MOVES ON UNITY

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30082, 16 March 1963, Page 11

MOVES ON UNITY

Iraq, Syria And U.A.R. (N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) DAMASCUS, Mar. 15. The new Syrian Government said last night that a public referendum might be held in Syria, the United Arab Republic and Iraq on unity between the three countries. The Government said in a policy statement that the move on establishing unity began when a Syrian delegation left yesterday for Cairo to meet U.A.R. and Iraqi delegates as a prelude to the formation of an evenly-repre-sented joint Government committee.

This would be with a view to drawing up an objective basis for unity and for drawing up a federal state subject to a public referendum in the countries concerned.

The Government promised to seek to bring the three countries together within a framework of “studied unity,” with the door left open for the Yemen and Algeria. In Cairo, U.A.R., Iraqi and Syrian officials had a meeting lasting five hours. No official statement was issued afterwards, but meetings will resume today.

Demonstrators threw ink bottles and snowballs at the Iraqi Embassy in Moscow yesterday in protest against the execution of Communists in Iraq.

Several thousand people took part in the demonstration, which lasted about three hours. It is the first time such a demonstration has taken place at an Arab Embassy in Moscow. Today’s demonstration was described as a spontaneous protest. Police were alerted well in advance and had blacked off the street in front of the Embassy by the time the first demonstrators arrived.