Arafat Applies for U.S. Entry Visa to Address U.N.
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat’s formal application for an entry visa to the United States was delivered to the U.S. Consulate in the Tunisian capital Friday, and the State Department confirmed receiving it.
Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, wants to address the U.N. General Assembly at the start of its debate on the issue of Palestine.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Charles Redman said, “We will severely scrutinize Arafat’s application for a visa in light of applicable law and regulations” but added that he had no timetable for action on the visa request.
One State Department official said, “It won’t take a long time, but we don’t feel that we’re working against any deadline.”
Arafat holds an Algerian passport issued Nov. 15, several hours after the Palestine National Council, the so-called Palestinian parliament in exile, declared an independent Palestinian state in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Algeria, which hosted the Palestinian meeting, was the first country to recognize the proclaimed new state.
Arafat was given a visa in 1974 to address the U.N. General Assembly.
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