Back to PLO Bulletin 1-15 July 1979

EMERGENCY ARAB CONFERENCE IN LIBYA

PLO leaders meet with President Qaddafi

Chairman Arafat visited Tripoli, Libya, from June 6-13 and attended the anniversary celebrations there for the evacuation of American troops from Libyan bases in 1969. He also participated in sessions of an emergency conference, held in Tripoli between various factions of the Palestinian Resistance Movement, Iraqi and Syrian delegations, and the Libyan leadership, which ended on June 15. Arafat's visit to Libya and the convening of the conference came as part of a joint Arab effort to confront the Zionist aggression against the Palestinian and Lebanese people and to boost and strengthen the Arab steadfastness against imperialism, Zionism and Sadat's capitulationary stand.

Palestinian sources, referring to the conference, praised the spirit that prevailed during the conference but stressed the need for real actions rather than mere rhetoric and lamentations over what is happening inside and outside the occupied territories.

A final communique released at the end of the conference on June 15 reaffirmed the unity of the Palestinian people under the PLO leadership. It called on all Arab countries to open their borders for commando operations and to give support and arms to the Lebanese National Movement. The communique also called for a fourth Arab Summit to implement resolutions taken at the Baghdad summit conference. Followings are main points of the communique:

• Developing the military potential of the Palestinian Revolution to escalate the Palestinian armed struggle and enable the Revolution to realize its objectives.
• Training and arming the Palestinian masses in all Arab countries.
• Realizing Palestinian national unity on the basis of the political and organizational work program adopted during the 14th session of the Palestinian National Congress.
• Stressing the unity of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories and outside them, under the leadership of the PLO, their sole legitimate representative, and striving to foil the self-rule plot.
• Asking Arab States to provide for the defence of the Lebanese cities and villages and the Palestinian camps from the daily Zionist air raids and attacks.
• Supporting Palestinian-Lebanese unity within the framework of a unified confrontation plan and through a joint command composed of the Palestinian Revolution and the Lebanese National and Progressive Movement to confront the imperialist-isolationist conspiracy against Lebanon.
• Supporting and arming the Lebanese national and progressive movement, because it represents the Lebanese nationalist masses and is a strategic ally of the Palestinian Revolution, and calling on the Arab States to stand with these forces.
• Stressing the necessity to refute the allegations of the agent Saad Haddad, to concentrate all Arab potentials towards this end and to deter repeated Israeli attacks on the South.
• Saluting the steadfastness masses of South Lebanon which are safeguarding the Palestinian Revolution and are bearing the tragedies caused by the Zionist enemy.
• Opening all Arab Fronts before commando actions against the Zionist enemy and escalating armed struggle for liberation and return.
• Supporting Syria militarily, politically and economically to consolidate its steadfastness.
• Full implementation of the political, economic, military, financial and cultural boycott of the Egyptian regime, as well as the boycott of the Suez Canal and the Suez-Alexandria pipeline.
• Standing with the Egyptian masses and nationalist forces.
• Consolidating friendship and deepening the strategic alliance with the progressive forces in Africa, Asia and Latin America and with the Socialist States, particularly the Soviet Union.
• Liquidating U.S. military, economic and political interests in the Arab and Islamic States, since the USA is the main enemy of Arab aspirations and the principal ally of the Zionist enemy.
• Supporting Libya military, politically and with manpower in the event of its being subjected to aggression, and considering any aggression against Libya to be an aggression against the Palestinian Revolution.
• Briefing all members of the Steadfastness and Confrontation Front on the above resolutions.