Back to PLO Bulletin 1 November 1978

PALESTINE NOTES

ARAFAT RECEIVES LETTER FROM CEAUSESCU

On 12 October 1978, Yasser Arafat received Rumanian President Nicoloi Ceausescu's special envoy.

During the meeting, current developments in the region were discussed, especially the results of the Camp David Summit, as well as relations between the PLO and Rumania.

Ceausescu's special envoy also delivered a written letter to Yasser Arafat from the Rumanian President.

ARAFAT SENDS ENVOY TO KHUMAINI

On 13 October 1978, Yasser Arafat has sent a special envoy to deliver a personal message to the Iranian Shiite and opposition leader Imam Ayatollah al-Khumaini, who has recently settled in Paris.

IMPORTANT SAUDI MESSAGE TO PLO

On 14 October 1978, Arafat met with Ali Al-Shaer, the Saudi Ambassador who handed him a message from Crown Prince Fahd Ben Abdel Aziz, in which he clarified the Saudi stand towards the results of Camp David, especially the question of Jerusalem and of Palestinian national rights, including the right of self-determination and the establishment of an independent state headed by the PLO.

ARAFAT HOLDS TALKS IN LIBYA

Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and General Commander of the forces of the Palestinian Revolution, met on 14 October 1978 with President Muammar Qadhafi. The meeting was attended by Abu Iyyad, Member of the Fateh Central Committee and Abu Tareq, Representative of Fateh in Libya. The meeting centered on the latest developments of the current situation in the area.

CABLE OF SUPPORT FROM LIBYAN LABOUR UNIONS

Yasser Arafat received a cable from Libya Labour and Professional Unions expressing continued support for the Palestinian people under the leadership of the PLO. The cable also denounced the Camp David accords, and supported the resolutions of the recent Steadfastness and Confrontation Summit which was held in Damascus.

ARAFAT CONGRATULATES KENYAN PRESIDENT

Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and General Commander of the forces of the Palestinian Revolution sent a cable of congratulations on 19 October 1978, to Daniel Arap Moi, on his election as President of Kenya.

The cable wished the new President health and happiness, and the Kenyan people progress.

PLO DELEGATION TO VATICAN, LETTER OF CONGRATULATION

On 18 October 1978, Yasser Arafat, Chariman of the PLO Executive Committee, sent a letter of congratulation to Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his election. The following is the text of the letter:

"It is with greatest pleasure that I extend you the warmest congratulations, in the name of the Palestinian People, of the PLO and in my own name, on the occasion of the election of your Holiness as father and shepherd of the Catholic Church.

"Our people, who have been suffering for thirty years from oppression and dispersion, look towards your Holiness to bring peace to the land of Palestine, where Christians, Muslim and Jews lived together in peace for centuries.

"We take the opportunity to extend to you the warmest greetings, and pray the Almighty will protect you and kepe you as the leader of peace and justice, in the hope that the right of our people will be achieved in the birthplace of the Prince of Peace."

A PLO delegation, headed by Executive Committee member Abdel Jawad Saleh, left for Rome on 21 October 1978 to attend the coronation of the new pope.

GRADUATION OF NEW FIGHTERS IN SOUTH LEBANON

Yasser Arafat, Abu Jihad at Graduation Ceremony

The Popular Association for the Defense of South Lebanon, on 19 October 1978, celebrated the graduation of another group of fighters, in the presence of representatives of the Palestinian Revolution, the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) and southern popular bodies. The celebration inlcuded a military parade, and speakers praised the solidarity between the Palestinian Revolution and the LNM against Israeli-isolationist conspiracies aimed at partitioning Lebanon and striking at the LNM. At the end of the ceremony, prizes were distributed to the five most outstanding graduates.

