Chronology April 16, 1985-July 15, 1985

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Middle East Journal, Vol. 39, No. 4 (Autumn, 1985), pp. 797-827
Published by: Middle East Institute
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April 16, 1985-July 15, 1985
ABBREVIATIONS:
AN, Arab News
CSM, ChristianScience Monitor
FBIS, Foreign BroadcastInformationService
Daily Report-Middle East & North Africa and
South Asia
JP, TheJerusalemPost
LM, Le Monde
MEED, Middle East Economic Digest
MEES, MiddleEast EconomicSurvey
NYT, The New YorkTimes
TDN, TurkishDaily News
WP, The WashingtonPost
WSJ, The WallStreet Journal
Arab-Israeli Conflict
(See also, Algeria, Syria)
1985
Apr. 15: The Israeli Cabinet voted 13 to 12 to
permit MinisterWithout Portfolio Ezer Weizman
to go to Cairoas a special envoy of PrimeMinister
ShimonPeres. LikudLeaderand ForeignMinister
Yitzhak Shamiropposed the trip. 4/16 NYT
US AssistantSecretaryof State RichardMurphy
met with Peres and Shamirin Jerusalemas partof
"exploratory"efforts to promotethe MiddleEast
peace process. [4/16JP]
Apr. 16: Weizman met with Egyptian President
Husni Mubarakin Cairo and said afterwardsthat
prospects for an Egyptian-Israelisummit confer-
ence were "very good." Murphymet a group of
Palestinianleadersfrom the occupied territoriesat
a cocktail partyat the US Consulatein Jerusalem,
where they gave him a petition which said they
consider the PLO to be the sole legitimaterepre-
sentativeof the Palestinianpeople. [4/17WP]
Apr. 17: Murphymet with Peres in Jerusalemand
said the US would only get involved in Egyptian-
Israeli relations if it were requested to do so by
both sides. [4/17FBIS]
Murphymet with Mubarakin Cairoat the begin-
ning of a three-dayvisit to Egypt. [4/18 FBIS]
In Jerusalem,an Israelisoldierwas sentencedto
life in prison for a missile attack on a busload of
THE MIDDLEEAST JOURNAL, VOLUME39, NO. 4, AUTUMN 1985.
7
o
Palestiniansin October 1984, in which one person
died andten were wounded.He was also convicted
of throwinga hand grenadeinto a Palestiniancafe
in Jerusalemin Sept. 1984, woundingfour people.
[4/18WP]
Israeli planes attacked a reported Democratic
Frontfor the Liberationof Palestine (DFLP) base
in the Biqa' Valley, and Israeliforces searchedtwo
Shi'i villages in the western sector, roundingup
theirmaleinhabitantsfor questioning.ThreeArabs
were also killedin a clash with IsraeliArmyforces
in the eastern sector. [4/18JP]
Apr. 18: Israeli authoritiesfreed 37 of approxi-
mately 1100 Lebanese prisoners held in Israel.
[4/19NYT]
An Israeli court imposedjail sentences of from
25 months to three years on three members of a
Jewish undergroundorganization who pleaded
guilty to various acts of terrorismagainst Arabs,
includingan attemptto blow up the Dome of the
Rock in Jerusalem.[4/19JP]
The Israeli military government in the West
Bank closed BethlehemUniversityafter a raid on
the campus in which "political material" was
seized. [4/20NYT]
A 12-year-oldArabboy was shot and killed and
another wounded when several hundreddemon-
strators clashed with Israeli security forces in
Gaza. [4/20 WP]
Apr. 20: At least 200 Palestinianswere arrestedas
riotingcontinuedin Gaza following Israeli retalia-
797
tion against a Palestinianwho shot and killed an
Israeli army officeron Apr. 17. [4/21JP]
Murphyarrivedin Baghdadfor talks with Iraqi
officials. [4/22 FBIS]
Apr. 21: In a speech before the AmericanIsrael
PublicAffairsCommitteein Washington,Secretary
of State George Shultz said that Arableaderswere
responsiblefor the continuedsufferingof the Pal-
estinians because they refused to support direct
negotiations between Jordan and Israel. [4/22
NYT]
Apr. 22: In Washington,Arab League Secretary
General Chadli Klibi called on the US to take
advantage of "new positive elements" in Arab
attitudestowardsMiddleEast peace and to use its
influence to bring about a permanentsettlement.
[4/23WP]
The Israeli military command announced that
the IsraeliNavy had sunka boat carrying28 armed
men off the coast of Israel on Apr. 18, and that 20
had drowned. [4/22 WP]
The commandoswhose vessel was sunk by the
Israeli Navy were Fath members loyal to Yasir
'Arafat, according to Israeli and Fath officials.
[4/23 WP]
Apr. 23: In an interview,two Palestinianscaptured
from the Fath vessel said theirmissionhadbeen to
hijack a bus in order to bargainfor the release of
150 Palestiniansheld in Israelijails. [4/24JP]
President Hafiz al-Asad met with Murphy in
Damascus. [4/23 FBIS]
Apr. 24: An Israelisoldierdied of woundssuffered
in a Lebanon bomb attack three weeks before.
[4/26JP]
Apr. 25: Arabsin East Jerusalemstageda one-day
strike to protest the apparentrevenge killingof an
Arab taxi driveron Apr. 22. [4/26JP]
EgyptianCharged'AffairesMuhammadBasyini
told Jerusalemradiothat Egypt would not agreeto
a summit with Israel until Israel withdrew com-
pletely from Lebanon, steps were takentowardsa
comprehensivepeace, and Israel agreedto accept
arbitrationon the Taba problem.[4/26FBIS]
Apr. 26: 'Arafat denied the PLO had accepted
Murphy'sproposalfor non-PLOmembersto par-
ticipatein a dialoguewith the US andreiteratedthe
PLO's demandfor a direct role. [4/29FBIS]
State Departmentofficials said Murphy'stwo-
week trip had failed to obtain an agreementfor
direct talks between Israel and Jordan, but that
Shultz would stop in Egypt and Jordanwhen he
visited Israel in May. [4/27 NYT]
Apr. 28: The Israeli government announced it
would lift restrictionson currencyimportsby indi-
vidualsinto the occupiedterritoriesbeginningMay
1. [4/30 FBIS]
Apr. 29: Peres became the first Israeli primemin-
ister to tourthe Arabsection of Jerusalemsince the
city was capturedin the 1967 war. He promised
equal treatmentto Palestinians.[4/30 WPl
798
Israeli troops pulled out of the Tyre region,
completingthe second phaseof Israel'swithdrawal
from Lebanon, and Defense Minister Yitzhak
Rabinsaid Israelwouldonly protectvillages inside
the bordersecurity strip. [4/30JP]
Apr. 30: King Husayn said in an interview that it
was up to the US to supportJordan'srecent peace
initiativewith the PLO, and that "Americancred-
ibility is nearingits finaltest." [5/1 WP]
May 1: Israeliforces killedfour Shi'i guerillasthey
said were mininga road inside the Israeli security
zone. [5/2 NYT]
May 6: Israeli soldiers distributedleaflets describ-
ing new regulationsin theirsecurityzone. Accord-
ing to the rules, no one will be permittedto carry
weaponswithouta permitor to huntin the security
zone. In addition, vehicles are requiredto travel
with at least two riders, and walking outside vil-
lages in the zone after darkis forbidden.[5/7 JP]
May 7: The New YorkTimessaid that the US had
reportedlyagreed to hold talks with a Jordanian-
Palestiniandelegationas long as it does not include
PLO members.[5/8 NYT]
'ArafatandHusaynconferredin Ammanonjoint
Palestinian-Jordanian diplomaticaction. [5/8FBIS]
May8: Five Palestinianguerrillasreportedlyhead-
ing towards Israel were killed after their rubber
dinghywas sunk by the IsraeliNavy off the coast
of Tyre. [5/9 WP]
Three key PLO officials, Ahmad 'Abd al-Rah-
man, Salah Khalaf,and FarfiqQaddfimi,said only
declared PLO members chosen by PLO leaders
could representPalestiniansin talks with US offi-
cials. [5/9 NYT]
Bir Zayt Universityreopened,two monthsafter
Israeli authoritiesclosed it following a raid on a
pro-PLOexhibition.[5/9 AN]
May 10: Shultzarrivedin Israel on a two-day visit
and met with Shamir,who affirmedIsrael's oppo-
sition to participationby PalestineNationalCoun-
cil (PNC) members in any Jordanian-Palestinian
peace delegation.[5/10FBIS]
Israel radio reportedthat four new settlements
would be establishedin the West Bank in the next
four months. (5/11WP]
May 12: After talks in Cairowith Mubarak,Shultz
met with Husayn in 'Aqaba, but the talks report-
edly did not lead to any agreementon Palestinian
representationin new Arab-Israelipeace talks.
[5/13FBIS]
The firstgroupof Egyptiantouristsin threeyears
arrivedin Israel. [5/14FBIS]
May 13: Shl'a leader Nabih Birrncalled for in-
creased resistanceoperationsagainst Israel. [5/14
FBIS]
May 14: In an interview, 'Arafat said he would
accept UN Resolution 242 if the US explicitly
endorsed the Palestinian people's right to self-
determination.[5/15NYT]
An Israeli delegation led by Avraham Tamir,
directorgeneral of the Israeli Cabinet, arrivedin
Cairo for talks on various issues, including Taba.
[5/15 FBIS]
Israel issued identity cards to residents of the
security zone in southern Lebanon. [5115JP]
May 15: Shultz said the US remained opposed to
Palestinian self-determination if it meant an inde-
pendent Palestinian state, but that he welcomed
signs the Palestinian attitude toward Israel might
have shifted. [5/16 WP]
A woman from Kiryat Arba was wounded when
a bus came under automatic gunfire between
Halhul and Hebron. A curfew was imposed on
Halhul. [5/16 JP]
May 17: 'Arafat and Husayn discussed joint action
during talks in Jordan. [5/20 FBIS]
After three days of talks, Egypt and Israel agreed
on a timetable to repatriate to the Gaza Strip 5000
Palestinians separated from their families in 1982
when Israel returned almost all of the Sinai to
Egypt, and Egypt agreed to let Israel search for the
bodies of soldiers missing since the 1967 war.
However, talks on the Taba issue failed to achieve
progress, and no date was set for the next meeting.
[5/20 FBIS]
May 18: The Phalanges militia announced it would
close its office in Jerusalem, ending 10 years of
collaboration with Israel, and said it was moving its
fighters from Jazzin and the border area in southern
Lebanon to Beirut. It also called for a meeting by a
multifactional security committee to discuss a
Beirut ceasefire. [5/19 NYT]
May 20: Israel freed more than 1150 Arab prison-
ers, including many convicted of serious crimes, in
exchange for the release of three Israelis captured
during the Lebanon war. The move prompted
widespread criticism in Israel, especially from set-
tlers in the occupied territories and the families and
supporters of Jews held on anti-Arab terrorism
charges. [5/20 WP]
May 21: In the wake of the prisoner swap, Minister
Ariel Sharon called for the release of Jewish under-
ground members. Labor party politicians opposed
Sharon, and Mapam leader Elazer Granet said calls
for amnesty were "blackmail." [5/22 NYT]
The Japanese government said it had urged Is-
rael not to release Kozo Okamoto, a terrorist from
the Japanese Red Army. Okamoto's release and
the freeing of other terrorists continued to provoke
controversy in Israel. [5/22 NYT]
Defendants in the Jewish underground trial fired
their lawyer and said they would not try to defend
themselves, a week after three judges ruled that the
defendants' views on security conditions in the
occupied territories were irrelevant to the case.
[5/22 JP]
May 22: Peres reportedly made clear that he would
break up the national unity government if the
Likud forced the Cabinet to free members of the
Jewish underground or used the Knesset to pass
legislation freeing them. [5/23 JP]
May 23: Sharon said remarks by Samuel Lewis, the
US ambassador to Israel, indicating that Sharon
had described plans for an invasion of Lebanon as
early as 1981, were "a blatant lie." [5/23 FBIS]
Two Palestinians convicted of terrorism in 1982
and released as part of the recent prisoner ex-
change, who had opted to stay in the Israeli-
occupied West Bank, left for Jordan following
harassment by Jewish settlers. [5/24 JP]
One of the 27 original defendants in the Jewish
terrorist trial pleaded guilty following plea bargain-
ing, bringing the number of convictions to ten.
[5/24 JP]
May 24: The State Department confirmed Lewis'
charges against Sharon. [5/25 WP]
An IDF spokesman said security forces had
recently arrested 30 members of a PFLP cell re-
sponsible for a number of attacks in the Ramallah
district. [5/24 FBIS]
May 27: Egypt's oil minister arrived in Israel on the
first visit by an Egyptian cabinet minister since
1982. [5/28 CSM]
Jewish settlers in the occupied territories put up
"wanted" posters showing recently released Arab
prisoners, and warning all freed prisoners to leave
the area as quickly as possible. [5/28 JP]
May 28: Israeli settlers began a campaign to con-
vince Palestinian mukhtars to pressure Arabs re-
leased in the prisoner exchange to leave the terri-
tories. [5/29 JP]
Israel freed 249 Shi'a detainees transferred in
April from An5ar camp to a prison in Israel. [5/30
WP]
May 29: King Husayn arrived in Washington for
talks with Reagan and other US officials on Middle
East peace prospects. [5/29 NYT]
The Knesset defeated motions to set up a com-
mission of inquiry into the invasion of Lebanon.
[5/30 NYT]
Husayn told Reagan the PLO is prepared to
negotiate with Israel on terms that recognize its
right to exist, and US officials indicated the US
might end its objections to peace talks under the
"umbrella" of an international conference that
would include the Soviet Union. [5/30 WP]
A special Cabinet committee rejected the advice
of the Israeli state archivist and upheld the contin-
ued secret classification of state papers dealing
with Israeli expulsion of Arab communities and
expropriation. of Arab property during the 1948
war. [5/30 JP]
Israeli authorities said some Israeli troops would
remain in southern Lebanon even after the final
Israeli withdrawal, and that they would retaliate
swiftly against any attacks over the border. [6/1
NYT]
Israeli officials arrived in Cairo to resume talks
on Taba. [5/30 AN]
May 30: The Taba talks ended after one day with
no agreement, and the sides retired to report back
to their governments. [5/31 JP]
799
 Peres said Husayn's call for an international
conference was "nothing more than a device to
evade direct negotiationswith Israel." [5/31NYT]
The State Departmentsaid the US wanted to
hearthe PLO "publiclyand unequivocally"accept
UN Resolutions242 and 338 before it would meet
with PLO representatives.[5/31NYT]
May 31: The Jerusalem Post reported that the
Israeli Army had begun to use "iron fist" tactics
inside the security zone in southernLebanonand
had demolished at least ten houses belongingto
villagers suspected of "anti-Israeli activities."
[5/31JP]
Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir decided to
bring charges againstjournalistAmnon Kapeliuk
for illegallyvisitingJordanin March1985.[5/31JP]
In a news conference after Husayn's four-day
visit to Washington, Shultz said prospects for
Middle East peace were significantlyimproved,
and indicatedthe US was willingto meet with PNC
memberswho were not affiliatedwith the PLO. [6/1
NYT]
June 1: Several thousandPeace Now demonstra-
tors protested in Jerusalemagainst any clemency
for membersof the Jewish underground.[6/2 JP]
June2: A groupof Jewishsettlersmet secretlynear
Ramallah to discuss ways to derail any future
peace talks withJordan,andwives of defendantsin
the Jewish terrorismtrial ended a hunger strike,
saying they had received assurances their hus-
bands would be freed after the trial. [6/3 JP]
Shultz sent a message to Peres, asking Israeli
support for projected American talks with a
Jordanian-Palestinian delegationas a step toward
direct talks with Israel, and Peres was reportedto
have given implicit backing for such talks. [6/3
NYT]
Peres said Israel would complete its withdrawal
from Lebanon by 2 June, the third anniversaryof
the invasion. [6/3 NYT]
June 3: Peres said Israel would meet a Jordanian-
Palestiniandelegationwithout PLO membersand
would not "search the mind" of any delegates
regardingtheir attitudetoward the PLO. In Lon-
don, Shamirsaid the PNC could not be separated
from the PLO. [6/4 JP]
AttorneyGeneralZamirrejectedcalls for a stay
in proceedingsagainstthe defendantsin the Jewish
terrortrial. [6/4 JP]
Israeli and Southern Lebanon -Army (SLA)
troops raided two villages in southern Lebanon,
demolishingfive houses and arrestingdozens of
men, reportedly in response to an increase in
violence against the Israelis and their allies. [6/4
NYT]
June 4: Leadersof Jewish settlementsin the occu-
pied territories demanded that Israel annex the
territoriesbeforeit negotiateswith Jordan.[6/5JPJ
June 5: Three men were chargedin the slayingof
an Arab taxi driveron April 22. [6/6 JP]
800
Rabbi Moshe Levinger was fined for damaging
placards and threateningdemonstratorsat a li-
censed protest by the Committee for Solidarity
with the Universityof Bir Zayt in July 1983. [6/7
JP]
June 6: The WashingtonPost reportedthat King
Husayn had outlined in talks in Washingtonthe
week before a four-stageprocess leadingto Arab-
Israeli peace talks: 1) a preliminarysession be-
tween the US and a Jordanian-Palestinian delega-
tion excludingPLO representatives,and a public
statementfromthe US supporting"self-determina-
tion" for the Palestinians in the context of a
Jordanian-Palestinian confederation;2) a second
US meeting with a Jordanian-Palestinian delega-
tion including PLO officials; 3) an international
conferenceand 4) direct Arab-Israelinegotiations.
The US also reportedlyrejecteda list of Palestin-
ians suggestedby the PLO, includinghigh-ranking
PNCmembers,andcalledfor the inclusionof those
"truly dedicated to nonviolent, negotiated solu-
tions." [6/6 WP]
Senior Israeli defense officials said the major
reason for the delay in the final withdrawalof all
troops from Lebanonwas the "sudden and unex-
pected disintegration"of the SLA. [6/7 FBIS]
Birri said he wouldjoin forces with Palestinian
guerrillasif Israelkept troopsin southernLebanon
or insistedon maintaininga securityzone there. He
also said Shi'l fighterswould attackacross Israel's
northernborderif Israel continuedraids on Leba-
nese territory.[6/7 NYT]
June7: In Washington,JordanianForeignMinister
Tahiral-Magrisaid Soviet officialshad told him the
USSR would be interestedin attendinga Middle
East peace conference, but one held underjoint
US-Soviet, ratherthan UN, auspices. [6/7 WP]
He also said the PLO hadgiven up the idea of an
independentPalestinianstate when it agreed to a
confederationwith Jordan.[6/7 JP]
In an interview, 'Arafatrefused publicly to ac-
cept UN resolutions242 and338, sayinghe wanted
the US to recognize Palestinianrights first. [6/7
WSJ]
June 9: During Yemeni-Palestinianmeetings in
Aden, PFLP's (PopularFrontfor the Liberationof
Palestine) George Habash and DFLP's Nayif
Hawatimahagreed on an initiative calling for ef-
forts to foil the Jordan-PLOaccord and restore
PLO unity. [6/11FBIS]
In a letter to Shultz, Peres said Israel opposes
talks between the US and a joint Palestinian-
Jordaniandelegation because they could jeopar-
dize direct negotiationswith Israel. [6/10 WP]
June 10: The JerusalemPost said the IsraeliArmy
was continuingis "iron fist" policy in southern
Lebanonand that eight homes of suspected anti-
Israeli activists had been destroyed in the past
several days. [6/10JP]
An Israelireserve soldier was found dead in the
westernNegev and was believed to have been the
victim of a "terroristcell" active in the GazaStrip.
