U.S. Informs U.N. It Will Close PLO Mission

UNITED NATIONS —  The United States today officially informed the United Nations that it is closing the mission of the Palestine Liberation Organization despite its obligations under the U.N. headquarters agreement.

The United States said that if the PLO does not comply, legal action will be taken to close down the mission on or about March 21.

U.S. Ambassador Herbert Okun also told Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar that this country rejects international arbitration to resolve the issue.

Perez de Cuellar “strongly protested” the U.S. decision and is informing the U.N. General Assembly immediately, U.N. spokesman Francois Giuliani said. The U.N. legal department is studying “courses of action open to the United Nations,” Giuliani said.

‘Irrespective of Obligations’

Okun handed Perez de Cuellar a letter that said U.S. Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III “has determined that he is required by the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 to close the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization.”

The U.S. decision is “irrespective of any obligations the United States may have under the agreement between the United Nations and the United States regarding the headquarters of the United Nations,” Okun’s letter said.

The decision follows votes by Congress to close other PLO offices in the United States.

The announcement, the timing of which has been bitterly disputed between the State Department and the Justice Department, comes as the Middle East peace process, which involves the future of the Palestinian Arabs now living in Israeli-occupied territories, is showing signs of life.

Crisis Possible

The Arab states are bound by a 1974 agreement that the PLO is the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

The closing could create a possible crisis involving the relationship between the United States and the United Nations under the Headquarters Agreement, which sets out conditions for the U.N. presence in the United States.

A new element in the decision was the attack on an Israeli bus in the Negev Desert this week, according to Administration officials. Fatah, a group that supports PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, claimed responsibility.

The United Nations is expected to challenge the U.S. decision, perhaps taking it to the World Court.