Puzzling silence on Bagdad resolutions

Press, 8 November 1978, Page 8

Puzzling silence on Bagdad resolutions

i NZPA-Reuter Bagdad The Bagdad Arab summit conference set up a SUS3S billion fund to bolster the eastern front against Israel, conference sources have said. But a day after the summit ended, there was still no formal announcement on what resolutions the delegates had approved in their bid to frustrate Egypt’s peace talks with Israel. The Palestine Liberation Organisation chief, Yasser Arafat, who said earlier the resolutions would be made public yesterday, said the meeting had been a glorious Mr Arafat said shortly after the meeting ended that the meeting had decided to impose sanctions against Egypt, and this would be among the resolutions announced. He said the resolutions would be announced to reporters by the official con-

i ference spokesman, but Iraqi officials said they had no knowledge of any press conference. Conference sources said the SUS3S billion war fund is aimed at buttressing the eastern front with Israel, now that the southern, or Egyptian, front appears headed for peace. The sources said the fund would be financed by oil States during the next 10 years, and Syria and Jordan would be the main beneficiaries. In New York, a move by Iraq to have an important United Nations committee approve immediately an arms embargo against Israel was defeated when committee members decided to put off the vote for three weeks. The United Nations General Assembly’s Political Committee voted 59 to 28, with 123 abstentions, against bringing the embargo resolution to a vote. The decision

i meant that the committee > would hold to a previous - ruling that voting on all resolutions would be deferred 1 until the end of its deliber--1 ations in the week starting > November 27. , Commenting on the com- - mittee decision, the Israeli 5 Ambassador (Mr Yehuda Bulm) said that it merely 1 postponed consideration of 1 the embargo and that the ) measure had not been i shelved. But he added that - for the first time in a num-! ber of years the automatic! > majority that has always t been available to the Arabs j against Israel did not work. i The attempt by Iraq to 1 have the resolution come to - a vote immediately was seen j as an effort to give the ! measure extra importance and separate it from other - disarmament resolutions 1 under consideration. One Arab source also said t the sponsors wanted it to - come to a vote as a followi up to the meeting in Bagdad.