An exhibition on Palestinian rights, prepared by the Palestine Liberation Organization, opened here this afternoon in the public lobby of the General Assembly building. It was clearly overshadowed by the continuing warfare between PLO factions in Lebanon, a fact alluded to by Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Yehuda Blum.
The exhibition is part of the annual observance of the National Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People tomorrow, the 36th anniversary of the UN decision of November 29, 1947 to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states.
The display is meagre and modest. It consists of only 32 photographs, 26 of them taken at the UN-sponsored conference on Palestine held in Geneva last August. It will be on view to the public until Sunday, December 4.
The exhibition was formally opened by Massamba Sarre, chairman of the Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people. The opening was attended by UN officials, including the current President of the General Assembly, Jorge Illueca of Panama. UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar was not present though it was reported earlier that he would be. The PLO was represented by its foreign policy spokesman, Farouk Kaddoumi.
BLUM CITES SURREALIST CHARACTER OF THE UN
Blum, responding to a question by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, said the exhibition “is the best evidence of the surrealist character of the UN. Everyone knows full well what has happened in recent weeks in northern Lebanon. At the UN, business is as usual. The Arabs and their supporters behave as if nothing has happened.”
Kaddoumi, addressing a press conference, charged that the dispute within the PLO is a mutiny instigated by Syria. He said PLO chief Yasir Arafat is in control.
The exhibit precedes the opening in the General Assembly tomorrow of a debate on the Palestinian question. Blum is one of the scheduled speakers. He will address the General Assembly, probably this Friday.
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