[6/11JP]
Peres outlined a five-stageplan for peace nego-
tiations,criticizingthatputforwardby Ijusaynas a
ploy to gain US recognitionof the PLO, but saying
that a "changeof atmosphere"in the MiddleEast
might make serious talks possible. The Peres plan
ruled out preliminarytalks between the US and a
joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation and called
for a "narrow Jordanian-Palestinianand Israeli
team" to preparethe agenda for a peace confer-
ence with the "support" of the permanentmem-
bers of the UN Security Council. [6/11WP]
Two katyusharockets firedfromLebanonfell in
the Galilee, hours before Israel withdrewits last
combat forces from Lebanon, leaving behind an
undisclosed numberof "patrols, advisers and ob-
servers." [6/11NYT]
The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front and a
group calling itself the "Border Strip Forces"
claimed responsibility for the katyusha attacks,
and Israeli troops returnedto the securitystrip to
search for those responsible.[6/11 FBIS]
June 12: The Knesset voted to approvethe Peres
peace plan. [6/13 CSM]
June 13:Jerusalemradiosaid Husaynhadbrokena
promiseto announcean end to the state of warwith
Israel as soon as negotiationsbegin, which was to
have led to an end to Israelioppositionto US arms
sales to Jordan.[6/13 FBIS]
Egypt's foreign minister welcomed the Peres
plan as a positive effortbut expressedreservations
about certainaspects of the proposal.[6/14NYT]
June 14: 'Ammanradio announcedthat the PLO
had officiallyrejected the Peres peace plan. [6/18
FBIS]
June 16: Peres failed to win a majorityin the inner
cabinet vote on submittingthe Taba dispute to
arbitration.[6/18JP]
June 17: 'Arafatarrivedin 'Ammanfor talks with
KingHusaynonjoint actionfor MiddleEast peace.
The two leaders agreed to intensify contacts in
Europe, beginningwith France. [6/18 FBIS]
June 18: Israeli and SLA troops arrested19 Shi'a
men in the village of al-Tayriafter a rocket attack
on a militia position in the security zone. [6/19
NYT]
June 19: Peres and Shamirmet for an hour, but
failed to reach agreement on the Taba dispute.
Shamir rejected calls for internationalarbitration
and advocated a nonbindingconciliationprocess
instead. [6/20 WP]
Ha'aretz reported that 100 Ethiopianfamilies
would be settled in the occupied territories, in
contraventionof Israeli promisesto the US. [6/20
FBIS]
June 23: The JerusalemDistrict Court completed
13 monthsof hearingsin the Jewishterrorismtrial.
Verdicts were expected to be announcedin July.
[6/24JP]
'Arafat and Jordanianofficials denied Kuwaiti
press reportsthatJordanwas permittingthe estab-
lishment of Fath military bases in Jordan, and
Shamirwarnedthat any such action wouldjeopar-
dize peace efforts. [6/24 FBIS]
June 24: Israeli security forces said residents of
Druze villages in the Golan Heights had begun
carryingout terroristattacks against Israeli Army
and civiliantargets. [6/24JP]
A seven-year-oldboy was wounded when he
stepped on a bomb hidden near a bus stop in
Jerusalem.[6/25JP]
A PLO group claimed responsibility for the
blast. [6/25FBIS]
June 27: A Jordanian-Palestinian delegationmet in
Paris with French officials, who stressed that the
encounterinvolved "a useful exchangeof views,"
and not "negotiations."[6/29LM]
July 1: A Jordanian-Palestinian delegationmet with
Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. [7/2 AN]
July 4: Husaynand Mubarakconferredin 'Aqaba,
and Husaynsaid he expected a US meetingwith a
Jordanian-Palestinian delegationin the nearfuture.
[7/5 WP]
Two Arabs from the Golan Heights were sen-
tenced to three years in jail for spying for Syria.
[7/6 AN]
July 5: Police clashed with demonstratorsprotest-
ing the closure of a Palestinianconventionin East
Jerusalem.[7/6 AN]
July 6: Two Jewish men were arrested following
the discovery of an arms cache in a West Bank
settlement.[7/7 JP]
July 8: Two Arabswho confessed to the murderof
a Jewish couple in June were arrested, and their
families'houses were demolished.[7/10JP]
July 10: Beirutradiosaid Israeliplanes raidedtwo
Palestiniancamps nearTripoli.Israelireportssaid
the attacks were against guerrilla bases. [7/10
FBIS]
Ten peoplewere reportedkilledand 29 wounded
in the raids. [7/11NYT]
An Israeli court found 15 Jewish men guilty of
terroristacts againstArabsin the occupiedterrito-
ries. Three of the defendantswere convicted of
murder.[7/11WP]
July 11: Four young Arabs from the Gaza Strip
were convicted of plotting to bomb the US Em-
bassy in Tel Aviv. [7/12NYT]
Shamir called the convicted Jewish terrorists
"excellent boys who erred," and said they should
be pardoned.[7/12WP]
July 13: The PLO reportedlysubmitteda list of 10
to 15Palestinians,to be given by Jordanto the US,
for considerationas participantsin talks aimed at
endingthe Arab-Israeliconflict. [7/14NYT]
July 14: Shultz said he had received the list of
Palestiniansbut declined to reveal their names.
[7/15CSM]
801

Petroleum Affairs
1985
May 3: The semiannualOAPEC MinisterialCon-
ference opened in Baghdad.[5/7 FBIS]
May4: The 3rdArabEnergyConference,"Energy
and Arab Cooperation," opened in Algiers. [5/7
FBIS]
May 6: After a meeting of OPEC oil ministersin
Taif, the Nigerian minister said Saudi Arabia's
King Fahd had threatened to pump five million
barrelsa day into the oil marketif other members
refused to curb overproduction.[6/7 AN]
July 3: OPECsources denieda Kuwaitireportthat
a majorityof its members had agreed to cut the
price of light crude and trim production.[7/4 WP]
July 5: In Vienna, the beginningof OPEC's semi-
annual conference was delayed as oil ministers
held informalpreliminarytalkson how to preventa
furtherdecline in oil prices. [7/5 FBIS]
July 6: At the Vienna OPEC meeting, Saudi Oil
Minister Ahmad Zaki Yamani demanded that
OPEC accept a new quota system that would
enable SaudiArabiato producemore oil. [7/7 WP]
The oil ministersfailed to agree on measuresto
bolster prices, despite a Mexican warningthat it
mightcut its prices the followingweek. [7/7 NYT]
July 7: Afterthree days of consultations,OPECoil
ministersfailed to agree on new productionquotas
to soak up the oil glut and adjournedwithout
declaringa formalsession. New talkswere planned
for 22 July. [7/8 WP]
Regional Affairs
General
1985
Apr. 23: PresidentHusni Mubarakof Egypt, King
Husayn of Jordan,and Sultan Qabfisbin Sa'id of
Omanmet in 'Aqaba,Jordanto inauguratea ferry
service between 'Aqabaand Nuwayba, Egypt and
to discuss Mideastproblems.[4/26NYT]
Apr. 24: Athens radio reportedthat a Panamanian
ship, the Mariner 2, had struck an "explosive
device" in the Red Sea 350 miles north of Jidda.
[4/24 FBIS]
May 4: The Kuwaiti news agency reported that
Morocco's KingHassanhadintercededto improve
Tunisian-Libyanrelationsand that his efforts had
led to the end of radio broadcasts from Libya
urgingTunisiansto massacretheir Jewish compa-
triots and seize their belongings.[5/6 FBIS]
May 10: In Portugal,a Palestinianwas acquittedof
the murderof PLO moderate'I$amSartawiin 1983
but was sentenced to three years in prision for
802
entering the country with a false passport. [5/11
WP]
May 19:The New YorkTimesreportedthat Islamic
Jihad had rejected a Kuwaiti offer to release 17
prisonersin exchangefor the release of four Amer-
icans kidnappedin Lebanon. [5/19NYT]
May 30: The PLO denied responsibility for an
explosion in front of the residence of the Syrian
ambassadorin Rabatthat completelydestroyed a
diplomaticvehicle. [5/31 FBIS]
June 10: Kuwait protested to the Syrian govern-
ment over an anti-Kuwait demonstration in
Damascusbecause of Kuwait's supportof Iraq in
its war with Iran. [6/11AN]
June 11: Syria recalledits ambassadorto Kuwait,
reportedlyafter Kuwaitdeportedseveral Syrians.
[6/12 FBIS]
June 18: Two Lebanese Shl'is on trial in Spain
admitted they had shot and wounded a Libyan
diplomatin Madridin Sept. 1984. [6/20 NYT]
June 23: Britishauthoritiesdeportedeight Syrian
Shl'is held since June 12 under the Preventionof
TerrorismAct, suspectedof involvementin terror-
ist activitiesin Bahrain.[6/24AN]
June26: Iraqbrokediplomaticties with Libya, and
Iraqi officialscondemned Libya's decision to es-
tablisha joint politicalandmilitarycommitteewith
Iran as well as Libya's supply of missiles to Iran.
Libyan radio urged the Arab League and the Is-
lamic Conference Organizationto expel Iraq in
view of its dealingswith Egypt. [6/27 FBIS]
June 27: King Ilusayn reiteratedJordan'ssupport
for Iraq and condemned the Libyan-Iranianalli-
ance. [6/28 FBIS]
July 1: Gunmenwoundedtwo people in the Madrid
office of Alia, Jordan'snationalairline,just after a
bomb exploded at the British Airways office
nearby, killing a woman and wounding 27. [7/2
NYT]
July 3: In Beirut, Black Septemberand the Revo-
lutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims
claimed responsibilityfor Monday's attacks on
airlineofficesin Madrid,one of whichwas believed
to have been aimedat TWA's offices. [7/4 WP]
July 7: Foreignministersof the GCC began meet-
ings in Abha, SaudiArabia. [7/8 AN]
July 9: The GCC ministerialcouncil concludedits
15th session and reiterated its determinationto
bringthe Iran-Iraqwarto a peacefulend. [7/10AN]
Iran-IraqWar
(See also, RegionalAffairs:General,Iran)
1985
Apr. 16: Iraq said its warplaneshit a "very large
naval target" in the Persian Gulf, and Lloyd's
Shipping Intelligence Service confirmedthat the
Cypriot-registeredKypnoshad been hit. [4/17WP]
Apr. 18:In a speech on IranianArmedForces Day,
AyatallahRfihallahKhumaynicondemnedcalls for
peace as a "new development" in Iran, and ac-
cused those callingfor peace with Iraqof sedition.
[4/19 FBIS]
Apr. 19: The Iraniannews agency said Iraq had
used chemical weapons against Iraniantroops on
April 16 and 17. [4/22FBIS]
Apr. 20: A UN diplomatsaid that a weeklong de
facto truce, which had stoppedbombingof ships in
the Gulf, was due to a unilateraldecisionby Iraqto
facilitatea new peace initiative.[4/21AN]
Apr. 24: Iraq's news agency said Iraqi planes
raideda "largemaritimetarget"nearIran'sKharg
Island. [4/24/FBIS]
Iraqi planes attackeda "large maritimetarget"
near KhargIsland, accordingto a militarycommu-
nique broadcastby Baghdadradio. [4/25FBIS]
Apr. 25: Ahvaz radio reported Iraqi artilleryat-
tacks on the cities of Abadanand Khorramshahr.
[4/26 FBIS]
The Iraqi Air Force raided two "very large
maritimetargets" near KhargIsland, accordingto
Baghdadradio. [4/26 FBIS]
Apr. 26: MEED reported an historic mosque in
Isfahan, parts of which are 1250 years old, was
seriously damaged in an Iraqi air raid. [4/26
MEED]
Apr. 27: Iraqi warplanesraided a large ship near
KhargIsland, accordingto an Iraqireportquoted
by the New YorkTimes. [4/28NYT]
Apr. 28: An Iranianstatementwelcomed the UN
SecurityCouncilcondemnationof chemicalweap-
ons use but criticized the council for refusing
directly to blame Iraq. [4/29FBIS]
Apr. 29: Forty-two disabled Iraqi POWs released
by Iran were repatriatedthroughAnkara,Turkey.
[4/30 WP]
Apr. 30: An Iranian military spokesman denied
Iraq'sallegationsthatIranhad shelledManddiand
Biyarahin Iraq. [4/30 FBIS]
May 1: A Turkishoil tankerin the PersianGulf,the
BurakM, was hit by a rocket firedfrom Iraqijets,
bringingto 67 the numberof ships reportedraided
by Iraqin 1985. [5/2 NYT]
May 2: The sister of Iranian President 'All
Khaman'iarrivedin Baghdad,saying she had fled
Iranwith her childrenin orderto join her husband,
dissident Shaykh 'All Tehrani,in Iraq. [5/3 NYT]
Iranian warplanes attacked two Liberian and
Japanese supertankersin the Gulf, striking the
former, the Nordic Trader.[5/3 AN]
May 5: Iraqi reports said Iraqi jet fighters had
raidedtwo ships in the PersianGulf. [5/6 NYT]
May 13: A military spokesman announced that
Iraqiplanes had destroyeda large maritimetarget
near KhargIsland. [5/14FBIS]
May 17: IraqiPresidentSaddamHusayn said Iraq
would observe a 31-day ceasefire duringthe holy
month of Ramadan,providedIran publiclyagreed
to do likewise. [5/20 FBIS]
An Iraqi military spokesman said Iraqi war-
planes hit a large naval target near KhargIsland,
and that Iraqi troops killed 50 Iranians in a raid on
the Maysan sector the previous night. An Iranian
communique said Iranian forces repelled an Iraqi
assault on the southern front. [5/20 FBIS]
May 18: The Washington Post reported that Ira-
nian leaders were split over whether the fall of
Saddam should be a precondition for ending the
war. Speaker 'All Akbar Hashimi Rafsanj&ni and
Foreign Minister 'All Akbar Vilayati were report-
edly in favor of ending the war without insisting on
it, while President Khaman'i and Prime Minister
Mir Husayn Musavi held that his ouster was nec-
essary. [5/18 WP]
May 20: Iraqi radio broadcasts expressed regret at
Iran's rejection of a Ramadan ceasefire beginning
May 21, and reported that Iraqi planes hit a large
naval target near Kharg. [5/21 WP]
May 21: Iraqi planes attacked three pumping sta-
tions inside Iran, breaking a several-week lull in
strikes against nonmilitary targets. [5/22 WP]
May 23: Iranian warplanes bombed Iraq's power
plant at Dukan in Irbil Province, inflicting "se-
vere" damage, according to Iran's news agency.
[5/23 FBIS]
Tehran radio said Iranian planes had launched a
second raid on Iraqi electrical installations, hitting
a power station at Zubayr. [5/24 FBIS]
May 25: Iraqi radio blamed Iran for an assassina-
tion attempt on Kuwait's leader, Shaykh Jabir
al-Ahmad Al-$abdhl, and said Iraq would raid tar-
gets in Tehran in reprisal. [5/26 WP]
May 26: Iraqi planes and missiles attacked Tehran
and seven other Iranian targets in retaliation for
alleged Iranian complicity in the assassination at-
tempt. Iranian spokesmen denied the charges and
said Iran had retaliated by staging an air raid on the
Iraqi city of al-Amara in southern Iraq. [5/27 NYT]
May 27: Iran and Iraq stepped up air strikes against
each other's towns. Iranian reports said Iranian
planes raided five Iraqi towns, and Iraqi spokes-
men said 192 sorties had been carried out by Iraqi
warplanes against Iran. [5/28 WP]
May 28: An Iranian missile exploded in Baghdad,
but reportedly caused little damage, and Tehran
was hit by Iraqi aircraft. [5/29 NYT]
May 29: Iraqi warplanes reportedly hit Tehran and
Tabriz, and a West German cargo ship was hit by
an Iranian rocket. The Iraqi news agency said
Iranian attacks on Basra killed three schoolgirls
and wounded 27 others. [5/30 NYT]
May 30: Iraqi planes attacked the Iranian oil termi-
nal on Kharg Island and also hit the Iranian towns
of Isfahan and HamdaRn,while Iraqi spokesmen
claimed Iraqi planes hit a very large naval target in
the Persian Gulf. From Tehran, official spokesmen
claimed successful Iranian attacks on oil installa-
tions in southern Iraq. [5/31 NYT]
June 1: A Panamanian-registered Hong Kong
freighter, the Oriental Importer, was hit by rockets
from warplanes believed to be Iranian, setting it on
fire. One crew member was reported dead and two
803
missing. Iranianand Iraqisources announcedraids
on each other's capitals, and Tehran'sMehrabad
airportwas reportedlyhit. [6/2 WP]
June 2: Iraqi planes successfully raided a large
maritimetarget near KhargIsland, accordingto a
militaryspokesman,who also claimedtwo raidsof
Tehran on the same day. Iranianreports said "a
numberof people" were killed in the attacks. [6/3
FBIS]
June 3: Iraqi warplanes hit Tehran and Kharg
Island oil terminaland attackedan Iranianpetro-
chemical complex at Bandar Khumayni. Iran
claimed its artillery destroyed part of the train
station at Basra. [6/4 NYT]
June 4: Iraqi warplanesattacked Tabriz, Isfahan
and Hamid, according to Iraqi reports, and the
Iranian news agency said Iranian artillery had
blasted ten Iraqi towns. It also claimed that
ground-to-airmissile batteries had been installed
aroundTehranto ward off Iraqiattacks. [6/5 WP]
June 6: Iraniantroops strucknine miles into Iraq,
and Iraqiair raidson Tehranand othercities killed
at least 33 people. An Iranianspokesmansaid Iran
would begin using chemical weapons in the war.
[6/7 NYT]
Iranianradio reported"at least 300" casualties
in Iraqi missile attacks on two border cities and
calledfor UN actionto haltIraqiattackson civilian
centers. [6/7 AN]
June 8: The Iranian press agency said Iran
launched a "massive" attack on Iraqi territory
killing or wounding 500 Iraqis, in retaliationfor
Iraqi air raids, and Iraqi reports said Iraqi war-
planes raidedfive Iraniantowns. [6/9 NYT]
June 9: The Iranianpress agency said at least 78
were killedin an Iraqiair raidon a Kurdishrefugee
camp in AzerbaijanProvince, while one person
died in Abadan and more in Tehran after Iraqi
attacks. [6/10NYT]
A huge explosion shook Baghdad.The Iranian
press agency said it was caused by an Iranian
missile. IraqiplanesattackedIlam,nearthe Iranian
border, and killed 14 in Paveh, Kurdistan.[6/11
NYT]
June 11: In an interview, MahdiBazargan,leader
of the LiberationMovementof Iran, said the war
with Iraqhurt"the economic, politicalandmilitary
interests"of Iran,and thatmost Iraniansand some
of Iran's leaders oppose the continuationof the
war. [6/11CSM]
Baghdadradiosaid Iraqijets hit a largemaritime
targetnear KhargIsland. [6/12FBIS]
June 12:An IraqimilitaryspokesmansaidIraqijets
hit nine Iranian towns, includingTehran. Iran's
press agency reported37 deaths as a result of the
attack and said Iranian artillery shelled 22 Iraqi
bordertowns in retaliation,causing 103Iraqicasu-
alties. [6/14 NYT]
Iranian authoritiestold foreign news reporters
thatmassive Iranianpro-warmarchesbeginningon
14 June would demonstrateIraniandetermination
804
to continue the war until the Baghdad regime was
overthrown. [6/14 AN]
June 14: Iraqi planes bombed three Iranian cities,
including Tehran, and nine other cities were hit
with surface-to-surface missiles, killing at least 68.
