Yehuda Blum, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, sharply criticized today United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim for not condemning the attempt by a Nigerian officer serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), to smuggle weapons and explosives to PLO agents.
Until now, we have not had a condemnation by the Secretary General and no apology was offered to the government and people of Israel, Blum charged at a press conference. He said that even if a condemnation and apology would come later it will not be sufficient and the UN should take all measures in its power to avoid such incidents in the future.
Blum sent a letter of protest to Waldheim yesterday protesting the incident. A spokesman for the secretary General said that waldheim did not react to the incident because the legal advisor of UNIFIL hasn’t been able to see the Nigerian officer yet, and therefore, no report on the incident has arrived in New York. The Nigerian officer, Lt. Colonel Alfred Gom, was remanded in custody for 15 days by a Jerusalem magistrate.
Meanwhile, in Washington, the State Department said that it has no information on the reported incident and cannot make comment.
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