The opposition Social Democratic Party has invited Yasir Arafat to visit West Germany, but it seems to have gotten a snub.
The invitation was delivered to the Palestine Liberation Organization chief in Tunisia last week by Peter Glotz, a former secretary-general of the party, which goes by the abbreviation SPD.
The invitation was not immediately accepted.
Arafat apparently wants the government in Bonn to extend the invitation, or at least a guarantee that he will be received by Chancellor Helmut Kohl and by the president of the Federal Republic, Richard von Weizsacker.
Glotz, who would say only that the invitation to Arafat was on the table, made clear that it was approved by the party’s highest authorities.
He said the SPD had a difficult time explaining its position on the PLO to Israel’s Labor Party, a fellow member of the Socialist International.
But according to Glotz, the time has come for West Germany to follow the French example. He was referring to Arafat’s official visit to Paris last spring, where he was formally received by President Francois Mitterrand.
Officials here say privately that the government would prefer that the PLO leader not come to Bonn.
If he chooses to come, however, it will have to be decided whether or not he will be greeted by a minister or other high-ranking official. At this point, Arafat is unlikely to be received by the president or the chancellor, officials say.
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