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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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time
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051589
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05158900.031
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1990-09-22
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WORLD, Page 45MIDDLE EASTNull and VoidThat's what Arafat says about the P.L.O. charter
Yasser Arafat speaks passable English but hardly a syllable of
French. So it was no slip of the tongue when the chairman of the
Palestine Liberation Organization chose to use a French word during
a live interview on France's TF1 television channel. At one point,
Arafat declared as caduque -- a legal term meaning null and void
-- the controversial 1964 P.L.O. charter, which calls for the
destruction of Israel.
For Arafat the statement crowned another diplomatic success.
His meeting with President Francois Mitterrand last week marked the
first time that he has been officially received by a major West
European leader. Mitterrand took the opportunity to urge Arafat to
explain the P.L.O.'s stand on the charter, and seemed pleased with
the results. Although Arafat refused to back formal abrogation of
the charter, Premier Michel Rocard said Arafat's statement
"constituted a positive clarification in the direction of peace."
Not so easily impressed were Israel's political leaders, who
have contended that the P.L.O.'s much publicized recognition of
Israel last year is meaningless because the organization refuses
to abrogate what is in effect its constitution. Israeli Defense
Minister Yitzhak Rabin told Israeli television that Arafat is still
engaging in "pathetic acrobatics."
Arafat's statement nonetheless provoked a predictable outcry
from Palestinian radicals. "We shall show Arafat and the world that
the P.L.O. charter remains very much alive," said George Habash,
leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. In the
past two weeks gunmen in Lebanon assassinated Bassam Hourani, a
commander of Arafat's Force 17 security arm, and launched attacks
on two other Arafat aides.
Israel's continuing refusal to acknowledge Arafat's olive
branch presents him with a growing dilemma. While he had hoped that
the start of a U.S.-P.L.O. dialogue last December would result in
pressure on Israel, that has not happened.
For now, Arafat's peace initiative continues to be propelled
by the intifadeh, the 17-month-old uprising that has left 20
Israelis and at least 361 Palestinians dead. But if another year
goes by without any serious prospect of peace talks, Arafat may
pronounce his initiative a failure. That could be the start of an
even bloodier phase. According to Arafat confidants, P.L.O.
activists may then be given the green light to start using bullets
instead of stones against the Israeli occupation forces.