In Tehran, thousands marched in support of Iran's
war with Iraq. [6/15 WP]
Iraqi President Saddam Husayn announced that
Iraq would halt bombing attacks for two weeks,
beginning June 15, to give Iran a chance to consider
peace. [6/14 FBIS]
June 15: An Iranian missile hit Baghdad a few
hours after Saddam's announced ceasefire. [6/16
WP]
June 16: No air raids or missile attacks by Iraq or
Iran were reported after a ceasefire called by Iraq
apparently took effect, although Iranian artillery
shelled four Iraqi positions. [6/17 AN]
June 17: Iranian Prime Minister Musavi rejected
Iraq's halt to attacks on cities and said fighting
would continue. The Iranian news agency reported
the second offensive against Iraq in four days in the
Marivan sector and said more than 150 Iraqi troops
had been killed or wounded. [6/18 NYT]
June 19: Iran's press agency said Iranian troops
staged a raid across the Iraqi border, killing or
wounding more than 250 Iraqi soldiers. Iraqi radio
said Iraq had crushed the attack. [6/20 NYT]
June 22: An Iraqi spokesman said Iraqi troops had
repulsed an Iranian offensive on the southern front,
killing 20 Iranians. Iran's press agency said Iranian
bombardment of Iraqi positions killed or wounded
20 Iraqis. [6/23 NYT]
The Kuwaiti news agency reported that the
Iranian Navy had seized a Kuwaiti cargo ship, the
al-Muharraq, in the Strait of Hormuz on 20 June
and taken it to an Iranian port. [6/23 AN]
June 23: Rafsanjani began an official trip to China
to seek backing for Iran in its war with Iraq. Other
envoys carried messages to Cuba, Nicaragua, Bra-
zil, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. [6/24 WP]
June 25: An Iranian official said Iran would make a
decision about the Kuwaiti cargo vessel after thor-
oughly inspecting its cargo, and that Iran would not
allow arms to reach Iraq by Gulf shipping routes.
[6/26 AN]
Iraqi warplanes hit a "large military target" near
Kharg Island, according to the Iraqi news agency.
[6/26 FBIS]
June 26: Tehran radio said Iran had achieved
successes in the southern marshes, killing over 100
Iraqis in the Hawr al-'Azim region. [6/27 FBIS]
June 27: Iraqi radio reported that Iraqi's 3rd Army
had attacked Iranian forces on the southern front,
killing 108 Iranians. [6/27 FBIS]
June 28: Iraq's news agency reported that Iranian
warplanes hit a large maritime target near Kharg
Island. Tehran radio said Iranian forces repulsed
Iraqi counter attacks in the southern region, but
Iraqi reports said Iraqi troops had recaptured the
southern Majnun oil field. [6/28 FBIS]
 Iraq's press agency said Iraqi warplaneshit a can bases in the Aridalregion, killingor wounding
naval targetin the PersianGulf. (6/29NYT] over 250 Moroccantroops. [5/3 FBIS]
June 30: Iraq's militarycommand said its forces May12:A groupof Arab,African,Asian and Latin
hadrepulsedfourIranianattacks,killingor wound- Americandiplomatsbegan a Moroccan-sponsored
ing 140, and threatenedto resumebombingIranian tour of the WesternSahara.[5/13AN]
cities. Iranian officials claimed Iranian soldiers May 16: Morocco lodged an official protest with
killedor woundedmorethan300 Iraqisin an attack Kuwaitaftera Polisariodelegationwas receivedby
in the centralsector. [7/1 WP] officialsof the KuwaitiGeneralUnion of workers.
July 1: The Iranianpress agency said Iraqi war- [5/17FBIS]
planes had attackeda Kurdishrefugeecamp, end- May 17: The Polisariodenouncedwhat is said was
a fifth sand wall being constructedby Moroccan
ing a 15-daylull in attacks on civiliantargets. [7/2
NYT] forces furthersouth along the Mauritanianborder,
July2: Iraqreleased30 Iranianprisonersin a move and said the fourth wall had failed to achieve its
arrangedthroughthe Red Cross. [7/3 NYT] purpose.[5/20FBIS]
July 3: Iraqiplaneshit a "largemaritimetarget"in May 27: The Algerianpress agency reportedthat
the Gulf, accordingto Baghdadradio. [7/3 FBIS] Polisariofighterskilled 56 Moroccansoldiers in a
July 9: Iraqi planes attacked the Turkishtanker battle at Hufrat Wadi al-Guezza in the Western
Vatan south of Kharg Island. The Iraqi news Saharaon 22 May. [5/28NYT]
agency said Iraqitroops had capturedIranianpo- June 6: Algiers news agency quoted an official
sitions in the Mandallarea on July 8, causing 50 Polisario statementclaimingthat its soldiers car-
casualties. [7/9 FBIS] ried out 50 militaryoperationsagainst Moroccan
July 12: Iranian authorities released the positionsbetweenMay 16 and May 26, and that 80
Al-Muharraqafter three weeks, saying it had been Moroccan soldiers had died in the attacks. [6/7
carryingmilitaryequipmentto Iraq. [7/15WP] FBIS]
A Turkishsupertanker,the M. Ceyhan,was hit June23: AlgiersradioreportedthatPolisarioforces
by an Iraqiair strikesouthof Karg,andthe Iranian hadkilledor woundedover 500Moroccantroopsin
news agency said Iranianforces had launchedan recent attacks, and that the heaviest losses came
attackon the southernfront. Iraqireportssaid the duringa 14 June attackat Mahbes. [6/24 FBIS]
assault was repelled. [7/12WP] July 4: The Polisarioclaimed to have caused 221
July 14: An Iraqi militarycommuniquesaid Iraqi Moroccancasualtiesin a July 2 attack. [7/5 FBIS]
forces drove back two Iranian attacks on the
southern front and that Iraqi warplanes flew 72
sorties against Iranianpositions near Basra. [7/15
NYT]
An Iranianmilitary spokesman said any ships
transportingarmsto Iraqthroughthe PersianGulf
would be seized. [7/15 WP]
Afghanistan
(See also, Pakistan)

Western Sahara 1985

Apr. 17: The Saudipress agency reportedthat the
1985 Soviets had launchedtheir largest groundand air
Apr. 18: In an interviewin Washington,Algerian operationof the yearagainstrebelmujdahidin forces
President Chadli Benjedid accused Morocco of near Kabul, and that heavy fighting in Konar
avoidinga political settlementof the WesternSa- Province had resulted in many Soviet casualties.
hara conflict and said that the position of King [4/19FBIS]
Hassan II had "hardened" after Morocco's Apr. 22: In the wake of a series of Pakistani
"union" with Libya in 1984. [4/19NYT] complaints about Afghan planes violating
Apr. 19: In Paris, a representativeof the Polisario Pakistan's airspace, Kabul radio reported that
revealed that he had met in Lisbon with the Mo- Afghanistan'sForeign Ministry had protested to
roccan interior minister on Jan. 27 and had pro- Pakistan an overflight of Afghan territory by a
posed a directmeetingbetweenKingHassanII and Pakistanimilitaryplane on April 17. [4/23 FBIS]
the Polisario. He also indicatedthat Morocco had Apr. 23: PresidentBabrakKarmalopened a grand
rejectedan Algerianproposalfor relationsbetween tribalassemblyin Kabulin a effortto gain popular
Morocco and an independentSaharanstate similar supportfor the government'swar against Afghan
to those between Canadaand the UK. [4/21LM] mujahidin.[4/24]
Apr. 21: A spokesmanof the SDAR said that the Apr. 25: Karachi radio reported that Afghan
Polisario had killed 42 Moroccan soldiers and mujahidinattackeda bankin Qandaharcity, killing
wounded55 others in recent attacks. [4/22FBIS] 15 Soviet-Karmalsoldiers, and that Soviet rocket
May 2: In reports quoted by Algiers radio, the attackshaddamagedtwo buses, killing26 civilians.
Polisarioannouncedit had destroyed two Moroc- [4/25 FBIS]

805
Apr. 28: Thousandsof Afghanis staged a protest
marchin Mashhad,Iran, to markthe 7th anniver-
sary of the Soviet-backed coup in Afghanistan.
[4/29AN]
May 5: The Saudi press agency said the Afghan
mujahidinhad killed more than 150 Soviet soldiers
in a 27 Apr. attackin ParwanProvince,andRiyadh
radio reportedthat 365 Afghan villagershad been
killedby Soviet forces on April21 in the northeast-
ern part of the country. [5/7 FBIS]
May 6: The Soviet ambassadorto Pakistansaid a
numberof Soviet soldiers held by Afghan rebels
inside Pakistanhad been killed after they revolted
and blew up an ammunitiondump near Peshawar
on 27 Apr. [5/7 FBIS]
May 8: The French press agency reportedthat an
Afghanguerrillablew up 500 Soviet militaryvehi-
cles at a base in northwesternAfghanistanon April
30. [5/8 FBIS]
A State Department official said the Reagan
Administrationwould ask Congressfor $9 million
dollarsfor open refugeeaid to Afghanrebelgroups.
[5/9 NYT]
May 9: State Departmentofficialssaid that the US
had provided $4 million in direct, secret humani-
tarianaid to Afghanrebels in the past year. [5/10
WP]
May 10: Leaders of three of the main Afghan
guerrillagroups told a crowd in Peshawar,Paki-
stan, that they denounced an attemptby alliance
leader 'Abd al-RasulSayyaf to seize controlof the
allianceby appointinghimselfto anotherfour-year
term as head of the seven-memberAlliance of
AfghanMujahidin.[5/11AN]
May 14: Afghan refugees arrivingin Pakistanre-
ported widespreadmassacres of as many as 1000
civilians by Soviet and governmenttroops during
an offensive in LaghmanProvince in April. [5/15
WP]
The New York Times reportedthat the Soviet
Union had increasedair and artilleryattacksinside
Pakistan in an attempt to undermine Pakistani
supportfor Afghanrebels. [5/15NYT]
May 15: The Iraniannews agency reportedthat a
mujahidinmissile attack had caused heavy casual-
ties and damageto the USSR's largestair base in
FarahProvince. [5/16 FBIS]
May 16: Afghan resistance leader Burhanuddin
Rabbaniinvitedthe Soviet ambassadorto Pakistan
to visit rebel camps in order to meet with Soviet
POWs. The invitationcame after reports, denied
by Rabbani,that 24 Soviet andAfghansoldiershad
died in an armsdepot blaston 27 April. [5/17FBIS]
May 17: Le Monde reportedthat dozens of Soviet
soldiers and pilots capturedby Afghanrebels had
been secretly transferredto Pakistanduring1981,
with the tacit approval of the Pakistanigovern-
ment. [5/17 LM]
Riyadh radio announced that seven Afghan
mujahidin organizations had agreed to form a
806
united front against the Kabul government. [5/17
FBIS]
May 22: Karmal returned to Kabul from official
trips to Moscow and Poland. [5/22 FBIS]
May 27: In an interview, 'Abd al-Rasul Sayyaf
denied that the US was assisting the rebels and said
such reports gave the USSR an excuse to intensify
efforts to subdue the rebels. [5/28 FBIS]
May 28: Western sources in Pakistan said Soviet
forces had begun a major offensive in Kunar and
Laghman provinces in an effort to cut off rebel
supply lines at the Pakistan border. [5/29 WP]
May 31: Afghan jets reportedly bombed a Pakistani
border village, killing at least seven people. [6/1
AN]
June 1: The State Department announced that US
and Soviet diplomats would meet later in June for
their first official talks on Afghanistan in almost
three years. [6/2 WP]
Afghan rebels said they had been forced by a
Soviet napalm bombing and onslaught to retreat
from the strategic Kunar valley, near the Pakistan
border. [6/2 NYT]
June 2: Afghan rebels said Soviet paratroopers had
joined the battle over the Kunar Valley. [6/3 NYT]
June 6: The French press agency reported that four
anticommunist guerrilla groups from Afghanistan,
Angola, Nicaragua and Laos had met in Angola
under the auspices of a conservative American
group and formed a loose alliance called the Dem-
ocratic International. [6/6 FBIS]
Rebel sources said Soviet forces were consoli-
dating their positions in the Kunar Valley, burning
crops and arresting suspects. [6/7 CSM]
The Soviet-backed Afghan Revolutionary Coun-
cil approved amnesty for an unspecified number of
political prisoners. [6/7 FBIS]
June 11: Soviet troops succeeded in breaking a
yearlong seige by rebels of the Barikof garrison
near Pakistan. [6/12 NYT]
Fighting reportedly intensified in the Panjsher
Valley, a former resistance stronghold north of
Kabul. [6/12 AN]
Western diplomatic sources said Soviet and Af-
ghan troops were withdrawing from the eastern
Kunar Valley, bringing their three-week offensive
to an end. [6/12 FBIS]
June 16: Kabul radio announced that 48 rebels had
surrendered their weapons in Konduz Province
and come over to the government side. [6/17 FBIS]
Rebel sources reported that 140 people, mostly
Communist party members, died in a bomb explo-
sion in Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan.
[6/17 AN]
June 17: US and Soviet officials met in Washington
to discuss the war in Afghanistan for the first time
in three years. [6/17 CSM]
June 19: UN-sponsored "proximity talks" began in
Geneva between the Afghan and Pakistani govern-
ments regarding the war in Afghanistan. [6/19 WP]
 The Washington Post reported that Afghan
rebels had blown up several Soviet MIG fighter
planes at Shindand Air Force base in western
Afghanistanthe week before, destroying"a signif-
icant portion"of the AfghanAir Force. [6/19WP]
June 22: Mujahidinsaid their forces had over-
whelmedgovernmentposts in the PanjsherValley,
killing or wounding as many as 400 government
soldiers. [6/23AN]
June 24: Afghan-Pakistanitalks ended in Geneva,
and were describedas "intenseandfruitful."[6/26
AN]
June 26: The WashingtonPost reportedthat sev-
eral AfghanAir Force officialshad been executed
after mujahidinsaboteursdestroyed20 jet fighters
on 12 June at Shindandbase. [6/26WP]
July 4: PakistaniPrimeMinisterMuhammadKhan
Junejo said Pakistanwanted direct talks with the
Soviet Union in orderto end the Afghanwar. [7/5
WP]
July 9: Afghan rebels reportedlyincreased their
attackson Kabul,hittingthe Soviet embassythere
with rockets on July 2. [7/10WP]
July 14: The Afghanistan Foreign Ministry de-
manded Pakistan return two Afghan helicopters
and their crews, saying the aircrafthad got "lost"
and strayedover the border.Pakistansaid the men
had asked for political asylum and wanted to join
the Afghanresistance. [7/15NYT]
Algeria
(See also, Petroleum Affairs, Regional
Affairs, Lebanon)
1985
Apr. 16: On the eve of PresidentChadliBenjedid's
visit to Washington,the WashingtonPost reported
that the Reagan administrationhad decided to
allow Algeriato purchaseUS armsfor the firsttime
since Algerianindependence.[4/16 WP]
Apr. 17: Benjedid met with Reagan at the White
House, where the two presidents discussed the
Middle East peace process and possible Algerian
armspurchasesfromthe US. It was the firstofficial
visit to the US by an Algerianhead of state in 23
years. [4/18 WP]
Apr. 26: Le Monde reportedthat several days of
disturbancesin the old city of Algiers had been
provoked by a chronic water shortage and the
collapse of a dilapidatedbuildingwhich reportedly
killed two people. [4/29 LM]
Apr. 29: In Medea, an Algerian court jailed 83
Islamic fundamentalists,three for life, on charges
of belongingto or sympathizingwith the clandes-
tine Islamic Movementin Algeria. [5/1 NYT]
May 6: 33 persons were condemned to prison terms
for their part in the 26 April disturbances in the old
city of Algiers. [5/8 LM]
May 15: US Undersecretary Richard Murphy ar-
rived in Algiers for talks on the Middle East
situation. [5/17 FBIS]
May 18: Benjedid returned from a visit to Latin
America and Senegal. [5/20 FBIS]
Reagan nominated Craig Johnstone as new US
ambassador to Algeria, replacing Michael Newlin.
[5/19 AN]
June 10: Benjedid met Indian Prime Minister Rajiv
Ghandi, in Algiers for an official visit. [6/11 FBIS]
June 22: MEED reported that about 70 Algerians
had been jailed for two to four years for their role
in clashes over land distribution in southern Alge-
ria on 5-7 June. [6/22 MEED]
June 24: French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius
arrived in Algiers for an official two-day visit aimed
at improving bilateral relations. [6/25 FBIS]
July 1: Benjedid began an official three-day visit to
Spain, during which Spain and Algeria planned to
sign an economic and industrial cooperation agree-
ment. [7/1 LM]
July 9: Abdenour Ali Yahia, president of the Alge-
rian League for Human Rights, was arrested by
Algerian authorities, following his demands in sup-
port of young members of the Sons of Martyrs
group arrested 5 July. [7/11 LM]
July 11: Algeria appealed to the UN for inter-
national aid for more than 40,000 refugees from
drought-afflicted Mali and Niger in southern Alge-
ria. [7/12 WP]
Bahrain
(See also, Regional Affairs, Kuwait)
1985
Apr. 16: Omani Sultan Qabus bin Sa'id arrived in
Manama on a 3-day official visit. [4/16 FBIS]
May 7: Jordan's King Ijusayn arrived in Bahrain
for an official visit, reportedly to muster support for
his peace efforts. [5/8 AN]
May 21: Sudanese Prime Minister al-Jazuli
Daf'allah arrived in Manama for a brief official visit
and met with Amir Shaykh 'Isa ibn Salman Al-
Khalifa before departing for Abu Dhabi. [5/22
FBIS]
June 4: The Defense Department announced the
proposed sale of six F-SE fighter jets to Bahrain.
[6/6 AN]
807

Cyprus
(See also, Lebanon)
1985
May5: TurkishCypriotsoverwhelminglyapproved
in a referenduma new constitutionfor their self-
proclaimedTurkishRepublicof NorthernCyprus.
[5/6 NYT]
May 16: The two leadingpoliticalpartiesin Greek
Cyprus rejected an offer by President Spyros
Kiprianou for joint action in negotiations with
TurkishCypriots. [5/17TDN]
May 17: Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash
announcedhis candidacyfor presidentialelections
to be held June 9. [5/18AN]
June 8: Thousands of Greek Cypriots staged a
demonstrationin Nicosia against the policies of
Kiprianou.[6/9 AN]
June9: Denktashwas re-electedwith 70.5 per cent
of the vote. [6/10NYT]
June 12: Greek Cypriots accepted a UN draft
agreementaimed at reunitingthe island, and UN
SecretaryGeneralJavierPerez de Cuellarsaid he
was waitingfor a response from the Turkishside.
[6/13WP]
June 14: The UN Security Council voted unani-
mously to extend the mandateof the UN peace-
keeping force in Cyprus, and the UN repre-
sentative of the TurkishCypriots said there were
"substantial and fundamental differences" be-
tween the agreementaccepted by Greek Cypriots
and a earlier draft accepted by the Turks. [6/16
NYT]
June 23: Turkish Cypriots voted in preliminary
elections. [6/24 WP]
June 24: The center-rightNational Unity party,
shortof an absolutemajorityin the TurkishCypriot
elections, was expected to forma coalitiongovern-
ment. [6/25 NYT]
July 3: Greek Prime Minister Andreas
Papandreaouheld talksin Athenswith a US official
regardingCyprus. [7/4 AN]
July5: Turkishofficialssaid they rejectedthe UN's
second draftproposalfor settlingthe Cyprusprob-
lem because Turkey had not been consulted re-
gardingit. [7/7 AN]
July 8: Kiprianouflew to Greece for consultations
with Greek PrimeMinisterAndreasPapandreaou.
[7/9 AN]
Egypt
(See also, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Regional
Affairs, Lebanon, Sudan, Turkey)
1985
Apr. 23: In Alexandria,two Libyansandten Egyp-
808
tians were sentenced to death for an armed attack
eight years before that resulted in the death of a
police commissioner near the Libyan border. [4/25
LM]
Apr. 27: Omani Sultan Qabfis bin Sa'id arrived in
Cairo for a two-day state visit. [4/28 AN]
May 3: The Pentagon informed Congress of plans
to sell 94 tanks to Egypt, despite its suspension of
arms sales to the Middle East. [5/4 WP]
May 4: Egypt's parliament voted to review Egypt's
legal code "gradually and scientifically" and to
revise provisions that contradict Islamic law, but
ruled out the immediate imposition of the Shari'a.
