Secretary General Kurt Waldheim left today on a peace mission to the Middle East during which he will discuss the mandate of the UN observer force on the Golan Heights, a spokesman for Waldheim said, Last week the JTA reported that he would go to the Mideast because of concern over the deteriorating situation in that region. It was also reported that leaving while the General Assembly is still in session, something rarely done by a Secretary General, is indicative of the gravity with which Waldheim views the Mideast situation.
According to the spokesman. Waldheim will begin talks tomorrow with the Syrian government about the future of the UN observer force, whose mandate expires next Saturday. Syria has so far given no indication whether it will renew the mandate. The Secretary General and his party are due in Jerusalem Tuesday. in Cairo Wednesday and return to the UN Thursday, the spokesman said.
Waldheim was due to leave on his mission following the adoption by the General Assembly of two resolutions on the Palestine issue but waited 24 hours in order to give himself more time for preparatory work, the spokesman said, The UN chief, executive held consultations yesterday with a number of delegates, including those from the Middle East and some Security Council member states.
Reminder: There will be no Daily News Bulletin dated Nov.28 due to Thanks giving, a postal holiday.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
