Problem for P.M. in P.L.O. clash

Press, 1 October 1979, Page 6

Problem for P.M . in P.L.O. clash

NZPA Belgrade. I he Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) has called an urgent meeting of International Monetary Fund and World Bank officials to decide whether the Palestine Liberation Organisation should attend this week’s fund and hank meetings as observers.

The Yugoslav Finance Secretary (.Mr Petar Kostic) confirmed at a press conference yesterday that the group of 77 developing coun-l tries unanimously approved! the attendance by the P.L.O. | Mr Muldoon, as chairman, of the joint 1.M.F.-WB., meetings, was advised form-i ally yesterday by Mr Kostic: of the decision. “1 have to take the advice of fund and bank officials and it is their opinion that! the invitation to the P.L.0.1 should not be extended." Mr> Muldoon told the NZPA He said he was trying to convene a meeting 'of the 1.M.F.-W.B.’s procedures: committee to consider the] call by the Group of 77. It seems likely the bank: officials will remain adamant, that the P.L.O. should not: attend the meeting, thus 1 prompting a conference floor

clash when the joint meetings open tomorrow. Mr Kostic told the press conference that the P.L.O. had been admitted to several I international agencies, including the United Nations, as observers. If the fund and hank decided the P.L.O. should not attend, he said, the Group of 177 would "have to discuss 'further aspects.” “It is certainly the first time to mv knowledge,” Mr Muldoon said. “This is not a political meeting in the real sense, but they are trying to politicise it.” If backroom efforts by the I.M.F. and bank to keep the P.L.O. away are unsuccessful the issue will go to a vote when the full plenary sessions begin tomorrow. Under the weighted vote system, where a country’s vote allocation depends on its contributions to the fund and bank and on its own

economic performance, the United States may have sufficient votes to lead most of the industrialised nations against the P.L.O. But representatives of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries recently had their vote weights

increased, giving rise to a belief that their votes combined with those of the Group of 77 could test the Western bloc’s strength. “We don’t want it to get to the stage of voting in the conference,” Mr Muldoon said.