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The Michigan Daily
Vol. XCII, No. 61-S
Ninety-two Years of Editorial Freedom
Edited and managed by students
at the University of Michigan
State directieons
T HE GOVERNOR'S race for the November
election is set, leaving Ann Arbor's
favorite son Edward Pierce to watch from the
sidelines, and the state with a choice of a har-
dline conservative in Richard Headlee and a
rather unknown quantity in James Blanchard.
Unfortunately for Pierce, it was politics as
usual in the Democratic primary. Although
Blanchard remained vague throughout the
campaign on just where he stood on the issues,
he had the support of the party machinery, the
UAW, and a $1.2 million campaign budget to put
him over the top.
On the Republican.side, the race was rather
unusual. Headlee captured the nomination, and
thus the party rejected the pragmatic approach
of Milliken and Brickley for the dogmatic ap-
proach of the party's right wing.
In Headlee, we see a haunting image of a
Ronald Reagan in Lansing. Headlee offers
much the same as candidate Reagan did with
his promise to painlessly slash taxes and
programs. That clearly has not worked for the
nation and Headlee has yet to explain how it
will work for Michigan.
'Many wish they could say what Blanchard's
vision of Michigan's future is, but he preferred
to leave state Democrats in the dark. That may
have worked in the primary, but in the general
election voters are not likely to support such an
evasive candidate.
At this point in its history, Michigan needs a
governor who has not only a clear plan for rec-
tifying the state's chronic economic problems,
but a workable one. Before election time in
November, Blanchard and Headlee have a lot
of questions to answer.

Friday, August 13, 1982

The Michigan Daily

A PLO view of
the war in Lebanon

A

Hatem Hussaini is a
spokesman for the Palestinian
Liberation Organization office
at the United Nations in New
York.
Wednesday he spoke with
Daily Opinion Page Editor
Kent Redding about the Israeli
invasion of Lebanon and the
future of the PLO and
Palestinian people.

Daily: The recent events
surrounding the negotiations in
Lebanon seem to suggest that a
settlement has been achieved.
What are the feelings of the PLO
now that its departure from West
Beirut seems imminent?
Hussaini: The recent events in
Beirut indicate that Israelis want
to annihilate the PLO. For the
last three days and today, Israeli
warplanes, tanks, and warships
have been bombarding west
Beirut. But you cannot solve the
Palestinian problem by military
means.
Daily: Will the goals of the PLO
remain the same in the aftermath
of Beirut?
Hussaini: The goals are well-
known. The PLO is struggling for
freedom-for the liberation of the
Palestinian people. Today they
are living without civil, human,
or national rights.
The goal is to achieve self-
determination and therefore an
independent Palestinian state

PLO come out and recognized
Isarel's right to exist?
Hussaini: Because first of all,
the PLO does not have a state. It
is states that recognize each
other. Second, which Israel is the
PLO to recognize? What are the
bounldaries of that state? Which
Israel? An imperial Israel? A
militarily superior Israel that
can decide Lebanon's destiny and
Jorans destiny? Is this the kind of
Israel you want the Palestinians
to recognize? Or is-it an Israel
that will respond, that will
recognize Palestinian rights, that
will recognize the right of
Palestinians to statehoodand
seld-determination, that will
coexist with the Palestinians?
Daily: Israel claims that the
PLO does not represent the
majority of the Palestinian
people. How do you react to that
assertion?
Hussaini: Well fine. Let them
have free elections on the West
Bank and Gaza under inter-
national supervision, not Israeli
guns, and let us see who the
Palestinian people choose as
their representatives. We accept
that. As you know, we had elec-
tions in 1975. Most of the mayors
who were elected were dismissed
by Israel.
Daily: Some have charged the
PLO with coercing and
threatening Palestinians to join
the organization or to bend to its
will.
Hussaini: Actually the PLO
was established in 1964 in
Jerusalem and its first congress
was held there. The Palestinians
were dispersed in 1948, so they
went through a process by 1964,
after some 20 years of exile, of
sending their representatives
from the exiled communities and
establishing a congress in exile.
That congress has improved its
democratic means since that
time.
Daily: How do you view the role
of the United States in the war in
Lebanon?
Hussaini: U.S. policy is really
responsible for these horrible
crimes committed against the
Palestinians. The U.S. watched in
silence in the '30s and '40s as
Jews were slaughtered and today
it watches and gives Israel the
weapons to slaughter the
Palestinians.
And what is wrong with
speaking to the PLO? You speak
to the communist countries. You
spoke with the Viet Cong and the
Vietnamese when the U.S, was at
war. The Palestinians are not at

war with the U.S.
So, the U.S. should talk to our
leaders. It should speak to them
directly to ask them, "What do
you want? What do you think?
How can we have peace? You
people have been exiled for 35
years now and we want to help
you to find a solution."
Daily: But the rationale behind
the U.S. policy is the PLO's many
acts of terrorism.
Hussaini: Look, Begin was a
terrorist leader in the 1930s. He
planted bombs in hotels. Sharon
committed atrocities in 1955
when his paratroopers killed
civilians. Many of the current
Israeli leaders participated in
terrorist acts against the British
and the Palestinians. It is
documented.
What is happening now in
Lebanon is terrorism-Israeli
state terrorism. If you condemn
the placing of bombs and the
killing of Jews in Paris, you
should also condemn the shooting
and bombing of Palestinian:
refugee camps in Lebanon.
War is a huge form of
terrorism. We want an end to war
and we want peace based on the
right of the Palestinians to live as
a free people on their land in a
state of their own.
Daily: What is the position of
the PLO on the Camp David
afreements?
Hussaini: Well, it has been
proven over the last three years
that Camp David could not
provide anything meaningful for
the Palestinians. The Egyptians
negotiated with the Israelis for
three long years and tried to con-
vince Begin to clarify what he
means by autonomy. But Begin
kept saying that the Israelis
should control the water sources,
the land, the police forces, and
the security. This would mean
that the Palestinians would not
have autonomy.
Daily: In the end, what must be
done to bring about a resolution
to the Palestinian problem?
Hussaini: We must implement
the United Nations resolutions.
We accept an international con-
sensus. You see, U.N. resolution
242 says Israel must withdraw
from the occupied territories of
the West Bank, Gaza, and the
Golan Heights. We accept that of
course. Then we go a step further
and say on these territories the
Palestinians must exercise the
rights of self-determination. So
242 must be put in that context so
Israel must withdraw from these
territories where two million
Palestinians live. These people
should have representation:

I

where they can elect their own
'PRETTY SOON OL)R ERMAN ALLIES SDLP government freely and be
SEE THE uIGHTi reunited as a people. This right
has been endorsed by the United
Nations General Assembly, and a
large number of European coun-
tries. Only the U.S. refuses to ac-
cept this because the U.S. is black-
mailed by Israel.
Daily: Do you think eventually
the PLO could live with Israel as
a neighbor if the Palestinians
gain autonomy?
Hussaini: Yes, the Jews and
the Palestinians can live together
%9 ,yjsrgi ~in peace. They lived together in
peace throughout history and
they can live together in the
future with equal rights. The
modalities of how they can ap-
& z4E proach this, that will be deter-
mined by negotiations.
- - Daily: Then bwhy-hasn't the

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