[5/5 NYT]
May 18: Mubarak returned to Cairo after a four-day
visit to Turkey and Romania. [5/20 FBIS]
May 19: A judge approved the confiscation of 3000
copies of an unexpurgated version of A Thousand
and One Nights on the grounds that obscene
passages were a threat to Egypt's moral fabric.
[5/20 NYT]
May 21: Mubarak reportedly refused to meet a
Libyan envoy, Ahmad Qadhdhaf al-Dam, cousin to
Libyan leader Mu'ammar al-Qadhdhafi, saying he
had "no more confidence in Libyan promises."
[5/22 FBIS]
May 23: Egypt's Interior Ministry announced it had
foiled a Libyan and Syrian-based terrorist's
group's plans to bomb an unidentified foreign em-
bassy in Cairo. Police and other officials said it was
the US Embassy. [5/24 NYT]
May 24: Libya denied Egyptian charges that it was
behind the embassy plot. [5/25 NYT]
June 5: Mubarak met Indian Prime Minister Rajiv
Ghandi in Cairo during the first visit to Egypt by an
Indian head of state in 15 years. [6/6 AN]
June 11: In an attempt to avert a June 14 demon-
stration called by fundamentalist Hafiz Salama to
support the adoption of strict Islamic law, Egypt's
Interior Ministry announced that public marches
were not permitted and would be dealt with
"strictly" by authorities. [6/12 FBIS]
June 14: Salama cancelled a pro-Shari'a demon-
stration moments before it was to begin, as
Mubarak ordered more than 1000 riot police on
alert to confront any marchers. Salama said he
wanted a peaceful march and said he would wait to
see how the Egyptian courts ruled on his petitions
to march legally. [6/15 WP]
June 15: A special court rejected Salama's petition,
saying his march would cause disturbances and
friction. [6/16 WP]
June 25: Talks between high-level Egyptian and
Iraqi officials began in Cairo, reportedly regarding
the Iran-Iraq war and strengthening mutual ties.
[6/26 FBIS]
June 27: Al-Ahram reported that Egyptian security
forces had thwarted a "foreign-engineered" plot to
carry out acts of sabotage in Egypt. [6/28 AN]
Egypt and Iraq signed a "comprehensive coop-
eration" agreement in Cairo. [6/28 FBIS]
July 1: The Interior Ministry said motorists had
seven days to remove Muslimand Copticreligious
stickers from their vehicles, followingrecent reli-
gious tension in ruralareas. [7/2 AN]
The People's Assembly approved amendments
to the new PersonalStatusLaw to makeit consist-
ent with Shari'a, according to Cairo radio. [7/2
FBIS]
July 2: The Egyptian government passed a law
recognizing certain basic rights for women, in
effect reinstatingAnwar al-Sadat's 1979 law on
marriage,but retainingmen's right to polygamy.
The government also dismissed Salama and ap-
pointedanothershaykhfor his mosque. [7/3 WP]
The Ministry of Awqaf announced it had ex-
tended its supervisionto "all mosquesthroughout
the country." [7/3 FBIS]
Oppositionmembersin the People's Assembly
withdrewin protest over a measurelifting immu-
nity from Wafd party member Mu$tafd Shardi
because of reports he published regardingviola-
tions in the Alexandriaelectorate. [7/3 FBIS]
AgricultureSecretary John Block said the US
would subsidize wheat flour exports to Egypt in
hopes of displacingEuropeansales. [7/5 CSM]
July 5: Salama defied the government ban and
addresseda large crowd at his Cairomosque. [7/6
AN]
July 8: On appeal by Salama, a high court over-
turneda banby the InteriorMinistryandpavedthe
way for a largeIslamicrallyin Cairoset forJuly 11.
[7/10WP]
The Egyptian news agency said Mubarakhad
refused to meet with Libya's intelligence chief,
following anti-Egypt remarks by Libyan leader
Mu'ammaral-Qadhdh&fi. [7/9 FBIS]
July 14: Salamawas arrestedfor questioningafter
police raided his office and found "antigovern-
ment" leaflets.Reportedlypolice hadarrestedhun-
dredsof fundamentalistsin the pastfew days. [7/15
WPI
Iran
(See also, Regional Affairs, Afghanistan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia,Syria)
1985
Apr. 17: Le Monde reportedthat new demonstra-
tions broke out in TehranApril 14 to protest the
death of a young Iraniankilled by securityforces.
[4/17LM]
Apr. 20: Ajoint statementbroadcastby clandestine
Radio of the IranianToilers, the oppositionTudah
party and the Feda'iyan-iKhalq said recent dem-
onstrationsin Tehranprotestingthe Iran-Iraqwar
had been brutallycrushed by regime authorities.
[4/24 FBIS]
Apr. 23: President'All Khaman'icalled for an end
to demonstrationsin Tehran in which Hizballah
party members called for observance of Islamic
dress, saying they might be exploited by Iran's
enemies. [4/24WP]
Apr. 24: In a speech, Ayatallah Ruihallah
Khumaynicalled for unity between the regular
Iranian armed forces and the Revolutionary
Guards, saying divisiveness would ruin their
chances for success. [4/25FBIS]
Apr. 25: The West Germanpress agency reported
that about 1000people had been detained in Iran
after they participatedin peaceful demonstrations
againstthe Iran-Iraqwar. [4/25FBIS]
Apr. 29: Le Monde reported that the four-year
allianceof the two majorarmedIranianopposition
groups, the Muj&hidin-iKhalq and the Kurdish
Democratic party, had broken down over the
Kurdish group's refusal to renounce all contact
with the Iraniangovernment.[4/29 LM]
Apr.30: IrajIskandarl,founderof the Tudahparty,
died in Berlinat the age of 76. [5/14 FBIS]
May 12:A car bombkilled 15 people and wounded
50 in Tehran.[5/13 WP]
May 13: A second bomb exploded in Tehran, but
no casualtieswere reported.[5/14AN]
May 14: The Iranian news agency (IRNA) an-
nouncedthatthose responsiblefor the recentbomb
attacksin Tehranhad been arrestedand that sev-
eral had been executed. [5/14 FBIS]
May 17: Motorists created a huge trafficjam in
Tehranto demonstrateagainstthe governmentand
the war with Iraq, in answer to an appeal from
Paris by exiled formerpremierShahpuirBakhtiar.
[5/18WP]
IRNA reportedthat "a few hundredsupporters
of the defunctshah resortedto childishdisplays in
the capital"on May 17, and that they had coordi-
nated their actions with "imperialist"news agen-
cies. [5/20FBIS]
May 18: Saudi Foreign MinisterPrince Sa'uidal-
Fay$albegan an officialvisit to Iran, the first by a
Saudi official since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
[5/20FBIS]
May 19: In a news conference, Iranian Interior
Minister 'All Akbar Nateqnuri said Iran's only
legal opposition party, the Freedom Movement,
had been officiallyinvitedto take partin presiden-
tial elections later in the year and could reopen its
Tehran office, ransacked three months before.
[5/20AN]
May20: The Iranianparliamentapproveda bill that
wouldgive peasantsand squattersthe rightto keep
parts of big estates they took over after the 1979
revolution, but would allow landownerswho es-
caped redistributionto keep their estates. [5/21
NYT]
May 23: Iranian authorities expelled a Reuters
correspondent,accusinghimof sendingbiased and
false reports. [5/24 NYT]
809
May 26: IranianSpeakerHashimiRafsanjanicon- trademissionto Baghdad,originallyscheduledfor
demned the US for linking terrorist attacks in Apr. 20-22, probablyas a result of Iraq's intensi-
Lebanonto Iran and said Iran would close off the ficationof the war. [4/26MEED]
PersianGulfif Iranianportswere "violated." [5/28 Apr. 27: DavidG. Newton, charg6d'affairesat the
FBIS] US Baghdadembassy, was nominatedas the first
June 5: Clandestine Radio Nejat-i Iran reported US ambassadorto Iraq since the resumptionof
thatthreepowerfulbombblasts shook Qom, killing diplomaticrelations.[4/28AN]
11 persons. [6/7 FBIS] Apr. 30: West Germany expelled the second-
June 17: Six members of the Mujahidin-iKhalq rankingIraqidiplomatin Bonn, afterIraqexpelled
were executed in Tehranfor acts of terrorism.[6/18 the West German charge d'affaires three weeks
FBIS] before, reportedly for contacts with opposition
June 22: The Iranianpress agency reportedthat a figures.[5/1 AN]
car bomb exploded in a Tehransuburb,wounding May 2: King Husayn of Jordan ended a 24-hour
five people. [6/23 NYT] visit to Baghdad.[5/3 AN]
June25: Rafsanjanireturnedto Iranaftera five-day May 8: The Frenchpress agency said fightinghad
trip to Libya and Syria. [6/26 FBIS] brokenout in northernIraqbetween Kurdishsep-
June 26: Rafsanj ni led a high-leveldelegationto aratistsand Iraqitroops, and that 180Iraqisand 4
the People's Republicof China. [6/27 FBIS] Kurdshad been killed. [5/9 FBIS]
Iranianradio reportedthat over 100 "leftists," June9: Le Mondereportedthat 20 techniciansand
mostly membersof the illegal KurdishDemocratic expertsfromvariouscountrieswere being held by
party(KDP), hadbeen killedor woundedin battles Kurdishguerrillasin Iraq. [6/6 LM]
with Revolutionary Guards in Kurdistan, Iran. June 17: Libyan Foreign Minister 'Ali 'Abd al-
[6/27 FBIS] Salamal-Turaykiarrivedin Baghdadfor an official
June 29: Kazim Zamani, an Iranianliving in the visit and met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq
Washingtonarea, was arrested on charges of at- 'Aziz. [6/18FBIS]
temptingto exportmilitaryequipmentto Iran.[6/30
AN]
June 2: Rafsanjanimet with Japanese officials in
Tokyo. Iran sought repaymentfor fees relatedto
the stalled joint Iranian-Japanesepetro-chemical
complex, and Japan sought compensation for
Israel
losses incurredduringthe IranianRevolution.[7/3 (See al'so, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Lebanon,
FBIS] Turkey).
July 4: In Tokyo, Rafsanj&ni called on the US to
take the initiativeon restoringrelationswith Iran. 1985
[7/5 WP] Apr. 22: In Washington,the US and Israel signed
July 7: Hujjat al-Islam Muhammad Musavi theirfree-tradezone agreementthat will eliminate
Khuwayniha,leader of the studentswho took the all tradeobstacles between the two countriesover
hostages at the AmericanEmbassyin Tehran,was the next ten years. [4/23JP]
appointedprocurergeneralof Iran by Khumayni. Apr. 27: In an exchange of letters with US Secre-
[7/9 LM] tary of State GeorgeShultz, IsraeliPrimeMinister
July 8: IranianPrimeMinisterMirHusaynMusavi Shimon Peres outlined a programto reform the
said the USSR's decision to withdrawits experts Israelieconomyin orderto meet US conditionsfor
from Iran had caused "problems," especially at $1.5 billionin emergencyaid. [4/28 NYT]
the Isfahanpower plant. [7/9 FBIS] Apr. 28: The Israeli Cabinet approved Peres's
proposalfor the formationof an "inner cabinet"
composedof five LaborAlignmentand five Likud
ministers,which would have far-reachingand un-
precedentedpowers. [4/29JP]
Iraq CommunicationsMinisterAmnonRubinsteinled
the call for an officialinquiryinto the Lebanonwar
(See also, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Petroleum and the role of former defense minister Ariel
Affairs, Regional Affairs, Egypt, Kuwait, Sharon.Sharonalso called for an inquiry,to focus
Morocco) on the "disloyalty" of the opposition, but Vice
Prime MinisterYitzhak Shamir said he was vio-
1985 lently opposed to any inquiry.[4/30 FBIS]
Apr. 20: Iraq temporarilyclosed its border with Apr. 29: Breaking silence on the matter, Peres
Turkey because of an epidemicof a cattle disease called the Reagan visit to Bitburg cemetery in
in Iraq. [4/20-21TDN] Germany"ill-advised."[4/29FBIS]
Apr. 26: MEEDannouncedthatthe US Commerce Apr. 30: Facing mountingcongressionalpressure,
Departmenthad postponedindefinitelyits planned Shultz said the administrationwould support a

810
two-year $1.5 billion emergency aid programto
Israel. [5/1 WP]
The US Navy accepted delivery of Israeli-built
jet fightersfor use in trainingas the first step in
increasedmilitarycooperationbetweenthe US and
Israel. [511NYT]
May 3: The Washington newsletter Aerospace
Daily said Israel had deployed nuclearmissiles in
the Negev and Golan Heights, according to the
JerusalemPost. [5/3 JP]
The State Departmentsaid it "could not con-
firm" reports that Israel had begun deploying
nuclear-armedJerichomissiles. [5/4 WP]
May 6: The Knesset FinanceCommitteeapproved
the transfer of more than 8 million shekels for
settlements, includingtwo new settlementsin the
West Bank. [5/7 FBIS]
May 13: In Histadruttradeunionelections, Israel's
Labor Alignmentwon approximately70% of the
vote versus the Likud party's 19%.[5/14JP]
May 14: Duringan official visit to Israel, Zaire's
President Mobutu Sese Seko said other African
states would renew ties with Israel in the future.
[5115CSM]
May 16: A Los Angeles man, RichardE. Smyth,
was indicted by a federal grandjury for illegally
exportingto Israel 800 timingdevices that can be
used to triggernuclearbombs. [5/17WP]
May 17: An Israeli Defense Ministryofficial said
Israel would return the timing devices, or
"krytons," to the US if reimbursedfor theircost,
and that Israel had been "unaware"of the export
ban on the devices. [5/17 FBIS]
May 19: The Israelicabinetagreedon 20 economic
measures, including an increased tax on foreign
travel, designed to help Israel's shaky economy.
[5/20 NYT]
May21: A privatelobbyinggroup,The Washington
Officeon Africa, said Israel and South Africa had
conductedajoint nuclearweaponstest in 1979that
the Carter Administrationhad hushed up. [5/22
NYT]
June 2: Shamirarrivedin Londonfor a three-day
officialvisit. [6/3 JP]
June 4: The South African homeland of
Bophuthatswanaopened an office in Tel Aviv,
embarrassingIsraeli officials who fear it could
damage Israeli relations with black Africa. [6/5
NYT]
June 11: Twenty-onepeople, including17 school-
children,died after a school bus was hit by a train
near Atlit. [6/12JP]
Reagan signed into law the US-Israelfree trade
agreement.[6/13JP]
June 19: Israel's economic package deal was re-
portedlyin danger,with unofficialprice hikes ram-
pant and vital sections of the economy paralyzed
by a series of warningstrikes.A three-daywarning
strike by manufacturersbegan, and most gas sta-
tions closed for 48 hours to press demandsfor a
highercommissionon gas. [6/19JP]
June 20: Israel's municipal workers returned to
work following a court order, and gas stations
reopenedafterEnergyMinisterMoshe Shahalgave
into demandsof the Associationof Service Station
owners and granted a 50 per cent increase in
commissionfees. [6/21JP]
June 25: Israel's elementaryschool and kindergar-
ten teacherswent on strike, three days before the
end of the school year. [6/25JP]
June 30: In a marathonCabinet session, Peres
clashed with other Labor party leaders who re-
fused to endorse the enforcementof any austerity
plan through emergency regulations, and Peres
indicatedthat the governmentwould stand or fall
upon the Cabinet'sacceptanceof the plan. Prices
of some Israeli goods, such as bread, cooking oil
and milk, rose by 60 to 70 per cent, and were to go
up even more if the plan were approved.[7/1 JP]
July 1: The Israeli governmentdeclared an eco-
nomic emergencyand imposeda sweeping auster-
ity plan, includingan 18.8 per cent devaluationof
the shekel, price increasesin subsidizedproducts,
public sector layoffs, spending cuts, and a wage
andpricefreeze. The Histadrutcalledfor a general
strikeon July 9 to protestthe measures.All seven
Cabinet votes against the plan came from Likud
members.[7/2 NYT]
July2: The Knesset approvedthe austerityplanby
a large margin.[7/2 FBIS]
Israel's economy slowed to a halt as 1.5 million
workersjoined a one-daygeneral strike to protest
austeritymeasures. [7/3 WP]
US officialspraised Israel's economic austerity
measures.[7/3 JP]
July3: Israeligovernmentandunionofficialsmet in
an effortto reach a compromiseon the implemen-
tation of the economic plan. [7/4 WP]
Reagansent Peres a letter assuringhim that ties
betweenthe US and Israelwere strongerthanever
afterthe hostage crisis. [7/4 JP]
July 7: Two bombs and two grenadesexploded in
three separateattacks at a bus stop, a hitchhiking
stop and a mosquein the Tel Aviv area, wounding
five people. [7/8 AN]
July 9: Electrical, telephone, communicationand
marineworkers struck as government,labor and
manufactureofficials met to try to resolve the
dispute over the use of emergency regulationsto
impose austeritymeasures. [7/9 JP]
July 10: Israeli unions called off a general strike
after Peres promisedto delay implementationof
emergencymeasures, but the prime minister'sof-
fice said the regulationswould still take effect.
Following talks with labor leaders, Peres said he
could not describethe seriousnessof the situation
"because people would simply up and leave."
LikudministersattackedFinanceMinisterYitzhak
Moda'i, accusing him of concealingdetails of the
measures, and the Histadrutstruck Israeli TV to
preventPeres from explainingthe measuresto the
nation. [7/11JP]
811
July 11: EEC officialssaid a Luxembourgcompany May 5: Kuwaiti Justice Minister Salman al-Du'ayj
had sold Israel47 tons of uraniumin contravention Al-Sabah resigned amid a controversy over his role
of internationalsafeguards.[7/12 WP]
Jordan
(See also, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Regional
Affairs, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, UAE)
1985
Apr. 23: SultanQabfisbin Sa'id of Omanarrivedin
Jordanon a 5-day officialvisit. [4/24 FBIS]
Apr. 29: The governmentof PrimeMinisterZayd
al-Rifa'i won a parliamentaryvote of confidence.
[4/30 FBIS]
May 31: Jordanianofficials denied reports that
King Husayn had cut short his US visit because of
the discovery of a coup plot againsthim. [6/1AN]
June 3: A groupof nearly70 Senatorssponsoreda
nonbindingresolutiondeclaringthatthe US should
not sell advanced military equipment to Jordan
until it enters direct negotiationswith Israel. [6/4
NYT]
US Secretary of State George Shultz said the
Senate resolution opposing arms sales to Jordan
was "not a service to the peace process." [6/5WP]
June 7: Husayn met with PrimeMinisterMargaret
Thatcherin London regardingMiddle East peace
efforts. [6/8 AN]
June 16: Husaynreturnedto Ammanaftera visit to
the US and the UK. [6/16 FBIS]
June 20: The Senate approvedthe administration's
requestfor $250 millionin economic aid to Jordan
and said it would consider military assistance if
Jordanentereddirect peace talks with Israel. [6/21
WP]
July 1: Jordan'smilitaryforces begantwo weeks of
military exercises backed by US personnel and
aircraft.[7/2 NYT]
July 2: Jordan's lower house of parliamentap-
proved a law establishinga "people's army" to
supportthe regulararmyin wartime.[7/3 AN]
Kuwait'sAl-Watanreportedthat more than 200
Jordanianactivists hadrecentlysigneda memoran-
dum callingfor increasedfreedomand democracy
in Jordan[7/5 FBIS]
Kuwait
(See also, RegionalAffairs, Lebanon, Libya,
Saudi Arabia)
1985
Apr. 23: The editor of Kuwait's al-Siyydsa daily
was woundedin a machinegunattack. [4/25WP]
812
in handling the 1982 stock market collapse. [5/6
WP]
May 6: Kuwait's minister of Islamic Affairs, Khalid
al-Jasir, was appointed Justice Minister, replacing
Du'ayj. [5/10 FBIS]
King Husayn of Jordan paid a brief official visit
to Kuwait. [5/7 AN]
Kuwaiti Oil and Industry Minister Shaykh 'All
Al-Khalifa submitted his resignation. [5/8 FBIS]
May 13: The Kuwait government declared an am-
nesty for people who transferred funds abroad to
avoid paying debts caused by the 1982 al-Manakh
stock market crash. [5/15 FBIS]
May 21: Sudan's Prime Minister al-Jazfili Daf'allah
stopped in Kuwait for a brief visit. [5/22 FBIS]
May 24: Students at Kuwait University began a
strike protesting summer semester schedules, fol-
lowing a police clash with secondary school stu-
dents several days earlier. [5/25 AN]
May 25: A suicide bomber drove his car into the
motorcade of Amir Shaykh Jabir al-Ahmad Al-
Sabah in Kuwait city, killing at least four persons.
