Foreign Minister Leo Tindemans 90-minute meeting with Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasir Arafat in Tunisia last week does not point to a shift in the Belgian position toward the PLO, according to officials here.
While Tindemans was the first Belgian minister to meet Arafat, Belgium adheres to the position adopted by the 10 member-states of the European Economic Community (EEC) of which it is a member. That position calls for Palestinian self-determination and the association of the PLO in future Middle East peace talks.
But Belgium has taken a more reserved and cautious position with respect to the PLO than some other EEC states, notably France, Italy and Greece. Although Tindemans and Arafat described their meeting as instructive and constructive, the joint communique issued by Tindemans and Tunisia’s Prime Minister Mohammed Mzali at the end of Tindemans’ official visit to the North African country contained no reference to the PLO or its possible role in negotiations.
The communique affirmed the urgent need for a just solution to the Middle East conflict, called for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and upheld the right of Palestinian self-determination “with all that implies.” The communique also noted that Belgium supports the right to self-determination within the context of the principles stated by its EEC partners.
Tunisia, an Arab League member state, officially supports the position that the PLO is the sole representative of the Palestinian people. But the PLO is split between Arafat loyalists and dissidents who, with Syrian backing, ousted Arafat from Lebanon earlier this year. Tunisia has given him haven for the time being.
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.
