Democratic Palestine : 32 (ص 4)
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- Democratic Palestine : 32 (ص 4)
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that it cannot count on support forever
if it appears to be the rejectionist in the
peace process.»“ Lerner was speaking
at a conference in New York, organized
by Tikkun and attended by over 2,000
American Jews from 37 states. Lerner
added that programs will be held in
every Jewish community in the US, in
order to set up an alternative voice to
the traditional leadership.
THE TROIKA AND EUROPE
As for Europe, a flurry of activities
have been taking place lately, most im-
portantly, those of the troika which is
composed of the foreign minister of
Greece, Karlois Papoulis, France’s
Roland Dumas and Spain’s Francisco
Ordonez, who were delegated to visit
the Arab countries and Israeli prior to
their January 27th meeting with PLO
Chairman Arafat in Madrid. Ordonez,
the representative of Spain which
assumed the presidency of the EEC as
of January Ist, met with Shamir in
Israel on behalf of the 12 European
countries, but with no positive results.
Likewise, Dumas arrived in Israel and
met both Shamir and Arens. Dumas
called for mutual recognition and for
Israeli leaders to compromise and
reciprocate the Palestinian peace in-
itiative.
Shamir reacted by accusing the
European community of having a «love
affair» with the PLO; as far as he was
concerned, the PLO peace initiative «in
no way disguises the satanic plots and
intentions of these people.» He added,
«We are currently witness to the entire
western world as they worship the flag
of the people who hate Israel.»
The EEC representatives said
repeatedly that they had no peace in-
itiative of their own and that their mis-
sion was aimed at breaking the
deadlock. The EEC endorses the con-
cept of an international peace con-
ference under UN auspices with the
participation of the five permanent
members of the Security Council, as
well as all concerned parties, including
the PLO. European Parliament
Speaker Plum said the EEC wanted
improved conditions for the Palesti-
nians, and reminded the Israelis that
the EEC had to apply sanctions against
2
Israel until it allowed direct exports of
Palestinian citrus from Gaza.
Britain’s deputy foreign secretary,
William Waldegrave, met with PLO
representative, Bassam Abu Sharif, in
London, and later with Arafat in
Tunis. On his return he was praised by
Prime Minister Thatcher and other
government officials who defended him
after he called Shamir a «reformed ter-
rorist,» which created an uproar in
Israel.
The Scandinavian countries have also
joined in the search for peace in the
Middle East. Arafat visited Sweden and
Finland on invitation, and held talks
with Norwegian Foreign Minister
Thorvald Stoltenberg in Tunis, not to
mention the role played by Sweden as
an intermediary between the US and the
PLO.
THE SOVIET PEACE
INITIATIVE
In line with the Soviet Union’s global
peace offensive, Foreign Minister
Eduard Shevardnadze visited the Mid-
dle East, a tour which took him to
Damascus, Cairo, Amman, Baghdad
and Tehran. It was the first such visit
by a Soviet foreign minister since 1975.
Shevardnadze’s visit, like that of the
troika, was aimed at pushing the UN
Security Council to convene an inter-
national peace conference with the par-
ticipation of all parties to the conflict,
including the PLO. He suggested that
the five permanent members of the
Security Council assume the role of a
preparatory committee to coordinate
between the different parties and
facilitate the convening of the peace
conference, with the time limit for the
preparatory phase not to exceed nine
months.
Upon his arrival in Damascus,
Shevardnadze said, «It is our profound
conviction that favorable prerequisites
are now in place for movement towards
convening an international
conference.»* He outlined three
necessary steps for setting the stage for
peace. The first is the role of the
Security Council, and he suggested that
the foreign ministers of the member
states of the council meet and discuss
the issue. The second step is the forma-
tion of a preparatory committee from
the five permanent members of the
Security Council, to be in contact with
the parties involved in the conflict. The
third is the role of the UN and its
Secretary General.
Shevardnadze complained that
although the Security Council, the
General Assembly and the European
countries all support the convening of
an international conference, Israel still
rejects this.
On February 22nd, Shevardnadze
flew to Cairo where he held separate
meetings with Israeli Foreign Minister
Moshe Arens and PLO Chairman Yasir
Arafat. He told Arens that peace in the
Middle East cannot be realized without
a sincere effort on the part of Israel.
According to the Israeli newspaper,
Maariv, February 22nd, Arens told
Shevardnadze, «We will reject any
proposed solution if it includes the
PLO.»
Afterwards, Shevardnadze met with
Arafat. At a news conference after the
meeting, Arafat said that he was
satisifed with the position and support
of the Soviet Union.
TACTICS OR
CONCESSIONS?
Although the US-PLO dialogue is a
positive step, it has unfortunately led
the PLO leadership to give unnecessary
concessions, such as offering the US
intelligence services «important» in-
formation, expressing willingness to
conduct direct negotiations with Israeli
Officials, and the proposition to form
an economic union between Israel,
Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, etc.
These concessions are contrary to the
PNC’s decisions, and detract from the
main goals of the present phase, which
are continuing the intifada and the
establishment of an _ independent
Palestinian state. As such, they create
confusion among the Palestinian and
Arab masses, and impact negatively on
Palestinian national unity which is of
utmost importance at this crucial junc-
ture. Such concessions could be harm-
ful to the intifada which is the real
reason for the US decision to open the
dialogue with the PLO in the first
place.
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