United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim said today he favored Israeli troop withdrawal from “the occupied territories.” Speaking in a television interview broadcast here, Waldheim stated from “the occupied territories” instead of from “occupied territories.” Political observers here said Waldheim therefore, clearly favored the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all of the occupied territories.
The Secretary General denied he was one sided in favor of the Arab countries. “When the United Nations makes decisions favoring the Arabs. I must carry them out. I must fulfill the decisions of the United Nations,” he said. He added that he nevertheless tries to remain independent, to be a decent arbiter, and to defend all the interests of the parties concerned.
Asked why he was opposed to bringing the problem of aerial hijacking before the Security Council, Waldheim said the UN Charter stipulates that only questions endangering world peace can be brought before the Council. He said airplane hijacking did not endanger world peace. “The real problem is that the majority of the UN members did not ratify the Montreal and Hague conventions dealing with hijackers, and therefore, are not ready to take steps against them,” he said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
