Walkout Greets Israeli Speech at Women’s Parley

Palestinian delegates and their supporters from the Third World and the Soviet Bloc staged a walkout Monday at the U.N. Decade for Women Conference here as the head of the Israeli delegation rose to deliver a speech.

The United States also came under attack from Cuba and other countries that accused Washington of supporting “state terrorism” in Central America.

As Sarah Doron, a member of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament), started to give Israel’s report on the progress and status of women, delegates from the Palestine Liberation Organization, several Arab countries, the Soviet Union and members of its bloc and many African and Asian states quietly marched out.

Egypt, Jordan Stay

Several Third World delegations--including those from Egypt, Jordan, Vietnam and Malawi--and representatives from Poland and Romania remained in the hall despite the walkout.

Once outside, those who walked out began a chant that could be clearly heard inside: “Palestine is Arab!” and “Zionists go away!” They did not stop until they had confirmed that Doron had finished speaking, whereupon they re-entered the hall.

One demonstrator, Milu Vargas, a lawyer and delegate from Nicaragua, said she walked out because “of the role Israel is playing, working against liberation movements all over the world, including Central America. . . . And we want to show the solidarity of our women with the Palestinian women.”

Doron, who cut short her scheduled 15-minute speech, accused the PLO and Libya of organizing the demonstration and filed a formal protest.

“It was illegal and unheard of,” she said. “It was not civilized. . . . We are in Nairobi to discuss peace. To discuss peace, you need dialogue, and with a walkout there can be no dialogue.”

Maureen Reagan, President Reagan’s daughter and the head of the U.S. delegation, called the walkout sad and said it violated the spirit of the conference, which entered its second and final week. The meeting was called to review the achievements of women in the last 10 years and to plot strategies through the year 2000.

Anti-American Remarks

The anti-American attacks erupted as the delegates worked on the final conference document and were sparked by an anti-terrorism amendment that accused unnamed “outlaw states” of supporting terrorists.

The United States proposed the amendment, to be voted on by the 160 national delegations when the conference ends Friday. The amendment has been attacked by the Soviet Union, Cuba and other East Bloc countries.

The Cuban delegation contended that the United States sponsors terrorism in Central America through its support for the Nicaraguan contras fighting the Marxist-led Sandinista government. The Cubans also accused the Reagan Administration of plotting “the assassination of heads of state which the U.S. wishes to destabilize.”