Why Is This Man A Candidate For The ALP?

From a Web posting on Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 by Helen Shardey, Victorian State Shadow Minister for Health, Member for Caulfield ...

This is Khalil Eideh, Steve Bracks’s candidate for the Western Metro Region of the Legislative Council. He’s almost certain to be elected at the election in November. According to the Sunday Herald Sun, Mr Eideh has pledged ‘absolute loyalty’ to the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad. The newspaper published extracts from letters written by Mr Eideh to the Syrian president in which he speaks of Zionist and colonial attacks on the Arab nation. It also quoted a speech he gave in 2002 in which he claimed that “Satan brigades are getting ready to enslave the Arab world”. This speech, made to mark the second anniversary of the death of Syria’s last dictator, was published in the Sydney Arabic newspaper El Telegraph. The translation of the offending section reads:
Satan brigades from around the world are getting ready to enslave the Arab world.We can see your [the late President Assad’s] soul shining in the faces of Arab heroes and martyrs who are the conscience of the nation and the carriers of dawn flags coming from the south of Lebanon and Palestine.
What can he have meant by this? Surely he wasn’t praising Hezbollah?

Yesterday the Premier [Steve Bracks]was asked about it ...The Premier does not appear to get the issue here. ... it’s about whether or not the ALP should be endorsing a man who appears to praise one of the most notorious terrorist organizations in the world.

Why is the ALP planning to put this man into Parliament?

Ms Shardey has continued her opposition to this endorsement, on 16th June reporting of Foreign Mnister Downer's speech on the matter.

Also see reports in The Australian and the Australian Jewish News.

To support the campaign against this endorsement write to: steve.bracks@parliament.vic.gov.au and copy Helen Shardey at helen.shardey@parliament.vic.gov.au