in the funeral were Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah, King Abdullah of Jordan, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Tunisian President Zein El-Abdine Ben Ali and Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh. While many were surprised by the last minute arrival of Al-Assad -- whose father, former President Hafez Al-Assad had a troubled relationship with Arafat -- others were more shocked that Israel had not dispatched a single government official to attend the ceremony. It was also notable that the United States only sent Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, a mid-ranking state official, to the funeral. Many felt Arafat's status as a president and Third World liberation icon deserved a higher representation from the world's foremost superpower. The mourners then walked for several hundred metres behind a gun carriage drawn by six black horses, upon which was Arafat's coffin, wrapped in the Palestinian flag. At the air base, an Egyptian helicopter stood ready to transport the casket to the Sinai town of Al-Arish, where another helicopter would then make the last leg of the journey to Ramallah. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit and Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman accompanied Arafat's body to Ramallah. Arafat's widow Soha and their nine-year-old daughter Zahwa, however, were accompanied by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak to bid their final farewell to Arafat on the air base runway in Cairo. The original plan to host the funeral at either the Arab League headquarters, or at Heliopolis's King Faisal Mosque, were changed by Egyptian security officials, who felt the general public would be difficult to contain in such open areas. Many TV viewers, meanwhile, were pleasantly surprised by special reports broadcast repeatedly on Thursday night informing the public of which roads would be closed for the next morning's funeral. The short spots that ran on state-run TV told people that Al-Orouba Street would be completely sealed off, and provided alternative routes that could be taken instead. The same bulletin was also broadcast on several radio stations. Much of the public, however, was disappointed at the fact that only dignitaries and officials were allowed to participate in the funeral. Many felt that they were entitled to mourn the Palestinian leader who was born and educated in Cairo, and whose cause so many fervently supported. A "popular" symbolic funeral was thus held at Al-Azhar Mosque after Friday prayers on the same day as the official event. Several hundred political activists and intellectuals, as well as members of the Egyptian Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada (ECSPI), attended. "This is the least we can do," said ECSPI member Wael Khalil. "We really don't think the state funeral, as it was planned, was enough or befitting of this leader's history and role." To spread the word, committee members sent out an avalanche of text messages and e-mails inviting people to participate in their funeral service. But it was thousands of anti-riot police who turned up, creating, with their black uniforms, helmets and batons, a long black line stretching across Al- Azhar Street. Dozens of khaki police vehicles were lined up around the mosque itself. The regular worshippers who attend the Friday prayers at the mosque were apparently intimidated by the rows of police, and quickly departed once the prayers were over. The few who remained took part in a Palestinian solidarity demonstration against Israel, the US and what they called "cowardly Arab governments". The demonstration remained inside the mosque as police prevented them from marching out onto the main street.
