Lebanese Rightists blamed for massacre

Press, 20 September 1982, Page 1

Lebanese Rightists blamed for massacre

NZPA-Reuter Beirut Lebanese Rightist militiamen massacred men, women, and children in a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut as Israeli troops stood by on the road outside, during the week-end.

Correspondents who visited Shatila camp yesterday found dozens of bulletriddled bodies piled in heaps or half-hidden under rubble.

the camps had allowed Christian Falangist militiamen to go in to clear the area of remaining Palestinian guerrillas.

Correspondents saw Merkava tanks driving into the main gate of Shatila and foot patrols fanning out. There appeared to have ' been some resistance to the assault on the camp. A shotgun was lying by one body sprawled in the dust of an alleyway. But many of the corpses did not appear to have died in a fight. One line of seven dead men lay crumpled at the base of a concrete wall.

nothing to do with the massacre, which Government and military officials insist took place without the knowledge or support of Israeli troops.

pervise the evacuation, the Lebanese Army were deployed along the front lines, and’ the Israelis were supposed to pull back. But last Wednesday morning, these guarantees lay in ruins. The last of the multinational force had pulled out. its task of supervising the evacuation reckoned complete. and after the assassination of President Elect Bashir Gemayel. Israeli troops had crushed the Lebanese.

But when the Israelis realised what was happening they used loud-hailers to order the Falangists to leave, the official said. That had no effect so the Israelis opened fire and one militiaman was killed, he said. News of the massacre has horrified many Israelis and police used teargas to disperse a crowd of angry demonstrators outside Mr Begin’s house in Jerusalem yesterday.

They said that as soon as they realised what was happening. the Israelis moved in to prevent further bloodshed. Military sources said Israel had closed off Shatila. Sabra, and other refugee camps in Beirut to all armed forces. An Army spokesman said Israel would give over control of the camps only to the regular Lebanese Army. Asked whether Israeli troops stationed outside the camps had not heard the shootings, a high Israeli official told Reuter that the firing was presumed to be pockets of resistance encountered by the Falangists.

Survivors, mostly weeping women, said that the militiamen. blood enemies of the Palestinians, had burst in . after Israel’s take-over of West Beirut. -The survivors said that on Friday afternoon (Saturday morning New Zealand time) large numbers of the militiamen in the uniforms of the Israeli-backed militia of Major Saad Haddad and of the "Lebanese Forces" organisation. gathered just outside the camp. They told reporters they' were preparing to go in to scour the area for armed guerrillas. Beside them a big force of Israelis with tanks and armoured personnel carriers was dug in along high, sandyground overlooking the maze of narrow alleys that make up the camp. Late last evening. Israeli forces had begun to withdraw from parts of West Beirut and were handing over control of Palestinian refugee camps in the suburbs to the Lebanese Army, a military spokesman said.

A tangled heap of corpses nearby had already begun to rot in the hot sun. They included two children and at least one woman. The United States holds Israel responsible for the massacre, in spite of Israeli statements that it had acted to ' prevent further killings. While stopping short of charging Israeli acquiesence in the matter, the Reagan Administration said Israel was’in full control of West Beirut when the killings, apparently by Lebanese Christian militia forces, occurred.

As evidence of the killings in Shatila surfaced, a former Lebanese Prime Minister. Saeb Salam, who was closely involved in the evacuation talks, told reporters: "it was a massacre • ... this is precisely why we wanted the multinational peacekeeping force to stay onThe Soviet Union yesterday called for the deployment of United Nations troops to protect the population of Beirut and secure a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the city. An official statement issued by Tass news agency, in the name of the Soviet Government, blamed Israeli forces for the massacre of Palestinian civilians in Beirut and said the United States was also to blame. The statement also called on the United Nations Security Council to consider sanctions against Israel and said it was legitimate to ask whether Israel should be allowed to remain a member of the world body.

Further reports, page 8

The protesters called on Mr Begin and his Government to' resign. Five people were arrested. The "Lebanese Forces" militia have issued a statement denying that any of its forces took part in anv killing in the camp or had even been in the area.

"As soon as we knew of the massacre in Beirut, we took all possible measures to prevent the continuation of the massacre." a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. These included firing on Falangists to prevent further killing, he said. The safety of the Palestinian civilians in the refugee camps had been one of the prime worries of the Palestine Liberation Organisation when it was negotiating its evacuation from Beirut during the long Israeli siege of June. July, and August.

Major Haddad had denied all responsibility for the massacres. Israeli radio reported yesterday. An Israeli colonel at the scene, who declined to be identified, said his men were working on the basis of two principles - that the Israeli Army should not get involved but that the area should be "purified." After the Rightist militiamen had disappeared and after reporters, diplomats, United Nations observers, and rescue workers had toured the camp for several hours, the first Israeli troops moved in.

President Reagan said he was horrified by the killings. "All people of decency must share our outrage and’ revulsion at the murders, which included women and children."

The announcement came as the Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, ordered a full report. Israel Radio quoted a. senior Government official yesterday as confirming that Israeli troops surrounding

Shortly afterwards, the Israeli Ambassador. Moshe Arens, was summoned to the State Department to hear the Secretary of State, Mr George Shultz, issue the United States withdrawal demand. t Israel has said it had

Under the evacuation agreement finally negotiated through the United States special envoy. Mr Philip Habib, troops from the United States, France, and Italy moved into Beirut to su-