Congressional Aides’ Meeting With Arafat Draws Criticism

Several lawmakers have criticized a group of congressional aides for meeting secretly with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat in January, only weeks after Congress voted to close PLO offices in the United States.

The two-hour meeting, which took place in Baghdad, Iraq, became publicly known last week. It was arranged by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, the group that paid for the congressional aides’ eight-day trip to Iraq on Jan. 11-19.

The meeting, described as an open exchange between Arafat and the aides, was held shortly after Congress passed legislation to shut down the PLO’s U.N. mission in New York on the grounds that the group is a terrorist organization. The PLO has permanent observer status with the United Nations.

On Saturday, U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar “strongly protested” the U.S. move to close the mission.

As for the aides’ meeting with Arafat, Rep. Lawrence J. Smith (D-Fla.) said: “It was very foolish, very wrong. He (Arafat) is not going to change his positions because a Capitol Hill staffer meets with him.”

Rep. Robert G. Torricelli (D-N.J.) said he was upset when he learned that an aide attended the Baghdad meeting with Arafat.

U.S. policy--set by Congress--prohibits officials in the executive branch from talking to Arafat or members of the PLO until it recognizes Israel’s right to exist. The policy does not apply to Congress.

Ronald W. Cathell, executive director of the U.S.-Arab council, said he would not release the names of the staffers who attended the Arafat meeting for fear they would be subjected to reprisals.