The amir escaped serious injury. Islamic Jihad
claimed responsibility for the attack and called for
the release of its members held in Kuwait for a
series of bombings in Dec. 1983. [5/26 WP]
May 26: Iranian President 'Ali Khaman'i sent a
message of sympathy to Shaykh Jabir and con-
demned the assassination attempt as "a criminal
act." [5/27 AN]
May 27: Kuwaiti authorities said the suicide
bomber had been identified as an Iraqi with a
Pakistani passport and had been a member of the
pro-Iranian group al-Da'wa. [5/28 NYT]
May 30: Kuwaiti authorities announced they had
arrested 20 people in connection with the assassi-
nation attempt. [5/31 AN]
June 9: The Kuwaiti cabinet approved a tough
anti-terrorism bill calling for the death penalty for
any terrorist acts which cause loss of life. [6/15
MEED]
June 15: A Kuwaiti court acquitted nine people
charged in connection with the assassination of an
Iraqi diplomat and his son in March. [6/16 AN]
June 24: Bahrain's leader, Shaykh 'Isa ibn Salman
Al-Khalifa paid a brief visit to Kuwait. [6/26 AN]
June 26: Kuwaiti officials quietly purged a number
of Arab officials in sensitive government positions
following the 25 May assassination attempt against
Shaykh Jabir, according to Gulf reports. [6/27 AN]
June 30: The Kuwaiti Cabinet approved a draft law
that could put ministers on trial and would hold
them responsible for subordinates' misappropria-
tions. [7/2 FBIS]
July 7: Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Ozal met in
Kuwait with the amir during a brief official visit.
[7/8 AN]
July 8: A Kuwaiti politician called for the deporta-
tion of 23 American Jews working on the 'Abdallah
Harbor refinery, calling them "a threat to the
country." [7/9 AN]
July 11: Bombs planted in two popular Kuwaiti
cafes killednine people andinjured56 others. [7/29
WP]
Lebanon
(See also, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Regional
Affairs, Israel)
1985
Apr. 16: In Beirut, membersof Nabih Birri'sShi'i
Amal militia fought with their former allies, the
Sunni Murabitin, after the latter tried to open a
militiaofficein a residentialneighborhood.At least
two were reportedkilled in the fighting.[4/17WP]
Apr. 17: Lebanon's national unity Cabinet re-
signed, hoursafterShi'i andDruzemilitiamenwere
reportedin full controlof West Beirut. At least 29
were said to be dead and 120woundedin the wake
of fierce fighting between Amal and Murabitfin
militiasand their allies. [4/18NYT]
Prime Minister Rashid al-Karamiagreed to re-
main at the head of a caretakergovernment.[4/18
FBIS]
The UN SecurityCouncilvoted to extend by six
monthsthe mandateof the 10-nationUNIFILforce
in Lebanon, to October 19. [4/18JP]
Apr. 18: Karamiwent to Damascusfor talks with
Syrian PresidentHafiz al-Asad, amid reportsthat
Karamiwas underpressurefromboth Syriaandhis
fellow Sunni Muslimsto withdrawhis resignation.
In anotherdevelopment,unidentifiedgunmenkid-
napped George Sayigh, the vice presidentfor ad-
ministrationof the AmericanUniversityof Beirut
(AUB). [4/19 NYT]
The MilitaryCommandestablishedby Amaland
the PSP issued a statement saying their forces
would begin patrollingWest Beirut and that all
other armedmen were prohibited.Amal and PSP
gunmen also reportedly raided houses of
al-Murabitin officials in the Sunni areas and
clashed with Palestinians in the Shatila refugee
camp. [4/19 FBIS]
Apr. 19: Sayighwas releasedunharmedafterbeing
held for one night. [4/19 FBIS]
Apr. 20: In Sidon, 19 people were killed and 48
wounded in mortar, rocket and tank fire from
Christian militia positions on hills to the east.
Nazih Bizri, a memberof parliamentfrom Sidon,
urged residents to take up arms to defend them-
selves and said he had ceased contacts with the
Jumayyil government because of its inability to
stop the fighting.In Beirut,Moslempoliticiansmet
to try to end the violence between Moslemmilitias
strugglingfor control of West Beirut. [4/21WP]
Apr. 22: Druze leaderWalidJunblatsaid he would
not allow al-Murabituin leader IbrThimQulaylatto
returnto Beirut,afterQulaylatexpressedhis inten-
tion to do so. [4/22FBIS]
Samir Ja'ja', the Phalanges chief of staff, de-
clared a comprehensive unilateral ceasefire in
Sidon. [4/22FBIS]
Artilleryexchangesbetween Christianand Mus-
lim militias continued in Sidon, despite the
ceasefireannouncement.[4/23NYT]
Apr. 23: Christianmilitiamenbegan to withdraw
from hills east of Sidon, reportedlyto help ease
fightingthere. [4/24NYT]
Lebanese Muslim leaders, including Karami,
and formerprime ministersSalim al-Huss, Taqiy
al-Dinal-Sulhand Rashidal-Sulhleft for meetings
in Damascus with Syrian Vice President 'Abd
al-HalimKhaddam.[4/23 FBIS]
Apr. 24: In Damascus, heads of fightingMuslim
factionsagreedon a planto end the fighting,which
provided for a unified security force to patrol
Beirut. [4/25WP]
Khaddamannouncedthat Kardmihad rescinded
his resignation.[4/25FBIS]
Rafiq Salim Darbasani, also known as Abu
Nidal, the PLOcommanderof the centralsector of
southern Lebanon, was assassinated near
al-Qasimiyah.[4/29FBIS]
Apr.25: The PhalangistLebaneseForces calledfor
a general strike on Apr. 27 to protest continuing
violence in Sidon and the Lebanese Army's "hes-
itation" in enforcing its authority in the area.
Beirut radio said armed militias prevented the
army's deployment,even though a ceasefire had
been concluded.[4/26FBIS]
Apr. 26: Palestinianand Muslimmilitiamenover-
ran Christian villages east of Sidon, reportedly
looting and burninghomes abandonedby Chris-
tians after Lebanese Forces militiamen left for
Beirut following Israel's withdrawal from the
nearbyJazzin area. [4/27NYT]
Apr. 27: As manyas 17,000Christianfamiliesfrom
villagesnearSidonhadarrivedin Jazzin, according
to Lebanese police, and ChristianCabinet mem-
bers called for an emergencymeetingto deal with
the situation.Jumayyilconsulted with Asad in an
attemptto secure Syrianassistancein dealingwith
Palestiniansand LebaneseMuslimscontrollingthe
Christianvillages. [4/28NYT]
Apr. 28: Forty-twopersonswere reportedkilledas
Muslim militiamenand their Druze allies gained
control of key Lebanese ports and the coastal
highwayfrom Beirutto Sidon. [4/29 WP]
Clashes broke out as Muslim-Christiantension
spread to Beirut, and 20 people were reportedly
wounded. [4/29FBIS]
Apr. 29: Druze and Amal forces halted their ad-
vance towardsJazzinto give Christiansin the town
time to expel 200 militiamenof the SouthernLeb-
anon Army (SLA). The Druze and Amal fighters
promised not to attack Jazzin if the Christian
813
militiamenleft. Meanwhile, InformationMinister
Joseph Skff said he would resignfromthe govern-
ment. [4/30AN]
Shi'i militiamenand a token force of Lebanese
Army soldiers established control in Tyre and
nearby Shi'i towns, one day after Israeli troops
withdrew. Amal militiamen set up checkpoints
outside the al-Rashidiyarefugee camp, vowing to
prevent the reestablishmentof an armedPalestin-
ian presence in southernLebanon. [5/1 WP]
In Beirut, large-scale gun battles took place
across the Green Line. [5/1 NYT]
May 2: Christianleaders in Jazzin negotiatedwith
Muslimleadersin an attemptto avert an attackby
Muslimmilitiasseeking to eject SLA fighters.[5/3
AN]
Clashes continuedin Beirut, after the Lebanese
Forces' rejectionof a Birri-Junblatceasefireplan,
according to Beirut radio. In the south, almost
20,000 Christianrefugees were reported to have
arrived in the Marj 'Uyuin area, and the Israeli
Armyapproveda plan to transfermanyof them to
Beirut by sea. [5/3 FBIS]
May 6: A bloody 12-hourartillerydual between
rival militias in Beirut took at least 28 lives and
woundedmore than 100 people. [5/8 WP]
May 7: The JerusalemPost reportedthat members
of the SLA had arrestedfive Dutch UNIFIL sol-
diers on May 5, releasing them only after Israeli
intervention.[5/7 JP]
SLA leader General Antoine Lahd said his
forces would not leave Jazzin, noting that the
IsraeliArmyhadrecentlysuppliedhimwith a large
quantityof ammunition.[5/7 FBIS]
May 8: A precariousceasefire appearedto have
taken hold in Beirut, after 11 days of fightingin
which at least 77 died. All six crossings between
East and West Beirutremainedclosed. [5/9 WP]
In Beirut, five PLO leaders met with Lebanese
officialsin an attemptto bring 13 Palestinianrefu-
gee camps in Lebanon under the control of the
newly-formedPalestine National SalvationFront,
instead of Fath loyalists. [5/9 NYT]
May9: Officialsof the Phalangesmilitia,reportedly
underpressurefrom Syria, replacedJa'Ja'as head
of their executive committeewith Elie Hubayqah.
Ja'Ja' retainedhis post as chief of staff. After his
election, Hubayqahaffirmedthe "essential" Syr-
ian role in Lebanon and Lebanon's place in the
Arab world. [5/10 WP]
May 12:The WashingtonPost reportedthatin 1984
the Reagan Administrationhad approved a CIA
covert operationaimed at trainingand supporting
counterterroristunits in the Middle East, but that
the operationhad been cancelled after one of the
unitshad, withoutauthorization,detonateda bomb
outside a Shiji leader'shome in Beiruton March8,
killing80 and woundingmore than 200. [5/12WP]
Junblatrejectedan appealfor unity and dialogue
by Hubayqah,saying the leadersof the Phalanges
militia were "criminals." He also acknowledged
814
thathis forces had seized icons andgold coins from
a Greek Catholicmonasteryin the Shfif, and said
they would not be returned until the Vatican
adopted an "evenhanded"position on Lebanon.
[5/13WP]
May 13: A rocket attackhit Lebanon'scentrallaw
courtsin Beirut,startinga firethat destroyedall of
Lebanon'slegal records. [5/14CSM]
Birrirejecteda compromisewith the Phalanges
militia, saying it was time for a clear victor to
emergefrom Lebanon'scivil war. [5/15 CSM]
May 15: The deputy directorof UNRWA, Aiden
Walsh, was kidnappedin Beirut. Islamic Jihad
claimedresponsibility.[5/15FBIS]
May 16: Walsh was freed unharmedin Beirut 36
hours after he was kidnapped.[5/17JP]
May17:FiercefightingbetweenMuslimand Chris-
tian militias raged in Beirut, after a car bomb
explosion wounded eight people in West Beirut.
SyrianPrimeMinister'Abd al-Ra'uifal-Kasmindi-
cated Syriawould move to end civil strife, but did
not say if Syria would intervene militarily. [5/18
AN]
May 20: There were clashes in the Palestinian
camps of Sabra and Shatila and in neighboring
areas, between Amal and Palestiniangroups who
had seized Beirut's sports stadium and the
Ghazzahhospitalearlierin the day. [5/20FBIS]
Amalmilitiamenreportedlygainedcontrolof the
Sports City from Palestinianfighters, and Leba-
nese Army troops from the mostly Shl'l Sixth
Brigade took up positions in Sabra and Shatila,
where they reportedlyprovided cover for Amal
militiamen.[5/21FBIS]
A Saudidiplomatkidnappedin Beirutmore than
a year before was released. [5/21WP]
May 21: Birriaccused 'Arafatof responsibilityfor
the fightingat the camps and said Amal would
never permitthe returnof the PLO as a force in
Lebanon. [5/21FBIS]
In Tyre, Amal fighterssurroundingthe refugee
campsof al-Buss, Rashidiyah,and Buj al-Shamfli
demandedthat Palestiniansget passes to enter or
leave the camps. In battles for control of the
camps, rival PLO factions joined forces for the
second day againstAmalmilitiamenbackedby the
SixthBrigade.Police reportedat least 121deathsin
Beirutin four days. [5/22WP]
May 22: A car bomb exploded in East Beirut,
killing at least 50 and wounding 172, including
childrenon a school bus, and fightingintensified
between Shi'i and Palestiniangunmen struggling
for controlof refugeecamps, as Palestiniansin the
hills near Beirut opened fire with long-rangemis-
siles. [5/23NYT]
May 23: Voice of the Mountain radio said five
Lebanese Army soldiers were killed and 11
wounded in an ambush by SLA troops at al-
Maramilin southernLebanon. [5/24 FBIS]
May 24: Fighting continued between Amal and
Palestinianfighters in Beirut despite a ceasefire
agreement announced in Damascus during the
night. As many as 250 people were reportedkilled
since the Sundaybefore. [5/24FBIS]
May 26: Witnesses of Shi'i-Palestinianfightingin
West Beirutsaid Shi'i militiamenhad begunkilling
large numbers of Palestinians from Sabra and
Shatila, keeping Red Cross relief workers away,
while Palestinianswere reportedto be continuing
to repel Shi'i attacks on Bud al-Barajnah.[5/27
NYT]
Kuwait's Al-Watanreportedthat a call by the
USSR for Syrianinterventionin Lebanonhadbeen
rejectedby Khaddam,who said that "Syriacan no
longer allow 'Arafat to us the refugee camps in
Lebanonto sabotagethe Syrianrole." [5/28FBIS]
Two Frenchcitizens were kidnappednearBeirut
by unidentifiedgunmen. [5/27NYT]
May 27: Red Cross efforts to evacuate 250
wounded Palestiniansfrom Bud al-Barajnahwere
stymied by renewed fighting.[5/28NYT]
Amal spokesmendenied reportsthat the militia
had massacred Palestiniansin the Beirut camps.
[5/28 FBIS]
Libyan officials undertooka series of political
contacts with Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian
officials between 23 and 27 May aimed at ending
the camp battles, and Libyan leader Mu'ammar
al-Qadhdhafiexpressed his "solidarity"with the
Palestiniansin a telephone call with 'Arafaton 24
May. [5/28 FBIS]
May 28: Unidentifiedgunmen kidnappedDavid
Jacobsen, the Americanhead of AUB hospital,in
West Beirut. [5/28 AN]
Palestinianforces launcheda counterattackin an
effortto regaincontrolof the camps,killing20 Shi'i
militiamenand Lebanese Army soldiers, but were
reportedlydrivenback. [5/29NYT]
May 29: The bullet-riddenbody of Denis Hill, a
Britishprofessorat AUB, was found, and Islamic
Jihadclaimedresponsibilityboth for his deathand
for the kidnappingof Jacobsen. The presidential
palace in Beirut was shelled causing extensive
damage, and Jumayyil narrowly escaped death
shortly before he left for a meeting with Asad in
Damascus. [5/30WP]
May 30: Egyptian representativescalled for an
urgentUN SecurityCouncilmeetingon the fate of
the Palestiniansin Lebanon. [5/31CSM]
Jumayyil and Asad conferred in Damascus on
ways to end Shi'i-Palestinianfightingin Lebanon.
[5/31 WP]
PFLP leaderGeorge Habashnoted a "crisis" in
his organization'srelationswith Syriaas a resultof
the Lebanese camp situation,but denied any rap-
prochementwith 'Arafat.[6/3 FBIS]
The Amal militia announced a unilateral
ceasefirein the Beirutcamps, one day afterclaim-
ing to have seized the last strongholdof Palestinian
fightersat Sabra.Jumayyilreturnedto Beirutafter
a three-dayofficialvisit to Damascus. [5/31FBIS]
June 1: Fightingdied down, and Red Cross work-
ers entered Bud al-Barajnahto evacuate some of
the wounded. Birri said Amal fightershad seized
documentsprovingan 'Arafatconspiracy to pro-
voke national strife in Beirut. Over 460 people
were reportedkilled in Beirut since 19 May. [6/2
NYT]
June 2: Shl'i militiamenstormed the Palestinian
settlementof Al-Buss, in southernLebanon,aftera
clash with Palestinianfighters,as a senior Iranian
delegationheld talkswith LebaneseShi'i leadersin
Beirut after Tehran publicly denounced Amal's
efforts to disarm Palestinians in Lebanon. [6/3
NYT]
Refugees in Bud al-Barajnahreported severe
food and water shortages and a breakdown in
hygiene, resultingin the increase of disease. [6/3
WP]
The JerusalemPost quotedunconfirmedreports
that 28 membersof the SLA, reportedkidnapped
on 29 May, had deserted to the Amal militia. [6/2
JP]
June 3: Renewed fighting in Beirut shattered a
two-day lull and prevented Red Cross workers
from removing more wounded from Bud
al-Burajnah.Sabrawas reportedcompletelyin the
handsof Amalfighters,while Shatilawas reported
ready to fall. [6/4 NYT]
June 4: Visitors to Sabra said extensive damage
had made the camp uninhabitable,and that resi-
dents were sleeping on sidewalks. In Damascus,
round-the-clocktalks between Syrian, Lebanese
and Palestinianofficialscontinuedas Syriapressed
for an end to the violence. [6/5 NYT]
The Soviet Union sent a "strongly-worded"
message to Birri calling for an immediatehalt to
militaryoperationsin the Palestiniancamps. [6/7
FBIS]
The ArabLeague Secretariatannouncedthat an
emergencysession would be held in Tunis on June
7 to discuss the Palestiniancamps issue, and that
13 Arab countries, not including Lebanon, had
agreedto attend.The Damascussummitagreedon
a planto establisha Syrian-Lebanesejoint security
organwith SyrianArmyunits availableto support
the Lebanese Army, which would merge its 5th,
6th, 8th and 11th brigadesin an effort to abolish
sectarianism.Relative calm continued in Beirut
with Amalreleasing30 Palestiniansdetainedin the
Murr building (Bud al-Murr)on 4 June. In the
south, the SLA clashed with gunmen near Kfar
Falus. [6/5 FBIS]
June 5: For the firsttime since 19 May, no deaths
were reportedin the continuingseige of the Pales-
tiniancamps in Beirut. [6/6 WP]
Accordingto reports,morethan 15,000Palestin-
ians or 40 per cent of the populationof Sabra,
ShatilaandBud al-Barajnah,hadfleddue to recent
battles, mostly to refugee centers in Beirut. [6/6
AN]
815
 The Iraniandelegationheadedby Hujjatal-Islam
Karruibileft Lebanonfor Syria. [6/6 FBIS]
June 6: In Damascus, KarrfibiaffirmedIran's sup-
port for Syria's policies in Lebanon. [6/7 FBIS]
June 7: Voice of Lebanon reported28 casualties
from violent clashes aroundTripolibetween Sunni
fightersand the ArabDemocraticParty.[6/7FBIS]
The SLA seized 24 FinnishUNIFIL soldiersand
threatenedto shoot themif 11SLA militiamenwho
reportedlyhad eitherbeen capturedby or defected
to Amal were not released. Israel's military
spokesman supported the SLA demand. Two
Finns were later released. [6/8 WP]
June8: UN relief supplieswere permittedinto Bud
al-Barajnahfor the first time in three weeks, and
Lahd orderedthe release of four Finns held by the
SLA, insisting that the others would be held, but
not injured,untilhis demandswere met. In Beirut,
Birriofferedto free the SLA men if Israelfreed its
Shi'l prisonersand orderedthe SLA out of Jazzin.
