New UN General Assembly President Calls for a Palestinian State ‘under the Leadership of the Plo’

The newly elected President of the General Assembly, Jorge Illueca, the Vice President of Panama, called in his inaugural speech last night for the establishment of a Palestinian state “under the leadership of the PLO.

Illueca said, at the same time, that until “the right of all states in the area to live in peace within secure and recognized borders is guaranteed,” there will be no peace in the Middle East.

But the Panamanian diplomat, elected last night at the opening session of the 38th General Assembly, stressed the rights of the Palestinian people. He said they include the right “to independence and the establishment of its own free, independent and non-aligned state on Palestinian territory, under the leadership of the PLO, the authentic political representative” of the Palestinian people. Until then, he said, there will be no solution to the Middle East conflict.

REAGAN, BLUM, MUBARAK TO ADDRESS THE ASSEMBLY

President Reagan will address the General Assembly next Monday, September 26. He is expected to outline U.S. foreign policy, including its Middle East positions. But it is believed that the President will devote much of his speech to the downing of a Korean airliner by Soviet fighter planes and, according to reports here, he might ask that this issue be included on the Assembly agenda.

Israel is scheduled to address the Assembly on October 3. Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir originally was supposed to speak for Israel. But because he is now occupied with forming a new government, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Yehuda Blum, will deliver Israel’s major foreign policy address. President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt will address the Assembly a day later, on October 4.

There are 142 items for debate on the agenda of this session of the General Assembly. Middle East and Palestinian issues are expected to come up for debate at the end of October.