Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou of Greece played host to Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasir Arafat here Tuesday.
After a two-hour meeting at Arafat’s hotel, the two held a news conference at which Papandreou sharply criticized Israel for the way it deals with the Palestinian problem and the recent disturbances in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He referred to Israel’s “fascist occupation.”
Arafat’s visit to Greece was arranged some time ago, but went unannounced for security reasons, according to government spokesman Yiannis Roubatis. The PLO leader landed at the Elefsina military base before noon and was flown by helicopter to the luxurious Astera Hotel in Vouliagmeni, a suburb of Athens.
Papandreou was waiting for him there and they met immediately behind closed doors. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and the minister of police, Giannis Skoularikis. A brief statement issued afterward said Arafat and the Greek officials discussed the situation in the administered territories.
They also discussed the convening of an international Middle East peace conference in light of the fact that Greece will assume the rotating presidency of the European Community Council of Ministers on July 1.
Papandreou spoke briefly at the news conference. He said that “Israel and its supporters thought that after 20 years of occupation they (the Palestinians) would accept their plight. But they were completely wrong.”
He noted that this time there are “forces within Israel that are against the fascist occupation and that is to their credit.”
He said that even Jewish organizations around the world do not agree with the Israeli government’s handling of the disturbances in the occupied territories.
Papandreou pledged that he and the Greek people will support the struggle of the Palestinian people and that the Greek government intends to take the initiative in the European Community and at the United Nations to find a solution to the problem through an international conference.
Arafat said that within the context of an international conference, he would accept United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, which uphold the right of all nations in the Middle East to exist within secure, recognized borders.
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