[6/9 NYT]
The Syrian foreign minister walked out of the
Arab League emergency session in Tunis after
'ArafatblamedSyriafor the situationin the Beirut
camps. [6/9 AN]
June9: Kar&misaid Lebanonconsideredthe Tunis
Arab league session "unauthorizedintervention"
into its affairs. Rabin said UNIFIL forces had
disarmedthe SLA fightersand "handedthemover
to the Amal movement." [6/11FBIS]
The Tunis Arab League session ended with a
resolution calling for an "immediate and com-
plete" ceasefire and an end to the seige of the
Palestiniancamps. [6/10AN]
Dean Thomas Southerland, of the American
Universityin Beirut,was abductedby unidentified
gunmen who apparently mistook him for the
university'spresident.[6/10FBIS]
June 10: UNIFIL officialsagreedto meet with SLA
officers in an effort to obtain the release of the
Finns. [6/10JP]
June 11: A Jordanianplane was hijacked from
Beirut airportto Tunis by gunmenwho said they
belonged to the "suicide forces" of Imam 'Ali
al-$adr.They demandedthatPalestiniansleave the
Beirut camps and that 'Arafat and Husayn end
their "collusion." [6/11FBIS]
The jetliner returnedto Beirut after hijackers'
demands to be allowed to land in Tunis were
rejected, and the hijackersreportedlykilled a Jor-
danianguard. [6/12AN]
A UN commission of inquiry found that the
Finnish soldiers had acted in accordance with
UNIFIL regulationsand that the 11 SLA soldiers
had "wantedto defect." Lahddeniedthatthe SLA
men had defected and said no more soldierswould
be released until his men were freed. [6/13FBIS]
June 12: UN UndersecretaryBrian Urquhartar-
rived in Lebanonfor talks with Jumayyilregarding
the UNIFIL hostages. [6/12 FBIS]
816
The passengers and crew of the jetliner were
releasedunharmed,and the hijackersblew up the
plane before escapinginto Beirut. [6/12FBIS]
Israeli authorities urged the UN to meet the
SLA's demands and said Israel might agree to a
broaderUNIFIL role in southernLebanon if the
UN recognized the SLA and agreed to work
closely with it. [6/13WP]
A hijackerwho triedto commandeera Lebanese
jet in Cypruswas arrestedby police. [6/13CSM]
Amal fightersrenewed their attacks on Shatila
andBurjal-Barajnah,andat least nine people died,
bringingthe death total in the camp battles to 548.
Druze forces reportedlyset up checkpoints south
of Beirut, refusing to let Amal fighters through.
[6/13AN]
Junblat's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP)
reachedan agreementwith Amalonjoint measures
to "protect" the Palestiniancamps according to
which armedPalestinianswere beingbussed to the
Biqa' from al-Musaytibah,escorted by Amal-PSP
forces, accordingto Voice of Lebanonradio. [6/13
FBIS]
PLO radio condemnedSyria for its role in sup-
portingAmalfightersattackingBeirut'sPalestinian
camps and for beseigingthe al-Yarmukcamp out-
side Damascus, reportedlykillingover 60 people.
[6/14FBIS]
June 13: The 11 SLA soldiers, all of whom were
Shi'i, reportedlyrefused to returnto Lahd when
questioned by UNIFIL and Red Cross officials.
[6/14JP]
The official PLO spokesman condemned the
evacuation of Palestinians from Beirut as a
"scheme" designedto protect Israel. After meet-
ing with Syrian officials in Damascus, Urquhart
went to Israel for talks with Rabin, who said the
SLA would continue to control the security strip
and that UNIFIL's role would not change. [6/14
FBIS]
June 14: Canadaclosed its embassy in Beirut and
moved its diplomatsto Jordan,accordingto Voice
of Lebanon. [6/17FBIS]
The Israeli military command announced that
the 21 Finns held by the SLA would be freed on
June 15, after a Red Cross-SLAmeetingand after
Urquhartwarnedthat the UN mightresortto force
if the UNIFIL soldierswere not released.
A suicidecar bomberrammeda LebaneseArmy
post in West Beirut,killingat least 11 and injuring
42. A previously unknown group, Khalid ibn
Walid, claimed responsibilityand called for the
Sixth Brigade to end their siege, with the Amal
militia,of Shatilaand Burjal-Barajnah.
Shi'i gunmen hijacked a TWA jetliner bound
from Athens to Rome with 153 persons, 104 of
them Americans, on board, forcing it to land in
Beirutand Algiersbefore returningto Beirut. One
passenger,a US Navy diver, RobertStethem, was
killed, and 40 passengers were released. The hi-
jackers demandedthe release of one of their com-
rades arrested in Greece as well as release of about
800 Lebanese Shl'i Muslims held by Israel and an
end to fighting by Lebanese Muslims. Islamic Jihad
claimed responsibility for the hijacking, but denied
it in a later communique. US officials said they
would not give in to hijackers' demands. [6/15 WP]
June 15: The Lebanese Army said it would pull out
of Beirut Airport because it could not carry out its
duties because of militia intervention. [6/16 AN]
The Greek government released a Lebanese ar-
rested in Athens on June 14 in return for the release
of eight Greek passengers on the TWA flight. [6/16
NYT]
The SLA released the Finnish soldiers, who said
Israeli soldiers had helped guard them. [6/16 WP]
June 16: In Algiers, 64 more hostages were re-
leased on 15 and 16 June, amid reports that eight or
nine had been secretly removed in Beirut. The
hijackers set a deadline of June 16 for the release of
Shi'is held in Israel. US officials said they preferred
to rely on Algeria and a Red Cross team to help
reach a solution and that the US would not nego-
tiate or make concessions. Israeli authorities were
reportedly consulting with US officials. [6/16 WP]
Fierce fighting took place around Shatila camp as
Palestinians attacked Amal militia posts. [6/17 AN]
June 17: The purser of the TWA flight said a small
group removed secretly from the plane in Beirut
had had Jewish-sounding names. [6/17 NYT]
Amal, Lebanese National Democratic Front,
and Palestine National Salvation Front representa-
tives signed an agreement in Damascus to end the
fighting in the Palestinian camps in Beirut. It called
for Amal's withdrawal from the camps with the
Sixth Brigade, the release of all detainees, and the
return of homeless Palestinians to the camps, as
well as a "total or partial collection of arms." The
security of the camps was to be included in a
"comprehensive security plan for Beirut." A
seven-man coordinating committee, including
PNSF but not PLO members, was set up to imple-
ment the agreement and left for Beirut to begin
work. [6/18 WP]
Ayatallah Montazari, the heir apparent of
Khumayni, denounced the Shi'l militia in Lebanon
for their attacks on the camps, as "a brand of
shame on the forehead of Islam." [6/18 AN]
The TWA jetliner returned to Beirut, and Amal
leader Birri said he had agreed to mediate in the
hijacking crisis after the hijackers promised the
remaining hostages would not be harmed. Israeli
officials said the US had not asked Israel to release
700 Shl'i prisoners, but that it would "seriously"
consider such a request, since it had intended to
release them anyway. [6/17 FBIS]
Reagan warned the hijackers to release the hos-
tages "for their own safety," and a special US
commando team was reportedly sent to the region,
but other US officials indicated there was "no
viable military option" available to the US. One
more passenger, who was ill, was released. [6/17
WP]
June 18: Birri announcedhe had ordered the 43
remaininghostages off the plane for their own
safety, and that he had adopted the hijackers'
demandsas his own. US officialssaid they would
not ask Israel to release its Shi'l prisoners, since
that would be a concession to terrorism. The
governmentof Spain rejected the hijackers' de-
mands that it release two imprisoned Lebanese
Shi'is. [6/18WP]
Clashes continued in the camps despite the
Damascus agreement. Beirut radio reported 59
casualtiesin fightingon June 17. [6/18FBIS]
Birrnarrangedthe release of three more hos-
tages, includingGreek pop star Demis Roussos,
and appealed to the US to pressure Israel into
freeing the Shi'i prisoners. Forty hostages re-
mained in Beirut, held in two separate groups.
Reagan rejected a general retaliationagainst the
hijackersand indicatedhe was willingto wait them
out. In Israel, Peres said Israel had been ap-
proachedby the US and had agreed to a meeting
with Red Crossofficialsregardingthe hostagesand
hijackers'demands.[6/19WP]
ThreeLebanesewere convictedin Italyof smug-
gling plastic explosives into Italy for a Lebanese
terroristgroup. [6/19AN]
June19:The IRCevacuated45 woundedfromBurj
al-Barajnahand40 fromShatila.Approximatelysix
of the 40 hostages, reportedlythose with Jewish-
soundingnames, were reportedto be in the cus-
tody of Hizballah,ratherthan Amal, militiamen.
The IsraeliForeignMinistrydeniedthat the deten-
tion of more than 700 Shi'is in Israel violated
internationallaw. [6/20WP]
A car bomb in Tripoli killed 75 and wounded
more than 150. [6/20FBIS]
June 20: Five of the hostages said in a news
conference that they feared a militaryrescue at-
temptandaskedthe US not to try one. Reagansaid
the US had reachedits "limits" on terrorismand
would consider responses "military and other-
wise" to end the violence. Sources in Washington
discounted reports that the half dozen hostages
being held separatelyhad been chosen because of
their Jewish names and suggestedthey may have
been selected because they carriedUS militaryID
cards. Peres said Israelwas not responsiblefor the
hostages, and Rabinsaid the US should not "play
games"with Israelover the hijackers'demandsfor
the release of 700 Shi'i prisonersin Israel. Shaykh
MuhammadHusaynFadlallah,the spiritualleader
of Hizballah,said the hijackerswere from diverse
groups but he would put pressure on them to
release the hostages if their demands were met.
[6/21WP]
June 21: More than 1000 members of Hizballah
demonstratedat BeirutAirportagainstthe United
States, and Shultzand Peres conferredby phonein
an attemptto lessen US-Israel tensions, agreeing
817
on the importanceof not giving in to hijackers'
demands. [6/22 NYT]
June22: In Amman,MoroccanParliamentSpeaker
AhmadOsman,one of six Moroccanenvoys tour-
ing the Arab world to invite Arab leaders to an
extraordinarysummiton the Palestiniancampbat-
tles in Beirut, said the summit might be held as
early as July. Christian and Muslim militiamen
fought in central Beirut as Amal militiamenbegan
lifting a 34-day siege of the Palestiniancamps. In
Bud al-Barajnah,a truce held for the fourthday,
and truckloadsof food and supplies were moved
into the camp. A series of explosions rocked
Hasbayah and 'Aishlyah, near the Israeli border,
and the SLA reportedlycame underheavy attack
at Qantara.[6/23AN]
June 23: The WashingtonPost reportedthat the
Syrian Army had begun removingtanks and artil-
lery from Lebanonfor the firsttime since the 1982
Israeli invasion. [6/23WP]
Workcontinuedaroundthe Palestiniancampsto
remove all signs of armedpresence, in accordance
with the Damascus agreement, but renewed
clashes broke out in Beirut between Amal and
al-Murabituin militias. [6/24 FBIS]
June 24: After talks with Syrian officials in
Damascus, IranianSpeakerRafsanjanisaid that if
Iranhad knownof the hijackers'plansin advance,
"we wouldhave takensteps to preventit." He also
met with Lebanese Shi'i leaders, including
Fadlallah,leading to reports Syria had persuaded
Iran to use its influenceto help resolve the crisis.
[7/1 MEES]
Israeliauthoritiesreleased31 Arabprisonersbut
denied any link between that action and the hos-
tage crisis. Birri demandedthe withdrawalof US
warshipsfrom positions near the Lebanese coast,
and Amal releaseda videotapeshowinga dozen of
the hostages. US officials said they believed a
groupof hostageswas being held at a Shi'i military
base in Baalbek, an area under Syrian control.
[6/25 WP]
In Beirut, al-Murabitfingroups continuedto at-
tack Amal positions. [6/25 FBIS]
June 25: In Madrid, two Lebanese Shil's were
sentencedto 23 years in prisonfor an assassination
attempton a Libyan diplomatin September1984.
[6/27 LM]
Lebanese securityforces begandeployinginside
the Palestiniancamps. [6/25FBIS]
Jumayyil affirmedLebanon's opposition to an
Arabsummiton the campbattles, in a meetingwith
the Moroccanambassadorin Beirut. [6/26FBIS]
Reagan reportedly sent several messages to
Asad askinghis assistancein gainingthe release of
the hostages. Vice PresidentGeorgeBush said the
700Arabprisonersin Israelwere beingheld against
internationallaw and should be released, and de
Cudllaralso urged their release. Mubarakwarned
the US againstusing force to release the hostages.
[6/26WP]
818
June 26: The JerusalemPost reportedthat a UN
inquiryinto the Finnish-SLAincident found that
the 11 SLA soldiers had deserted of their own
volition, andthat the FinnishUNIFIL soldiershad
pretendedto "capture"them and hand them over
to Amal in orderto assist them. [6/26JP]
Birriproposedthatthe hostagesbe transferredto
Syrian control or to a foreign embassy in West
Beirut if the governmentpledged not to release
them before Israelfreed its detainees. Switzerland
and Francereportedlyrespondedfavorablyto the
proposal.Syria sent messages to Birriin an effort
to hasten the hostages' release. [6/26FBIS]
June 27: FormerLebanese presidentIlyas Sarkis
died in Paris. French officialssaid any transferof
the hostages to its Beirut embassy would have to
be unconditional.[6/27FBIS]
Birrireleasedan ailinghostage after IRC repre-
sentatives interviewedthose held regardingtheir
condition. In Moscow, Soviet officials said they
would exert influenceto help end the crisis. [6/27
WP]
PNC Speaker 'Abd al-Hamidal-Sa'ih said the
PLO rejected the Damascus agreement between
the PNSF and Amal, and said Amal still intended
to dominatethe camps. [6/28 FBIS]
US officials demanded that seven Americans
missingin Beirutbe freedwith 39 airlinerhostages,
and Birri said he was optimistic the crisis would
end soon. French and Swiss officials said they
would not act as jailers for the hostages. [6/28
NYT]
June 28: Hizballahrejecteda requestby Birrithat
it release 11 people it kidnapped in Lebanon,
accordingto Radio Free Lebanon. [6/28FBIS]
US officials announced that the 39 hostages
would be released the following day after being
taken from Beirut to Damascus, and that Israel
would soon afterwardsrelease 735 Lebanese and
Palestiniansin their custody, but that no "deal"
had been struck. Reagan held a private meeting
withfamiliesof hostagesduringan unrelatedtripto
Illinoisand reiteratedthat he would not ask Israel
to release the prisoners. In Beirut, an Iranian
freelance photographerwas reportedmissing and
fearedkidnapped.[6/29NYT]
June 29: The release of the hostages was held up,
andBirriblamedReaganfor suggestingin a 28 June
speech that the US planned retaliatory action
againstthe hijackers.The State Departmentissued
a one-sentence statement pledging to support
Lebanon's government,stability and security, in
an effortto allay tensions. [6/30WP]
Syrianofficialswere reportedly"astonished"by
the delay, having publicly announced the "full
success" of Asad's efforts to arrangea release.
[6/30NYT]
The FinnishDefense Ministrydefendedthe role
of Finnish UNIFIL soldiers in assisting 11 SLA
soldiers to defect to Amal, and accused Israeli
troops of having watched passively as SLA men
beat the 24 captured Finnish soldiers with iron
bars, hoses and rifles. Israeli militarysources de-
nied the accusation. [6/30JP]
June 30: The 39 hostages were released after 17
days in captivity, drivenin a Red Cross convoy to
Damascus,and flown to West Germanyenrouteto
the US. The crisis was reportedlybrokenafter US
officialsagreedto a Syrianproposalthat it re-issue
an old policy statement affirmingits support for
Lebanon in order to reassure the hijackers.The
Israeli Cabinet, meeting to discuss the release,
reportedly made no decision on when to free
Israel's Arab detainees. Relatives of the seven
other Americans missing in Lebanon urged US
officialsnot to forget them. [7/1 NYT]
July 1: The Israeli Cabinetdecided to release 300
Arab detainees over the next two days but denied
any link to the freeing of the Americanhostages.
US officials announceda diplomaticcampaignto
"isolate" Beirut InternationalAirport and said
Reaganhad decidedto end air service betweenthe
US and Lebanon by Lebanon's two air carriers.
Officialspraised Syria's role in the release of the
hostages and said they hoped better relationswith
Syria might be possible. Druze and Shi'i militias
clashed in West Beirut, and 7 people were killed
and 20 woundedin seven hours of fighting.Chris-
tianandMuslimgunmenalso exchangedfireacross
the Green Line, killingtwo. [7/2 NYT]
July 2: Reaganwelcomed 30 of the releasedAmer-
icans at a ceremony in Washington.[7/3 WP]
Lebanese leaders denounced US measures
against Beirut's airport, and Islamic Jihad prom-
ised "more blows" againstthe US if the measures
were carriedout. [7/3 AN]
The PSP announced new measures to prevent
furtherDruze-Shi'iclashes, and Birri denied that
the July I clashes were betweenAmalandthe PSP.
An Amal-PSPdelegationreturnedfrom Damascus
after meeting with Khaddam. The PNSF an-
nounced it had received $1 million as the first
installmentof Libyanaid to reconstructthe Beirut
camps. [7/3 FBIS]
July3: Israelreleased300 Lebanesedetaineesfrom
Atlit prisonandJerusalemradiosaidthe 460 others
would be freed "in the near future." [7/3 FBIS]
An aide to BirrIsaid Amal would not play a role
in tryingto obtain the release of seven Americans
kidnappedin Beirut,and Birrithreatenedto sue the
US in the InternationalCourt for its moves to
isolate the airport.[7/4 WP]
July4: US officialssaid thatIranhadhelpedrelease
the hostages by pressuring its Lebanese allies.
They also said that Asad had reactednegativelyto
Reagan'srequest that Syria assist in the release of
the seven still missing. Lebanontightenedairport
security and launched a diplomaticdrive against
US sanctions. [7/5 WP]
Jumayyilsaid he would go to the UN to protest
US sanctions,and Syriacalledfor an Arabboycott
of US airlines. [7/5 CSM]
A ceasefire held in Bud al-Barajnahafter a
three-hour Amal-Palestiniangun battle the day
before. [7/5 AN]
July 5: Officialssaid the administrationhad failed
to gainfirmbackingfromits Europeanallies on the
Beirutairportsanctions. [7/6 NYT]
The JerusalemPost reportedrumorsof a "mass
defection"fromSLA troopsin SouthernLebanon.