FATEH CENTRAL COMMITTEE HAILS BIRTH OF YEMENI SOCIALIST PARTY

The Fateh Central Committee sent a cable of congratulations to the Socialist Party of the Democratic Republic of Yemen, on the occasion of its first congress. The cable said that the birth of the Party will consolidate the Arab people's potentials in their confrontation of imperialist, Zionist and reactionary conspiracies aimed against Arab liberation movements and progressive forces.

RALLY IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINIANS UNDER OCCUPATION

On 26 October 1978, a rally was held at the Arab University of Beirut, in support of the struggle of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, against the Camp David conspiracy, and, in particular, the "self-rule" plan.

Kamal Shatila, Yasser Arafat, Muhsin Ibrahim, Yasser Abed- Rabbo, George Habash (from left to right) at Rally against Occupation

The rally was attended by Yasser Arafat; Muhsin Ibrahim, Deputy-head of the Political Council of the Lebanese National Movement Abu Iyyad and Abu Jihad, both members of the Fateh Central Committee; George Habash, Secretary General of the PFLP; Yasser Abed-Rabbo, Head of the PLO Information Department; Ahmed Yamani (Abu Maher), member of the PFLP politburo, as well as a number of Arab Ambassadors and cadres of the Palestinian Revolution and the Lebanese National Movement.

Arafat addressing the rally declared: "The Camp David conspiracy is not aimed only against the Palestinians, Lebanon and Syria, but against the Arab Nation from the Atlantic to the gulf."

An important element in restoring equilibrium in the Arab region is additional cohesion with friends, with socialist countries led by the Soviet Union," he added.

Arafat affirmed that was "not against the peace, as claimed, but against surrender."

PLO DELEGATION VISITS PEKING

A PLO delegation, led by Abu Hil, member of the Central Committee of Fateh, arrived in Peking on 29 October 1978.

The delegation is to bring a message of Chairman Arafat to the Chairman of the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, Hua Kuo-Feng, concerning developments in the Middle East after the Camp David agreement.

PALESTINIAN-SOVIET TALKS BEGIN IN MOSCOW

A Palestinian delegation headed by Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and the General Commander of the forces of the Palestinian Revolution, arrived in Moscow on 29 October, 1978, from Damascus in response to an official invitation issued by the Soviet leadership.

The delegation includes Khaled al-Fahoum, Chairman of the Palestinian National congress; PLO Official Spokesman Abdul Muhsen Abu Maizar, Zuhair Mohsen, Head of the PLO Military Department; Talal Naji, Head of the PLO Cultural Department; and Faiq Warrad and Saleh Ra'fat, both members of the PLO Central Council.

Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko With Chairman Arafat

The PLO delegation was received at Moscow Airport by the deputy head of the international section of the SPSU Central Committee, by the head of the same department at the Foreign Ministry and by the President of the Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee.

Soviet talks began at the Soviet Foreign Ministry, with the Palestinian side headed by Yasser Arafat, and the Soviet side by Soviet Foreign Minister, comrade Andrei Gromyko.

Yasser Arafat presented the PLO's view-point regarding current and anticipated events in the region. The Soviet side expressed their high appreciation of the analysis and confirmed that the points of view of both parties were in agreement regarding all issues discussed, particularly the Camp David accords and the latter's violation of Palestinan, Arab and international legitimacy.

Comrade Gromyko affirmed to the Palestinian delegation the USSR's firm and principled stand in support of the just struggle waged by the Arab people to liberate their land, and in support of the Palestinian people and their inalienable national rights, particularly their right to return, to exercise self-determination and to establish their independent state over their national soil, under the leadership of the PLO, their sole legitimate representative.

Comrade Gromyko also reiterated the Soviet Union's absolute support fo the National Front for Steadfastness and Confrontation, and expresed his confidence in the inevitable victory of the just Arab cause.

Addressing Arafat, Gromyko added: "the Soviet leadership and people stand by your side and will not abandon you until you realize your just national goals, and will offer all support to your just struggle against the Zionist aggressors and their allies, who only dream of expansion and domination at the expense of the Arab Nation."