Angry Arafat calls for Arab boycott of U.S.

Press, 29 March 1979, Page 8

Angry Arafat calls for Arab boycott of U.S.

NZPA-R enter Bagdad A call for an economic boycott of the United States for its part in the Egypt-Israel peace treaty added a new dimension yesterday to a meeting of Arab Foreign and Economic Ministers.

The Palestinian leader,] Yasser Arafat, addressing! the opening of the Arab! League conference, made one of his toughest anti-Ameri-can statements in calling for the economic boycott and the withdrawal of Arab oil money from the United States, The meeting was called to discus sanctions against Egypt to punish President Anwar Sadat for signing the peace treaty. But Mr Arafat said it was not enough to impose sanctions against Mr Sadat only. “I call on you to take the most violent measures against the United States and its interests in the area.” The commando leader said, “America should understand that he who wants to

cut my fingers shall have hL hand amputated by us.” He called on oil States to Icut production by 30 per cent and raise prices by a similar figure. Despite Mr Arafat's strong words and considerable anger in the Arab world over the treaty, moderate member States seemed unlikely to go along with such radical economic moves. Prince Saud, Saudi Arabia’s- Foreign Minister, sat impassively through Mr Arafat’s speech and gave only lukewarm applause at th end. There was no official reaction to Mr Arafat’s appeal from Saudi Arabia, which has enormous amounts of money in the United States, or the other Arab oil producers. ______

Just how tough sanctions | against Egypt will turn out: to be is open to question.' - An Arab summit meeting, last November called for the) imposition of sanctions; against President Sadat if he] signed the treaty, but left a loophole by saying any punitive measures should not [harm the Egyptian people. The conference of Arab i League Foreign and Econjomic Ministers, taking place | in Bagdad Qsar Al Salam ! (Palace of Peace), was arranged to implement the ! sanctions. , Delegations from 16 memiber States and the Palestine i Liberation Organisation are attending, while Somalia, ! Djibouti, Sudan, and Oman. ias well as Egypt, are abisentees. I Egypt announced on Tues-

day that it was freezing alii .jits Arab League activities. Itj . may quit the league depend-: ing on the decisions taken at: lithe Bagdad meeting. i Egypt considers the Bag- i ■ dad meeting a violation of i the league charter because it was convened by Iraq rather ; than the league secretariat as required by the charter. > The idea of an Arabi League was first conceived during World War II by the then British Foreign Secre- ■ tary, Anthony Edem as a : means of rallying Arab countries round the Allies. At the time of the league's > creation, Arab leaders were : unwilling to delegate any , significant part of their sov- . ereignty to the body and left ■ loopholes in the charter which rendered many of its - decisions ineffective. !