[7/7 JP]
July 7: Karamiand other Lebanese Muslimpoliti-
cal and religious leaders met with Asad in
Damascus amid reports that Syria would like to
clear the way for a broad political settlementand
an end to 10 years of civil strife in Lebanon. [7/8
WP]
SLA militiamensaid seven soldierswho report-
edly defectedto Amal on 5 July were abductedby
the Shl'i militia. [7/8 JP]
July8: Administrationofficialssaid the US was not
trying to punish Lebanon by boycotting Beirut's
airport,but was tryingto find an effective way to
deal with terrorism.Reaganalso condemnedIran,
Libya, North Korea, Cubaand Nicaraguaas mem-
bers of an "internationalterroristnetwork" and
said the US would act "unilaterally,if necessary"
against terrorism. After meetings in Damascus,
Birrnsaid he rejectedthe currentframeworkof the
Lebanesegovernmentand called for the formation
of a new legislaturebased on a constituentassem-
bly. SayyidMuhammadHusaynFadlallahwas also
presentat the talks. [7/9 WP]
The militarycommitteechargedwithformulating
security measures for Beirut airportagreed on a
plan includinga mixed securityforce, modernizing
electronic devices, removing political protection
from gunmen, and barringairportentry to those
withouta permit.[7/9 FBIS]
Christianactor Ilyas Ilyas, detainedby Phalan-
ges militiamenfor appearingin a playderogatoryto
Jumayyil,was released unharmedafter the Leba-
nese Forces militiathreatenedto use force against
Ilyas' kidnappers.[7/9 AN]
July9: The Damascusconfereesissued a statement
announcingtheiragreementon the need to drafta
new constitution,dissolve the armedmilitias,and
rebuildthe Lebanese Army on the basis of com-
pulsory military service. It also said they had
agreed to withdrawgunmen from West Beirut to
make way for securityforces. [7/9 FBIS]
Two suicide car bomberskilled at least 15 Leb-
anese at two SLA checkpointsin the Israelisecur-
ity zone. Two Israeli soldiers and four Lebanese
were wounded. Leaders of the Amal movement
and the NDF announcedthe formationof a Na-
tional Alliance Front, and held talks with officials
of the PNSF. Junblat said the PSP-Amal-PNSF
alliancewouldwork againstpro-'Arafatfactions in
Sidon. In Amman, PLO official Khalil al-Wazir
said the planned moves in Sidon were part of a
Syrianplot that includedthe July 9 expulsion of a
819
Palestinian Liberation Army (PLA) battalion from
Lebanon to Jordan. [7/10 FBIS]
The controversial play, Amrak Sidna, in which
Ilyas Ilyas was to appear, was banned by Lebanese
authorities. [7/10 AN]
July 10: In Tripoli, fighting between the Islamic
Unification Movement and the Arab Democratic
party continued, paralyzing the city. According to
Beirut radio, 25 died and 65 were wounded in the
fighting. [7/10 FBIS]
July 11: The US administration backed away from
its campaign to close Beirut International Airport
and concentrated on negotiating improvements in
airport security with the Lebanese government.
Richard Herzberg, the only Jewish hostage held by
Hizballah, appeared with his wife at a news con-
ference in Washington and praised the actions of a
German TWA purser who had been falsely accused
of assisting the hijackers pick out passengers with
"Jewish-sounding names." [7/12 WP]
July 12: Beirut radio said Lebanese authorities had
identified the hijackers of the TWA jet and in-
tended to prosecute them. [7/13 NYT]
July 13: The Kuwaiti press attache was kidnapped
in Beirut. Muslim leaders delayed implementing
the new peace plan until 35 Syrian observers
arrived from Damascus. Fighting continued in
Beirut between Christians and Muslims. [7/14
NYT]
July 14: A Finnish UNIFIL soldier died when the
ambulance he was driving hit a mine in southern
Lebanon. [7/15 JP]
Libya
(See also, Regional Affairs, Egypt, Iraq,
Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
Syria)
1985
Apr. 17: Belgian authorities expelled a Libyan
identified as a suspect in the killing of a police-
woman in London in 1984. [4/18 WP]
Apr. 23: Libyan and Sudanese officials signed an
agreement in Tripoli calling for the restoration of
diplomatic relations and strengthening cooperation
efforts. [4/24 FBIS]
May 2: Louis Farrakhan, head of the black Muslim
Nation of Islam, said Qadhdhafi had given him a $5
million interest-free loan to help black economic
enterprises in the US. [5/2 WP]
May 30: The Washington Post reported that a
federal grand jury was investigating allegations that
Qadhdhafi supporters were planning to assassinate
some of his opponents in the US. [5/30 WP]
June 5: The State Department announced the ex-
pulsion of a Libyan diplomat attached to the UN in
820
New York for involvement in a plot to assassinate
Libyan dissidents in the US. [6/6 WP]
June 8: Crowds in Tripoli and Benghazi recently
burned thousands of Western musical instruments,
according to MEED. [6/8 MEED]
July 8: In Tripoli, Sudan and Libya announced a
military pact providing Sudan with Libyan logisti-
cal support, transport, equipment and training. [7/9
WP]
July 9: US officials expressed "grave concern"
over the Sudan-Libya pact. [7/10 WP]
July 10: A Libyan diplomat in Kuwait said Iraq had
declined to participate in a Libyan plan to attack
the Israeli nuclear reactor in Dimona. [7/11 WPI
Morocco
(See also, Regional Affairs, Lebanon)
1985
Apr. 13: Moroccan Foreign Minister Abdellatif
Filali announced Morocco had decided to reestab-
lish diplomatic relations with Mauritania, broken in
1981. [4/16 LM]
Apr. 18: Twenty jailed Moroccan students began a
24-hour hunger strike in Marrakesh to protest
prison conditions. [4/20 LM]
Apr. 19: MEED announced that Syria's ambassa-
dor to Morocco had returned after a year's ab-
sence. He was withdrawn in protest over Israeli
attendance at an Arab-Jewish congress in Rabat in
May 1984. [4/19 MEED]
Apr. 22: Spanish and Moroccan ships began joint
naval maneuvers in the western Meditteranean.
[4/25 AN]
Apr. 26: In Rabat, US and Moroccan officials
signed a $30 million loan agreement enabling Mo-
rocco to buy extra wheat from the US. [4/28 WP]
May 7: Nine imprisoned Moroccan students who
began a hunger strike on April 25 were hospitalized
in deteriorating condition. [5/7 LM]
May 9: Libya loaned Morocco $100 million as a
sign of their good relations, according to the Mo-
roccan press agency. [5/11 LM]
May 22: Six of nine Moroccan prisoners on a
hunger strike since 25 April were reported to be in
serious condition in Rabat and Casablanca hospi-
tals. [5/22 LM]
May 24: At a press conference in Paris, the chair-
man of the Moroccan Human Rights Association
said almost 1600 people had been sentenced in
connection with food price riots in Morocco in
January 1984. [5/25 AN]
Moroccan prisoners on a hunger strike sus-
pended their fast during the month of Ramadan.
[5/26 LM]
June 24: Relatives of nine prisoners at Marrakesh
jail said they had resumed their hunger strike. [6/25
AN]
June 25: Moroccan radio announced that Morocco
and Angola would establish diplomatic ties. [6/26
FBIS]
July 2: Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq al-'Aziz ar-
rived in Rabat for an official visit. [7/3 FBIS]
July 6: Morocco and Libya set up a joint legisla-
ture. [7/7 NYT]
July 9: The subcommittee on human rights of the
European Parliament asked King Hasan to inter-
vene to save the hunger strikers in Morocco. [7/12
LM]
Oman
(See also, Regional Affairs, Bahrain, Egypt,
Jordan, South Yemen)
Pakistan
(See also, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE)
1985
Apr. 15: After a speeding bus hit three women
students, killing two, hundreds of students from
several Karachi colleges held demonstrations,
burning buses and fighting with police. [4/16 NYT]
Apr. 17: Authorities imposed a 24-hour curfew on
Karachi after riots in which 10 persons were re-
ported killed and at least 55 injured. [4/18 WP]
Apr. 19: Soldiers and policemen sealed off the
western and central sections of Karachi, banning
people from the streets, after five days of rioting.
[4/20 NYT]
Apr. 20: The official death toll in the Karachi riots
reached 49, as 9 more bodies were brought out of a
curfew-affected area where clashes reportedly con-
tinued. [4/21 NYT]
Apr. 23: After a man on a bicycle opened fire on a
crowd in Karachi, killing one, authorities reim-
posed a curfew and sent more troops into the
Oranji district. [4/24 NYT]
Apr. 29: Pakistan protested violations by Afghan
aircraft of its airspace, saying that the planes had
dropped bombs on and fired rockets into Pakistani
territory, killing at least one person. [4/30 FBIS]
May 2: Lawyers in Lahore and other towns in
Punjab Province held meetings to protest President
Zia ul-Haq's recent decrees amending the consti-
tution. [5/4 AN]
May 13: The Soviet Union officially protested to
Pakistan over the deaths in April of Soviet prison-
ers at an Afghan guerrilla base in Pakistan. [5/14
WP]
May 14: Zia ul-Haq said Pakistan would build a
nuclear reactor for "peaceful purposes." [5/15
FBIS]
May 15: A statement issued by the Pakistan em-
bassy in Delhi denied charges by India that Paki-
stan was involved in recent Sikh terrorist bombings
in India. [5/17 AN]
May 21: The Pakistani Cabinet was expanded, and
six new ministers and a minister of state were
sworn in by Zia ul-Haq:
Mohammad Aslam Khatak: Interior
Qazi Abdul Majid Abid: Food, Agriculture and
Cooperatives
Jamal Syed Mayn: Culture and Tourism
Syed Qasim Shah: Provincial, Frontier Areas,
Kashmirand NorthernAffairs
Malik Nur Hayat Khan Noon: Health
Shah Mohammad Khoro: State Minister: Inte-
rior [5/22 FBIS]
May 26: The National Assembly asked Prime Min-
ister Muhammad Junejo to submit within a week a
plan for lifting martial law. In Karachi, distur-
bances continued as crowds angry over power cuts
and a water shortage clashed with police. [5/27 AN]
May 27: Pakistani soldiers in Karachi fired on a
crowd of about 5000 Pushtuns demanding the re-
lease of a Pushtun politician, killing two. 50 pro-
testers were arrested. [5/28 WP]
May 28: Pakistani troops patrolling Karachi were
ordered to shoot on sight persons breaking a cur-
few imposed on the city after two days of ethnic
violence in which three died. [5/29 CSM]
June 2: Military courts sentenced 53 people to
floggings and jail sentences after the Karachi riots.
[6/3 AN]
June 3: The State Department condemned an at-
tack by Soviet Afghan warplanes on a Pakistani
border village on May 30 in which 12 people were
killed. [6/4 WP]
June 8: Zia warned the Afghan regime to stop
attacks on Pakistani territory or face retaliation.
[6/9 AN]
June 12: Pakistani women in the National Assem-
bly walked out after a Muslim cleric called for
chaperons for them in accordance with Muslim law
and condemned the government's family planning
program. [6/14 CSM]
June 27: Pakistan People's party leader Benazir
Bhutto and other party officials criticized the hang-
ing of a party activist for murder as "political
victimization." [6/28 FBIS]
July 4: India and Pakistan agreed after talks in New
Delhi to increase cultural and agricultural cooper-
ation. [7/5 WP]
July 6: At least five died as Shi'i protesters clashed
with police in Quetta. [7/7 AN]
July 7: Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi rejected
Pakistan's offer of a no-war pact and mutual in-
spection of nuclear installations, but said relations
were improving.
821
 Twenty-five people died in a gunfight between
police and Shi'i protesters trying to stage a banned
march in Quetta. [7/8 AN]
July 9: The curfew was imposed on a Shi'i neigh-
borhood in Quetta after two more people died in
gun battles. [7/10 AN]
July 10: The State Department announced that the
US was expediting delivery of Sidewinder and
Stinger missiles to Pakistan to bolster its defenses
against increasing Soviet and Afghan air incur-
sions. [7/11 WP]
July 14: A bomb damaged the Pan American offices
in Karachi. Seven officers were sentenced to long
jail terms for plotting a coup against Zia. [7/15 WP]
Saudi Arabia
(See also: Petroleum Affairs, Regional
Affairs, Iran)
1985
Apr. 20: An Iranian pilot reportedly seeking asy-
lum abroad was killed when his helicopter crashed
after refueling in Dhahran.[4/26 MEED]
Apr. 24: In Riyadh, King Fahd met with US
Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy and
other Saudi and American officials. [4/25 AN]
May 4: Officials of the Saudi Antiquities Depart-
ment said they had discovered the ruins of ancient
"palaces and towers" off the Red Sea coast near
Jidda. [5/5 AN]
May 11: Jordan's King Husayn arrived in Jidda for
one day of talks with Fahd on Middle East peace.
[5/12 AN]
May 12: UAE President Shaykh Zayid ibn Sultan
Al-Nuhayyan arrived in Jidda on an official visit.
[5/13 AN]
May 18: Two explosions in Riyadh's Sulaymaniya
district killed one person and injured three, coin-
ciding with a visit by Foreign Minister Prince Sa'ud
al-Faysal to Iran. Islamic Jihad claimed responsi-
bility, but Iran blamed Iraq for trying to sabotage
Saudi-Iranian relations. [5/20 NYT]
Libyan President Mu'ammar al-Qadhdhaff ar-
rived in Saudi Arabia to perform the lesser pilgrim-
age and meet with Saudi officials. [5/20 FBIS]
May 20: Sudanese Prime Minister al-Jazhli
Daf'allah began an official visit to Saudi Arabia.
[5/21 AN]
June 5: Kuwait's ruler Shaykh Jabir al-Ahmad
Al-Sabah arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform the
lesser pilgrimage and meet with Saudi officials. [6/6
AN]
June 8: Sudanese Transitional Military Council
(TMC) Chairman 'Abd al-Rahman Siwar
al-Dhahab arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform the
lesser pilgrimage and to meet with Saudi officials,
including Fahd. [6/9 AN]
822
June 13: PakistaniPresidentZia ul-Haqarrivedin
Jiddafor an officialfour-dayvisit. [6/13AN]
June 17: The first Arab astronaut, Saudi Prince
SultanSalmanal-Sa'uid,went into space aboardthe
US space shuttleDiscovery, where he was sched-
uled to conduct a series of experimentsand ob-
serve the launchof the ArabsatelliteArabsat.[6/18
AN]
June 19:The Discoveryplacedinto orbita commu-
nicationssatellite for the Arab world owned by a
consortium of 22 countries, including the PLO.
[6/19WP]
July9: KingHusaynof Jordanarrivedin Taifon an
officialone-dayvisit and met with Fahd. [7/10AN]
South Yemen
1985
Apr. 26: MEED reportedthat South Yemen had
agreedto an Omaniproposalto exchange ambas-
sadors. [4/26MEED]
Sudan
(See also, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi
Arabia,UAE)
1985
Apr. 15: New Sudanese leader Gen. 'Abd al-
RahmanSiwar al-Dhahabsaid he had moved to
improveSudan's relationswith the USSR, Ethio-
pia and Libya and had received "positive re-
sponses" to his initiatives. He also said a post in
the new governmenthad been reservedfor south-
ern rebel leaderJohn Garang.[4/16 FBIS]
Apr. 16: Cairo's news agency reportedthe names
of 10 civiliansnominatedby the Sudanesenational
alliance of trade unions and political parties as
possiblemembersof the transitionalcabinet.Three
southernerswere nominatedfor the cabinet, which
would include 15 ministers, 13 civilians and two
militarypersonnel. Southernerscriticized the list
of nominations,on the groundsthat the northern
unionsand partieshad monopolizedall the critical
nonmilitaryportfoliosand that all those nominated
were Muslims.Followinga meetingwith Egyptian
President Husni Mubarak in Cairo, Lieutenant
Gen. MuhammadTawfiq Khalil, member of the
Sudanese TransitionalMilitary Council (TMC),
stressed that Egyptian-Sudaneserelations were
strong and that all agreementsbetween the two
countrieswould remainin force. [4/17FBIS]
Apr. 17: SouthernSudanese politicianspresented
five conditions for their participationin a transi-
tional government:the repeal of Islamic Shari-a
law, at least in the south; the appointmentof five
southernersto the 15-membertransitionalcabinet;
setting aside for southernerstwo key ministers;
and a lesser role for Muslims in the transitional
cabinet. Siwar al-Dhahab announced he would
revoke the decree dividingthe southernSudaninto
three regions because it violated the Adis Ababa
accord. [4/18 FBIS]
Sudan's new governmentoffered to stop sup-
porting anti-Ethiopianguerrillas operating from
Sudanif Ethiopiastops backingsouthernSudanese
rebels, and LibyanleaderMu'ammaral-Qadhdhafi
reportedlyurged Sudanese rebels to make peace.
[4/18 WP]
Apr. 18: The Muslim Brotherhoodheld rallies on
April 13 and 16, attended by 30-40,000, to show
supportfor Shari'a,the "only achievement"of the
deposed Numayriregime. SPLA radio said SPLA
leader John Garang had ordered the release of
some POWs to show "solidaritywith the recent
revolutionaryaction of the masses," despite his
oppositionto the new militaryregime. [4/19FBIS]
Apr. 19: An SPLA spokesmandenied reportsthat
Garangwould meet with Siwaral-Dhahab,observ-
ing that recent SPLA militaryoperationsproved
that such reportswere lies. [4/22FBIS]
Apr. 20: At a meeting with foreign ambassadors
and representativesof internationalrelieforganiza-
tions, Siwaral-Dhahabappealedfor morefood aid,
saying that one million children would starve to
death withoutemergencysupplies. [4/21WP]
Apr. 21: Siwaral-Dhahabissueda decreeforminga
transitionalhigherexecutive councilfor the south-
ern militaryadministrationsof the Equatoria,Bahr
al-Ghazaland Upper Nile regions, underthe Juba
militarycommand.[4/22 FBIS]
Apr. 22: Dr. Al-JazOliDafallah, head of a promi-
nent doctor's union, was namedprimeministerof
Sudan'snew transitionalciviliancabinetandcalled
on Garang to join in peaceful efforts to solve
Sudan's problems. Other appointmentswere as
follows:
Samuel Aru Bol: Deputy Prime Minister and
Ministerof Irrigationand Hydrology
'Uthman 'AbdallahMuhammad:Defense
IbrahimTaha Ayyub: ForeignAffairs
'Awad 'Abd al-Majid:Finance and Economic
Planning
Sayyid Ahmad al-Sayyid: Trade, Cooperation
and Supply
'Abd al-'Aziz 'UthmanMusa: Energy, Industry
and Minerals
Peter GatkuothKual: Transportationand Tele-
communications
$adiq 'Abidin: Agriculture and Natural Re-
sources
Husayn Abu Saliih:Health and Social Welfare
Oliver BandaarBattale Albino: Public Service
and Labor
'Abbas Madani:Interior
Amin MakkiMadani:Constructionand Housing
MuhammadBashir Hamid: Culture and Infor-
mation
Siwaral-Dhahabannouncedthat the term of the
Cabinetwould last one year duringwhich it would
prepare to transfer power to the people. [4/23
FBIS]
A police union statement broadcast by SPLA
radio said the appointmentof "corrupt" former
chief of police 'Abbas Mad&nias ministerof the
interiorhad been a "terribleblow" to the police
force and called for him to be purged.[5/2 FBIS]
Apr.23: Daf'allahsaidthe new cabinetwouldwork
to obtainthe extraditionof formerSudaneseleader
Ja'far al-Numayrito stand trial, and that it was
eager to hold talks with Garang.[4/23 FBIS]
Apr. 24: Garangsaid that contacts between the
SPLA and junior officers in the Sudanese Army
were "positive," but that the SPLA would con-
tinue operationsagainstthe SudaneseArmyin the
Upper Nile region and into the northernpart of
Sudan. In Khartoum,the secretarygeneral of the
SudaneseCommunistpartyappearedafter 14years
in hiding.[4/25 FBIS]
Apr. 25: Leadersof the SouthernSudanLiberation
Movement(Anya Nya Two) gave a press confer-
ence in Khartoum,saying they had come in re-
sponse to an invitationfrom the TMC in order to
discuss the southern problem "democratically."
