Take foreign troops out of my country, says Gemayel

Press, 19 October 1982, Page 8

Take foreign troops out of my country, says Gemayel

NZPA-Reuter New York The Lebanese President, Mr Amin Gemayel, is expected to call today for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from his country and assistance in rebuilding its shattered economy during a series of meetings at the United Nations headquarters. Mr Gemayel, who arrived in New York yesterday is to address the General Assembly early this morning (N.Z. time) and will later take part in a Security Council session. The Security Council is scheduled to approve a three-month extension of the mandate for the 6500-man United Nations peace-keep-ing force which has been stationed in southern Lebanon since 1978. Mr Gemayel will also confer with top United Nations officials, including the Secretary-General, Mr Javier Perez de Cuellar, and the heads of United Nations ' specialised agencies, several of which are already involved in rehabilitation work in Lebanon.

Other meetings have been arranged with representatives of countries contributing troops to the force, and with the leaders of Arab delegates attending the General Assembly session. Tomorrow Mr Gemayel will go to the White House for talks with President Ronald Reagan. While in Washington, he will also meet the American Secretary of State, Mr George Shultz, and other senior members of the American Administration. He is expected to give Mr Reagan and account of progress in Beirut as the Lebanese authorities move to reestablish control. Mr . Reagan committed 1200 Marines to join Italian and French troops in overseeing the orderly transfer of power to the new Lebanese Government after the withdrawal of Palestinian guerrillas and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. A Presidential counsellor, Edwin Meese, said yesterday that the Reagan Adminstration would look favourably

on any request from Mr Gemayel for aid. In the past five months. Washington has provided Lebanon with emergency aid of over SUSIS million. On arrival in New York yesterday Mr .Gemayel told reporters: “I wish to impress upon the American people the urgency for the removal of all foreign forces from Lebanon because we must start the reconstruction of the Lebanese country and establish its sovereignty.” The President of the European Council of Ministers, Mr Uffe Ellemann—Jensen, said that expelling Israel from the General Assembly would destroy the United Nations. Mr Ellemann-Jensen of Denmark, who is also a Foreign Minister, said that he and his nine colleagues had decided during a twoday meeting in Nyborg, Denmark, to “strongly resist any attack on the univerality of the United Nations.” Proposals by hard-line Arab States to expel the Israelis from the General

Assembly prompted a threat by the United States at the week-end to quit the body and withhold payments to the United Nations. The Americans pay about onefourth of the United Nations budget. Meanwhile Mr Menachem Begin’s Cabinet was optimistic for an early agreement on procedures for securing Israel’s northern border, a key element of a wider accord on withdrawing foreign forces from Lebanon, officials said yesterday. After a report on Mr Yitzhak Shamir’s week-end talks in Washington, a cabinet secretary Dan Meridor, em-, phasised the “proxmity of views" on securing arrangements governing southern Lebanon when Israel withdraws its invasion forces. A top Israeli diplomat submitted Israel’s plan directly to the Lebanese Government in Beirut last week, at the same time Mr Shamir gave .it to Mr Shultz. Officials said that Beirut’s reaction was “not negative," but, they did

not elaborate. Almost half the American public had lost sympathy with Mr Begin in the past year and less than half now considered Israel a trustworthy ally, according to a poll conducted for “Time" magazine. The magazine said that a poll taken last December found that 58 per cent of Americans considered Israel a trustworthy United States ally. That figure had now dropped to 44 per cent, according to a new survey. The new poll indicated that 48 per cent of the United States public was less sympathetic towards, Mr Begin than a year ago. Thirteen per cent felt more sympathy and 35 per cent reported no change in attitude. The Christian and Druse militiamen watched each other nervously yesterday in Kfar Matta, Lebanon, and waited for the Lebanese Army to replace Israeli forces to keep order after several days of heavy factional fighting. ,