• Lo lake a voic face in the light of the latest Soviet proposals. She is merely judging the best war fend off pressure to accept these proposals.
With one eye on the forthcoming British is already claiming that her cole-warno atte Reykjavik has helped pro. duce this latest Soviet offer. Of course, she is backin this claim by the Opinion Gorbachev himself has West opinion his and to ween capital within the bourgeoisie.
immediate thcoming remove INF La way the Iceland public already across Issues by Thatcher, Mitterrand, Kohl and the rest of the West leaders to and turn down the third offer by the Soviet Union in 12 months to take steps in eliminating nuclear weapons.
must support Gorbachev's proposals.
erica government was wellof idea our strike was support the Nicaraguan called on an on the Nicaraguan His apPractical plans for solidarity discussed solidarity with UNTS.
Liberation Organisation (PLO). Israel, and its allies. intervened on the side of the Maronites. to Iranian Hezbollah organisation stay out of the southern Beirut suburbs.
given support to the Syrian initiative, sharing scheme is likely to do so.
February, Syrian president Assad claimed it was to establish 'order'. But the 'order' it was designed to establish is that of Lebanese forces opposed to the Palestine Syrian 'political solution' announced on 2 March, reduces the role of the traditional Christian forces in Lebanon and gives a greater role in official Lebanese politics to parliamentary Muslim forces and to Amal -the pro-Syrian Shi'ite organisation under the Supplied with arms and equipment including tanks by Syria, Amal not only prevented food and military supplies from going into the camps, but also subjected them to a bombardment which continued well after the Syrian intervention. It wasn't this 'camps war' that worried the Syrian government, but the fact that Amal was losing and a new pro-Palestinian coalition was taking shape The last time Syria intervened in a similar way was during the Lebanese civil war eleven years ago. The protagonists then were the ruling Christian Maronite forces on one side and a coalition of forces representing the overwhelming majority of the population on the other. In April 1975, when the civil war broke out, Syria gave support to the Palestinians forces, who were under assault from coalition looked to be winning the civil war Syria But Assad's objective of a 'balance' between the Christian-Maronites and the Muslim-Druze forces, in which the PLO under Yasser Arafat was to play an entirely subordinate role has proved The Syrians were first pushed out of Maronite East Beirut and then, in 1982, Israel intervened in Menachem Begin's attempt to inflict a total defeat Within four years, the PLO were back, weaker growing in strength as they defended the Palestinians in the refugee camps. Al the same time, Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank renewed their struggle and gave clear support to the Arafat Fearing the emergence of a similar coalition with the Palestinians to that of 1976. Syria's intervention today is designed to establish a more permanent political solution which would allow it a place at any Middle East peace talks. Syria's hope is to negotiate the return of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since the 6-day war in 1967. Its aim is to bring the PLO fully under control and use it as a bargaining chip in any negotiaImperialism has fully backed Syria's intervention. Israel declared it would support it as long as Syria did not threaten their stronghold in south Lebanon. It has now been revealed that a US en voy was in Damascus the weekend that Syrian is no solution at the The Syrians have been unable to disarm the vast jority of the militias, especially the radical pro.
with Amal for hegemony over the Shiite com munity. Hezbollah led a demonstration of 30,000 people in southern Beirut suburbs on 25 February following the massacre of 23 Shi'ites by the Syriar Syria is an ally of Iran in the Gulf War and receives cheap oil from Tehran. Top Iranian officials have been in Damascus throughout period and seem to have negotiated a 'non aggression' pact in which the Syrian troops will Although Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has forces are certainly no reliable partner of Assad's diminution of Maronite influence contained in the Most important of all, no political manoeuvring can resolve the demand of Palestinian people for a homeland, for a democratic secular state in Palestine. It is that which gives the continuing sup port to the PLO leadership in the camps. If a full-scale assault by the Israelis couldn't eliminate the PLO from the country for more than three years, then no Syrian imposed Maronite-Muslim powerSocialist Action 6 March 1987