The Sudanese Council of Ministers appealed to
Garangto enter a dialoguefor peace. In a separate
statement,Defense MinisterMuhammadcalled on
Garangto come to Khartoumfor negotiationsand
to recognize that "tyrant Numayri's army" had
become "the Sudanese People's Army. [4/26
FBIS]
Apr. 26: Siwar al-Dhahab declared a unilateral
ceasefirein southernSudanand declareda general
amnestyfor rebels, despite the SPLA's refusal to
end the civil war. [4/28AN]
Apr. 27: Siwar al-Dhahabsent an envoy to Ethio-
pia for a goodwill mission and talks on problems
between Sudanand Ethiopia.[4/28AN]
The WashingtonPost reported that rail and
truckingdelays were preventingUS famine relief
supplies from reaching drought-strickenareas in
Sudan. [4/28WP]
Apr. 28: Sudaneseofficialssaid Sudan might stop
food shipmentsfor famine victims in Eritreaand
Tigrayprovincesif Ethiopiastopped aidingSuda-
nese rebels in the south. [4/29WP]
Cairo'snews agency said the RepublicanBroth-
erhood movement had resumed activities after a
two-monthhiatus following the execution by the
Numayriregimeof its leader,Mahmuid Muhammad
Taha. [4/28FBIS]
Apr. 30: SPLA spokesmenrenewedtheirdenunci-
ation of the militarygovernment,calling Daf'allah
a "figurehead"and vowing not to negotiate a
truce. [5/1 NYT]
May2: Sudan'smilitaryrulesdismissedsix officials
appointed by Numayri and placed the official
823
Sudan News Agency and the Khartoum dailies
Al-Sahafa and Al-Ayyam under the supervision of
the Ministry of Culture and Information. [5/4 AN]
May 3: Sudanese rebels claimed to have killed 20
government troops with a land mine on April 27.
[5/4 AN]
May 4: 'Abdallah said investigations were under-
way to determine the facts surrounding the airlift of
Ethiopian Jews to Israel, and the authenticity of
reports that US nuclear waste was being dumped in
Sudan. The Arab Socialist Ba'th Party, outlawed
under the Numayri regime, held a political rally in
Khartoum. [5/6 FBIS]
May 5: A Libyan official announced that his gov-
ernment had stopped aiding southern Sudanese
rebels and had asked Garang to support the new
regime. [5/7 LM]
May 8: Abu Dhabi's Al-Ittihad reported that the
Sudanese culture minister has suspended the li-
cense of the newspaper Alwacnfor publishing "po-
litical" columns when it was registered only as a
technical and sports paper, after Alwan printed
columns supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. [5/10
FBIS]
May 9: After almost a week of high-level meetings
between Sudanese and Libyan officials in
Khartoum, Sudan and Libya signed a series of
cultural and economic agreements and officials
issued a joint communique confirming "fraternal
and historical ties" between the two nations. [5/10
FBIS]
May 10: Attorney General 'Umar 'Abd al-'Ati said
that persons connected with the transport of Ethi-
opian Jews to Israel would be brought to trial. [5/15
FBIS]
May 11: During its two-day founding conference,
the Islamic National Front elected Muslim Brother
Hasan al-Tur&bias leader. [5/13 FBIS]
May 12: The US Embassy in Khartoum announced
the Sudan would receive $30.5 million in soft loans
from the US to buy wheat and wheat flour. [5/13
CSM]
Sudanese Interior Minister 'Abbas Madani said a
new public security organ would be established,
but that it would not have any special powers.
Omdurman radio broadcast an announcement by
the military authorities banning all processions and
marches in Khartoum as of May 12. [5/13 FBIS]
May 17: The TMC officially abolished special crim-
inal courts set up by Numayri to apply Islamic
punishments. [5/18 AN]
May 18: Five new committees were established to
investigate alleged financial and political corrup-
tion in the Numayri regime. One of the committees
will investigate charges that former vice-president
'Uman Muhammad al-Tayyib received payments
from international Jewish organizations for allow-
ing the airlift of Ethiopian Jews from Sudanese
refugee camps to Israel. Two committees will
interrogate members of the disbanded State Secur-
ity Organization. Another will interrogate three
824
femalemembersof the formerrulingSudanSocial-
ist Union (SSU) and a fifth will question female
relativesof Numayri.[5/24MEED]
Qadhdhafimet with Siwar al-Dhahabduring a
stopoverat KhartoumAirport.[5/20FBIS]
May 21: About 35,000Ethiopiansleft relief camps
in Sudan to return to farms in Ethiopia's Tigray
Province, where rains had begun after a long
drought.[5/22WP]
May 22: The Sudanesenews agency reportedthat
Numayri and five of his judicial aides would be
triedfor their role in the convictionand execution
of MahmuidMuhammadTahaon heresy chargesin
January1985. [5/23 FBIS]
May23: The TMCappointeda transitionalgovern-
ment for the southernregion, consisting of seven
ministersanda numberof commissioners.The new
ministerswere:
Aryo Oto Stiroi:AdministrationAffairs
WilliamAjak Logali:Services
HilaryPaulo Logali:Finance
Jama Hasan: Agriculture and National Re-
sources
IsaiahKulangMabior:Transportand Communi-
cations
AndrewMakor:Tradeand Supply
Nathanial Atai Kur: Culture and Information
[5/31FBIS]
May27: The State Departmentsent Assistant Sec-
retaryof StateChesterA. Crockerto Sudanfor the
first time since the April coup, for wide-ranging
talks on Sudan'seconomic and politicalproblems.
[5/28NYT]
May30: The Sudanesedefense ministersaid Sudan
woulddiversifyits sources of weapons, reportedly
in an attemptto decreaseany possible US pressure
or leverage. [6/8 MEED]
About 5000 supportersof the Trade Union Alli-
ance demonstratedin Juba,the capitalof Equatoria
Province, against governmentmoves to set up a
single regionalauthorityfor southernSudan. [5/31
AN]
June 8: A UN reportsaid the Africanfamine was
worsening, and that in the Sudan the situation
could become even more devastatingthan in Ethi-
opia. [6/9 NYT]
June 10: Sudaneseauthoritiesreleased five former
senior officialsof the Numayriregimebecause no
evidence againstthem had been found. [6/10 WP]
An AID administratorsaid only about 60 per
cent of food aid to Ethiopiaand Sudanwas reach-
ing faminevictims because of transportationprob-
lems. [6/11WP]
June 11: A UN officialsaid Numayrihad deliber-
ately suppressed informationabout the growing
famine in Sudan, contributingto the crisis. [6/12
NYT]
Sudanese rebels raided a village in Kurdufan
Province, killing 150people, accordingto SUNA.
[6/12AN]
June 12: The SPLA denied its troops had massa-
cred 150 civilians in Kurdufan Province and
blamed the government for trying to conceal a
popular uprising against it. [6/14 AN]
June 13: Sudan's Minister of Public Service and
Labor, Oliver Albino, was dismissed to face trial
on drug charges, according to SUNA. [6/14 FBIS]
June 17: Mubarak arrived in Khartoum on a "sur-
prise visit," his first to Sudan since the 6 April
coup. [6/17 FBIS]
Gunmen killed the chairman of the Eritrean Red
Cross at his home in Khartoum. [6/18 AN]
June 24: During an official visit to Khartoum,
Egyptian presidential envoy Usama al-Baz said
Egypt would not extradite Numayri to Sudan.
'Uthman Ibrahim Ahmad al-Tawil, head of the
Sudan Liberation Front (SLF), reportedly praised
Daf'allah's proposals for solving the southern
problem and said his 30,000 fighters would accept
the TMC's offer of jobs and would lay down their
arms. [6/25 FBIS]
A member of the TMC said Sudan and Ethiopia
planned to restore full diplomatic relations "in the
very near future." [6/25 NYT]
June 25: SPLA radio said a scheduled meeting
between SPLA and government officials had failed
to take place because the latter did not show up,
showing the government was not truly interested in
peace. [6/26 FBIS]
June 27: Omdurman radio reported that Siwar
al-Dhabab had told Qadhdhafi that Sudan could not
at present consider any form of union with Libya.
[6/28 FBIS]
Sudanese troops were put on alert in anticipation
of an SPLA attack on Bor. [6/28 AN]
June 29: Cairo's news agency reported that Sudan
had decided to reopen its embassy in Syria, which
had been closed since 1981, when ties were frozen.
[6/30 AN]
July 3: US officials announced they had taken steps
to protect US diplomats in Khartoum following the
infiltration of several hundred Libyan agents into
the Sudanese capital. [7/4 WP]
Sudan's transport minister, a southerner, said he
had met with rebel representatives, who had prom-
ised not to obstruct famine relief supplies to the
south. [7/4 AN]
July 5: About 40,000 Sudanese marched on the
Egyptian embassy in Khartoum to demand the
extradition of Numayri. [7/5 WP]
July 7: Daf'allah said Numayri would be tried in
abstentia for "many crimes." [7/8 AN]
July 9: Sudan's news agency said the Sudanese
Council of Ministers had officially asked Egypt to
extradite Numayri . [7/10 FBIS]
July 13: Siwar al-Dhahab said that closer Libyan-
Sudanese ties should not affect Sudan's relations
with the US. [7/14 NYT]
July 14: Western diplomats reported heavy fighting
between government and SPLA troops in southern
Sudan,especially near the towns of Mongallaand
Bor. [7/15NYT]
Syria
(See also, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Regional
Affairs,Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey)
1985
Apr. 17: An official rally in Damascus marked
Syriannationalindependenceday. [4/18 FBIS]
Apr. 26: Syria and the USSR signed their largest
economic and technical cooperation agreement
ever. [4/29FBIS]
Apr. 27: In Geneva, two men were arrestedafter
one of two bombs plantedin cars of Syriandiplo-
matsexploded,andthe otherwas defused. No one
was injuredin the blast. [4/28AN]
Apr. 29: The WashingtonPost reportedthat more
than a third of 6,000 Soviet advisers had been
withdrawnfrom Syria in the past six months,
apparentlyat the instigationof Syrian President
Hafiz al-Asad. [4/29WP]
May 14: Three Syrians were hanged publicly in
Damascus for espionage for Israel, while three
others were executed by firingsquad. [5/15FBIS]
May 19: Talks began in Damascus on upgrading
Syrian-Libyanrelations.[5/24MEED]
May 20: Syria and Libya signed cooperation ac-
cords after talks described by the Syrian news
agency as a step towardunity. [5/21WP]
June 3: The PLO said more than 700 Palestinians
hadbeen arrestedand dozens killedor woundedin
a campaignby Syrian security police that began
after Palestiniansliving in Syriaorganizeddemon-
strationsagainst the camp killings in Beirut. [6/4
AN]
June 8: MEED reported that the Senate had re-
moved Syria from a list of countriesbannedfrom
receivingUS fundsthroughinternationalorganiza-
tions. [6/8 MEED]
June 15: The Syriangovernmentdenied claims by
MehmetAli Agca, the Turkon trialin Romefor the
1981assassinationattempton the pope, thathe had
been trainedin terroristtactics by Syrian agents.
[6/15MEED]
June19:Asad met with Soviet leaderGorbachevin
Moscow. [6/20WP]
June 22: Asad returnedto Damascus after "suc-
cessful, positiveandfruitful"talksin Moscow with
Soviet leaders, accordingto Damascusradio. But
Kuwaiti reports indicated Asad and Gorbachev
differedover the Lebanese issue and over control
of Soviet missiles in Syria. [6/24 FBIS]
June23: IranianSpeaker'All AkbarRafsanjanimet
in Damascuswith Asad. [6/24FBIS]
July 1: Asad postponedan officialvisit to Czecho-
slovakia. Damascus radio said the decision was
825
due to "circumstancesin the MiddleEast," but the
French press agency cited "health reasons." [7/2
FBIS]
Tunisia
(See also, RegionalAffairs,Lebanon)
1985
Apr. 15: PresidentHabib Bourguibadissolved the
Society of Young Judges after a judicial strike on
April 10 and 11. He also suspended a group of
youngjudges from the bench and referredthem to
a disciplinarycouncil. [4/16FBIS]
May 5: Kuwait'sAl-Qabas reportedthat Tunisian
authoritieshad arresteda numberof Palestinians
for planningthe assassinationof Palestinianoffi-
cials in Tunis. [5/7 FBIS]
May 12: Tunisians voted in municipalelections
boycotted by opposition parties including the
Movement of DemocraticSocialists and the Gen-
eral Union of TunisianWorkers.[5/13AN]
May 15: Participationin Tunisia'smunicipalelec-
tions on May 12reached92%,despite a boycott by
opposition parties, according to official figures.
[5/15 LM]
All 3,450 candidatesof the rulingPartiSocialiste
Destourien(PSD)were elected for four-yearterms.
[5/17 MEED]
May 16: Seventy workersin Gabes, southernTu-
nisia, begana hungerstriketo protesttheirfiringon
May 8 after an illegal strike. [5/21 LM]
June 12: Bourguiba met with French President
Franqois Mitterandin Paris to discuss bilateral
relations, includingthe appointmentof formerLe
Monde correspondentEric Rouleauas Frencham-
bassadorto Tunisia. [6/13LM]
June 14: Bourguibaarrivedin Washingtonfor talks
with Reagan and other US officials, on subjects
includingUS militaryaid to Tunisiaand the war in
the Sahara.[6/15AN]
June26: TunisianlawyerBechirEssid, secretaryof
the Arab National Rally party, was arrestedand
jailed after an appeals court ruledhe had played a
role in the food price riots of January1984. [6/27
AN]
Turkey
(See also, Regional Affairs, Cyprus, Iraq,
Kuwait, Qatar,Syria, UAE)
1985
Apr. 16: PremierTurgutOzalbeganan officialvisit
to West Germany.[4/17TDN]
826
Ma'arivreportedthatdiscreetcontacts in Wash-
ington between Ozal and members of the US
Jewish lobby had caused an uproar in Turkey,
despiteOzal'sdenialthatthe meetingindicatedany
change in Turkey's policy toward Israel. [4/17
FBIS]
Five leftist militantsfrom the Dev-Yol organiza-
tion were condemnedto death at Adana, in south-
east Turkey,for terroristacts before the Septem-
ber 1980 coup d'etat. Eleven others were con-
demned to life in prison, 75 to sentences ranging
from five to 20 years in prison, and 88 were
acquitted.[4/18LM]
May 1: The Christian Science Monitor reported
that an agreementbetween Turkey and the US,
allowingthe US to use militarybases in Turkeyto
store armamentsand for other purposes,would be
signedthis monthafternearlythree years of nego-
tiations. [5/1 CSM]
May 2: Five Turkish soldiers and three Kurdish
separatists were reported killed in five days of
clashes in Turkey'sBitlis Province. [5/3 AN]
May8: Turkey'sparliamentapproveda law reduc-
ing sentences for membersof outlawed groups if
they turn state's evidence. [5/9 AN]
May 15: Egyptian President Husni Mubarakar-
rived in Ankara for an official four-day visit to
discuss the Iran-Iraqwar, Mideastpeace initiatives
and other issues, in the first visit to Turkeyby an
Egyptianhead of state. [5/16TDN]
May 17: The chairmanof the Social Democracy
Party, ErdalInonui,said he objectedto a new law
whichwouldgive moreauthorityto police, andhad
asked Ozal to withdrawit from parliament.[5/18
TDN]
May 18:Ozalleft Istanbulfor a six-dayofficialvisit
to Japan. [5/18TDN]
May 21: President Kenan Evren vetoed the so-
called "RepentanceBill" backedby Ozal, sayingit
violates Article 87 of the Turkish constitution,
since not all involved in crimes against the state
could be pardoned, and that the bill condemns
membersof clandestineorganizationswithout as-
certaining whether or not they had committed
crimes. [5/22TDN]
May 23: Five suspected Kurdish separatists, a
policeman,a soldier, and a civilian were killed in
two shootouts in SanliurfaProvince, accordingto
martiallaw authorities.A Syrian who hijackeda
planefromWest Germanyto Istanbulon March27
was sentencedto eight years in prison. [5/24AN]
May 24: About 30 Kurds occupied the Swedish
consulatein Basle, demandingto speak to a Kurd-
ish activist, held for 10 monthsin a Turkishprison,
and now in custody in Sweden. [5/25AN]
May 26: The trialof five Turksand three Belgians
accusedof plottingto assassinatethe pope beganin
Rome. [6/4 NYT]
May28: Turkey'smartiallaw commandannounced
the arrestof 20 suspectedmembersof an "extreme
leftist organization"in a series of operations in
various provinces between 27 April and 17 May.
[5/29 AN]
June 5: The parliamentapproved a bill ending
martial law in Ankara, Izmir, Artuin, Edirne,
Erzincav,and Orduprovincesand institutingState
of Emergency Rule in them instead. Seventeen
provinces,includingIstanbul,remainundermartial
law. [6/6 TDN]
Turkish women were reported angry over a
recent decision of the Councilof State thatwomen
could not become local governors. [6/5 TDN]
June 7: The minister of the interiorsaid Turkish
police had arrested 984 suspected terrorists or
extremistssince 19 March,and that 63 had died in
clashes with police in the same period. [6/8 AN]
June 16: The Turkishparliamentpassed a contro-
versial bill giving police wide new powers at the
end of a bitter six-day debate. [6/17AN]
June 17: Populist party ChairmanNecdet Calp
condemnedthe new Police Law, sayingit violated
the principleof a state runby laws, andchargedthe
ruling Motherland party with forcing the bill
through by violating parliamentaryrules. [6/18
TDN]
June 27: Le Monde reportedthat a decision by the
Turkishgovernmentthe week beforeto increaseby
49 per cent the price of printingpaperwas seen by
Turkishdailies and publishersas an indirectform
of censorship. [6/27 LM]
June 29: Turkish police reportedlyarrested Nail
Gurman, secretary general of the Turkish Social
Democraticpartyand chief organizerof a big party
rally in Istanbulon 9 June. [6/30NYT]
Aydin Gurkan,a formerprofessor, was elected
as the new leader of Turkey'smain parliamentary
opposition party, the Populist party, replacing
Necdet Calp, the man chosen by the military
regime. [7/1 AN]
July 1: Former ministerIsmail Ozdaglarwent on
trial on chargesof receivingkickbacks.[7/2 TDN]
July 2: TurgutOzal, on a six-day official visit to
China, said PRC officials had assured him they
would not supply arms to Iran. [7/3 AN]
Turkish officials said three encounters in the
south between Kurdishseparatistsand the army
had resultedin eight deaths, includingone soldier.
[7/4 LM]
July 7: Bulgarianauthoritiesreleased one of four
Turkishdefendantsin the Rome trialof plottersto
kill the pope, whom they had held for two-and-a-
half years, sayingthey consideredhim innocentof
wrongdoing.The Turkreturnedto Istanbul,where
he was arrested.[7/8 CSM]
July 8: The Italiancourt hearingthe trial of those
chargedwith tryingto kill the pope asked Turkey
to extraditethe manreleasedby Bulgaria.[7/9WP]
July 9: West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
beganan officialvisit to Turkey,becomingthe first
West Europeanhead of state to visit the country
since the 1980coup. [7/9 AN]
July 12: The Turk released by Bulgariadenied to
Turkishauthoritiesany involvement in the papal
assassinationattempt.[7/13NYT]
United Arab Emirates
(See also, Saudi Arabia)
1985
May 14: Jordan's King Husayn began an official
visit to the UAE. [5/15FBIS]
May 18: Talks took place between Turkish and
UAE officials during Turgut Ozal's stopover in
Abu Dhabiairportenrouteto Japan. [5/21 FBIS]
May 21: Sudanese Prime Minister al-Jazuili
Dafallah arrivedin Abu Dhabifor a one-dayvisit.
[5/22FBIS]
May 27: PakistaniPresident Zia al-Haq ended a
brief visit to Dubayy. [5/28FBIS]
July 3: The WorldBankreportedthat the UAE led
the world in per capita income in 1983, placed at
$22,870.[7/4 AN]
827