Arab States fight to get Israel out of Unesco parley

Press, 25 September 1980, Page 7

Arab States fight to get Israel out of Unesco parley

NZPA-Reuter Belgrade i A dispute over Israel’s credentials yesterday overshadowed the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation general conference in Belgrade and threatened to delay its work. Arab States, backed by several Asian, African, and Communist countries, argued when the conference opened that Israel should not be admitted because its credentials were illegal sir.ee They were signed in Jerusalem. Acceptance of toe documents would be tantamount to recognising Israel s annexation of the Arab part of Jerusalem and its proclamation of the whole city as the Jewish State’s eternal and undivided capita), these States said. The Israeli delegate, Professor Zv.'i Werblowski, told the conference, attended by some 2400 deleeates from most of U.N.E.SC.O.’s 152 member States, that Israel’s credentials to , previous U.N.E.S.C.O. sessions had always been signed in Jerusalem and this had never caused any trouble. The United States chief delegate, Mrs Angier Biddle Duke, describe!!';' opposition to Israel's credentials as blatantly political and incompatible wit’h U.N.E.S.CO.’s spirit and mandate.

After two hours and, a quarter of wrangling, I the acting conference presi-i dent, Napoleon Leblanc ofj Canada, postponed a deci-: sion on the complaints) against Israel until today. The row prevented the conference completing the day’s scheduled business, [which included adoption of [the agenda of the five-week conference. Today’s session is due to' elect a conference president) iand to hear a report from! the U.N.E.S.C.O. director-! general (Mr Amadou Mahtari M’Bow of Senegal) on the! organisation’s draft pro-| gramme and budget fori 1981-83. Proposals for improving poor countries’ communi- . ications and helping them iput over their news and views are expected to be the hottest issues at the assembly. Officials said, however, ■ that they would come up only in the second half of the conference. During the credentials debate the American chief delegate. Mrs Duke, had an acid exchange with Afgha- ! nistan’s woman Education [Minister. Dr Anahita Ratebzad, over Soviet armed intervention in Afghanistan, i At one point Mrs Duke! said: "If New York City had Soviet troops in it like there are in dawntown Kabul, I would be worried that I had been invaded.” Dr Ratebzad

, immediately snapped back: I "Shut up.” .1 Also at the opening session, the director-general appealed to Iraq and Iran to )stop fighting. Mr M’Bow described the ; conflict as fratricidal and : said its continuation could , be fatal for world peace. He said that the two : Middle East neighbours were (“engaged in a war which, since last night, has taken ;ion a tragic dimension.” J All other Powers should 'refrain from aggravating or [expanding the conflict, and :[ should act urgently to halt |it immediately, Mr M’Bow ■[said. i Both Iran and Iraq are members of U.N.E.S.C.O. An Iraqi delegation headed by ! its Education Minister (Mr ! Abdul-Jabaar Abdul-Majid 1 Salman) was in the hall, but no Iranian delegation was) ■ present. ! U.N.E.S.C.O. officials said .they received a message (from Iran saying it would iinot attend the conference.' 'lran gave no reason for its' absence. [■ Mr Salman told reporters': jhe intended to see Mri [iM’Bow and to explain Iraq's} :viewpoint to him. :| Mr Salman said Iraq had i[been forced to retaliate bei cause of action by Iran. Iraq’s aim was to recover [ territory which had been 1 taken by Iran, he said.