Suhail - Jerusalem

Newspaper La Gaceta
Tucuman , Thursday, January 11th of 1996

Yasser Arafat would come to Argentina this year (view)

Equality of rights
The Foreign Affairs Ministry gave diplomatic rank to the Palestinian government and the PLO. Argentine solidarity is recognized.

Buenos Aires, 10 (DYN) – The diplomatic representative of the Palestine National Authority (PNA) in Buenos Aires, Suhail Hani Akel, considered probably today that the PLO leader, Yasser Arafat, visits Argentine this year, answering an invitation of President Menem.

The Palestinian representative, who possesses diplomatic rank in a scarcely inferior scale to the one of an Ambassador from last Friday, remembered that “Arafat accepted Menem’ s invitation. But as a result of both leaders’ commitments, the visit has not been agreed yet. However, we hope that Menem also visits Palestine, where he will be welcomed”, Akel emphasized.

The diplomatic status given to the Palestinian delegation implies that Argentine “is recognizing the Palestine National Authority and the PLO”, the representative emphasized. Akel underlined that this status will facilitate “a better dialogue between both governments and, at the same time, it will consolidate the friendship and solidarity between the Argentine and Palestinian people”.

“The Argentine people have always expressed their solidarity with the fair fight that the Palestinian people maintained during many decades in order to achieve the independence of the occupied territories”, Akel emphasized. Apart from that, this new situation put the Palestine representation on the same equality of rights with regard to the others foreign representations, including the Israeli one”.

But the last stage of the consolidation of the diplomatic relations started when Guido Di Tella sent an intention letter to the PLO in April, 1994, giving diplomatic status to the Palestinian representation in Buenos Aires, which worked as an information office without diplomatic rank.

The acknowledgment process was completed last Friday by means of the acceptance of Akel’ s credentials by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.