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Friday, March 1, 1985
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LOCAL NEWS
Congressmen At Odds
Over Meeting With PLO
BY TEDD SCHNEIDER
Staff Writer
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A pair of Michigan Con-
gressmen are at loggerheads over
a meeting proposed between
members of two key House groups
and a representative of the Pales-
tine Liberation Organization.
U.S. Rep. Mark Siljander (R-
Three Rivers) has asked Secre-
tary of State George Shultz to
block the planned meeting of
Zehdi Terzi, the PLO's permanent
observer at the United Nations,
with members of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee and
the Congressional Black Caucus.
The forum, tentatively set for
March 13 in Washington, was set
up by Detroit Democratic Rep.
George Crockett.
In a letter sent to the Secretary
of State this week, Rep. Siljander
requested that Shultz refuse to
waive travel restrictions imposed
on Terzi, whose visa confines him
to the New York area.
"The PLO is not, in our eyes, a
legitimate organization in terms
of being able to exert influence on
Capitol Hill," according to Mark
Strand, legislative director for
Rep. Siljander. Strand said that
the western Michigan Con-
gressman's opposition to the
meeting falls along both idealistic
and practical lines.
"The PLO does not recognize
the right to exist of one of our key
and most important allies — Is-
rael," the legislative director said.
"So why should we grant a ter-
rorist organization like that any
credibility?
"And from a logical, practical
point of view, American silence
towards the PLO is definitely a
viable tactic in that it encourages
moderation on the part of the
Arabs. If Crockett gets this meet-
ing, it could help to remove one of
the main elements of U.S. policy
in the Middle East."
Rep. Crockett meanwhile, feels
that such a meeting would pro-
vide an open dialogue with a fac-
tion that needs to be heard. This is
the view Ted Jones, special assis-
tant to the Detroit Congressman,
told The Jewish News Monday.
Jones said that Rep. Crockett
"has nothing to gain" personally
froin the proposed meeting, but
that "he thinks our Representa-
tives should have open access to
all points of view and that they
should be able to base their deci-
sions on as much input as possi-
ble."
Rep. Crockett, who has met
with Terzi privately in the past,
sent memos to the 61 members of
the Foreign Affairs Committee
and the Black Caucus last month
,
Rep. Crockett: Legitimizing the
PLO?
asking them if they would be in-
terested in discussing relevant is-
sues with the PLO representative.
A second letter, informing pro-
spective participants of the date
and location of the meeting, was
sent last week.
In addition to Rep. Siljander,
two other Michigan Congressmen
were invited to take part in the
forum: Reps. John Conyers (D-
Detroit) and Howard Wolpe (D-
Lansing). Rep. Conyers plans to
attend the meeting, but Rep.
Wolpe has emphatically refused.
"He's not at all interested,"
Wolpe Press Secretary Steve
Gools said. "He doesn't feel it
would be productive at this point
in time."
In addition to Conyers, those
indicating an interest in the
March 13 meeting include Reps.
Walter Fauntroy (D-DC), Parren
Mitchell (D-Md.), Robert Garcia
(D-N.Y.) and Kenneth MacKay
(D-Fla.).
Crockett has
nothing to gain"
personally from the
meeting.
While the State Department
does not have a specific position
on public officials meeting with
representatives of terrorist organ-
izations, it has long been U.S. pol-
icy not to meet with the PLO until
it explicitly recognizes UN Secu-
rity Council Resolution 242,
which calls in part for acknow-
ledgment of Israel's right to exist.
"But Congressman Crockett is
a free person and he can meet with
anyone he wants," a State De-
partment spokesman said.
Rep. Siljander feels that Croc-
kett's motives in setting up the
meeting were genuine, according
to Strand. "While it's common
knowledge that he (Rep. Crockett)
is not all that sympathetic to Is-
rael, it may just be that he wants
to help the peace process — from
an Arab standpoint. I don't think
it's a case of grandstanding or try-
ing to grab the spotlight on his
part."
"The meeting will be used to
discuss issues that all parties feel
are relevant," Jones said from
Rep. Crockett's Washington office.
He declined to comment on what
those issues might be.