A Syrian air force pilot who defected to Israel with his Soviet-built MiG-23 said he would refuse to meet with representatives of the International Committee for the Red Cross if their purpose was to take him back to Syria.
Maj. Mohammed Bassem Adel, seeking political asylum in Israel, spoke at a heavily attended news conference at an Israel air force base Friday. He was referring to Syria’s request to the ICRC in Geneva to secure his repatriation and the return of the MiG.
Adel streaked into Israel on Oct. 11, landing his supersonic jet at an air strip near Meggido used by crop-duster planes.
Damascus claimed at first that he was forced down by mechanical difficulties. By Friday however, the Syrians admitted their flier had defected, and they denounced him as an “abominable traitor and Israeli spy.”
According to Damascus radio, Adel was subverted by Israeli intelligence. But he has denied any contact with the Israelis prior to his defection.
He would not answer questions of a political or security nature, but said he came to Israel because it is a democratic country where people can say what they want. He said he expected to be well treated.
Adel may have been trying to get the Israeli air force off the hook when he insisted that he had been under radar surveillance from the moment he entered Israeli air space last Wednesday.
The fact that he was not intercepted raised questions about whether the Syrian may have breached Israeli air defenses without detection.
‘I DIDN’T ENDANGER ISRAEL’
The Israel Defense Force chief of staff, Gen. Dan Shomron, promptly named an ad-hoc commission to launch an immediate investigation of a possible security lapse.
The air force, which seemed to have been taken completely by surprise when it was informed by a civilian that a Syrian pilot had landed near Meggido, insists now that it was tracking him all the way.
Adel told the news conference his instruments showed he was being tracked by Israeli radar.
Asked why he thought he was not fired on or intercepted by the Israelis, the Syrian major said, “I believe that a country which is confident of itself cannot fear a single plane and will take time to evaluate the situation before it acts.
“I didn’t endanger Israel, and by myself I couldn’t cause damage,” he said.
Adel said he had been on an unarmed training mission when he flew across the Israeli border, very low and at high speed to try to evade detection.
He could not give the standard signals of non-hostile intentions such as wagging wings or lowering his landing gear because of his low altitude, Adel said.
He said he thought of landing on a highway, but there was too much traffic.
Asked if he would agree to meet with ICRC representatives, Adel said, “If the Red Cross wants to meet me and take me back to Syria, I would refuse this.”
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.
