Arab States drop attempt to bar Israel from conference

Press, 26 September 1980, Page 6

Arab States drop attempt to bar Israel from conference

NZPA-Reuter ‘ Belgrade

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation will today begin taking stock of past activities and future plans after settling procedural wrangles that held up the start of its twenty-first general conference. U.N.E.S.C.O.’s directorgeneral (Mr Ahmadou Mahtar M’Bow of Senegal) will set the scene for a general policy debate, expected tQ last about 10 days, with a report on a draft .programme and $625 million budget for 1981-83. Some 2400 delegates from most of the United Nations agency’s 152 member-States are attending the five-weeks gathering, which opened-last Tuesday in Belgrade’s ultramodern Sava conference centre. They resolved a dispute over Arab demands to bar Israel from the conference by adopting a compromise declaration saying that admission of the Jewish State did not signify, recognition

of its annexation of the Arab part of Jerusalem. In another compromise Western delegations allowed the Soviet Union to add to the agenda a draft resolution of the role of mass media in return for the Russians withdrawing two other proposed extra items. Mr M’Bow is expected to reiterate in his report earlier appeals to delegations for conciliation and compromise in tackling the most controversial issues on the agenda. , ' . These include a proposed international programme, to be run by U.N.E.5.C.0., for improving communications in poor countries, and a report on world information problems by an international commission headed by the former Irish Foreign Minister, Sean Macßride. Both are likely to be enthusiastically backed by developing States as moves towards what they describe as a new world information order to end domination of communications by rich industrial Statesi

But Western governments will resist efforts to use either for ideological ends that,, might encourage government interference in international news reporting, Western sources said.

Acceptance of the supplementary Soviet agenda proposal on the mass media means there are now three separate, though related, items on this subject on the order paper. The Soviet document accused “imperialist transnational corporations” _ of dominating international communications, and said it was the duty of journalists to promote peace and progress.

The British press has expressed strong reservations about U.N.E.S.C.O. proposals to fund a secretariat to subsidise the training of Third World journalists, describing it as sinister and dangeroifs. ‘The Times” said in an editorial that U.N.E.S.C.O. needed “careful watching." There was a danger that the proposal could become

an influential force, encouraging the notion that information is to be seen as an area for active government involvement, it said.

The “Daily Telegraph” in a more forceful editorial, said there was no doubt the fund would be used to “indoctrinate young journalists in the black art of media distortion,” besides helping poor countries to “develop” their communications.

“Many Third World countries resent the supremacy of the big Western news agencies,” the paper said. “They talk of imperialism and colonialism, but what they truly resent ... is their inability to fully control outside agencies from reporting facts embarrassing to government.” The ?' editorial added? “Quite why Britain remains party to an organisation perpetually trying to abolish freedom is a mystery, but since we are represented in Belgrade let us speak out against these sinister proposals.”