This is an archive article published on November 28, 2017

Opinion November 28, 1977, Forty Years Ago: West Asia Talks

In Tel Aviv, Israel Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan denied rumours that he may use his visit to West Germany to make contacts with Arab leaders.

November 28, 2017 12:02 AM IST First published on: Nov 28, 2017 at 12:02 AM IST

In Tel Aviv, Israel Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan denied rumours that he may use his visit to West Germany to make contacts with Arab leaders.

Egyptian president Anwar Sadat said that he intended to negotiate a comprehensive West Asia peace settlement with or without the participation of other Arab states. Sadat made the statement in an American television interview after indications developed that only Israel and Egypt would be attending the Cairo talks he had proposed on a resumed Geneva West Asia conference. Both Egypt and Israel have said they would attend the Cairo meeting even if they are the only countries to do so. In Beirut, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) announced that it would boycott the talks. The PLO announcement came as efforts continued to draw Iraq into the hardline front of opposition to Sadat. In Tel Aviv, Israel Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan denied rumours that he may use his visit to West Germany to make contacts with Arab leaders.

Left On Constitution

The ruling Left Front in West Bengal called for a thorough overhauling and remodelling of the Constitution, an amendment to the preamble to make it explicitly clear that “India is a federal republic” and to abolish the concurrent list. Its stand was formulated after threadbare discussions on two drafts, one prepared by the chief minister, Jyoti Basu, and the other by Saroj Mukherjee, CPM’s state secretariat member. The LF has authorised Basu to make the final draft with Cabinet approval and send it to the Centre and others states for discussion.

Cyclone Update

The four-member Janata Party team returned to New Delhi after a visit to cyclone-hit areas in Andhra Pradesh with the “clear” impression that the state government has lost the confidence of the people. The team said Andhra people had started to doubt whether the assistance made available by the Centre and other states to the state government would even reach the affected areas.