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April 21, 1972

Telegram from the Romanian Embassy in Cairo to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 264.451, April 21, 1972, Secret

This document was made possible with support from Bilkent University

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 

[handwritten] 211/1972

 

Sender: Cairo
No. 264.451

Date: 21 April 1972

 

The Romanian consul in Alexandria, Nicolae Frîncu, reports on the following [matters]:

 

1. On April 16 and 17, importan quantities of military supplies for the PLO, including auto-station vehicles, Skoda ambulances made in Czechoslovakia, ammunition crates for light weaponry, grenades, field mines, etc. were unloaded from a Polish ship in the port of Alexandria. These materials were then taken by two PLO representatives who are permanently assigned in Alexandria for dealing with such matters. The Czechoslovak consul Frantisek Buzek assisted the process of unloading.

 

The Polish consul in Alexandria – Walerian Dryzalowski confirmed the destination of the aforementioned supplies.

 

2. According to the information I collected, on April 19, there was a meeting in Cairo between Bela Biszku, a member of the Politburo of the Socialist Workers’ Party of Hungary, and a member of the Executive Committee of the PLO.

 

Bela Biszku reaffirmed the position of the Hungarian government to continue its support, both politically and materially, for the Palestinian liberation movement.

 

The PLO representative reportedly showed that they urgently need clothes, light weaponry and ammunition, asking the Hungarians to provide [the PLO] with such assistance. Bela Biszku promised that upon his return to Hungary, he would inform the Hungarian party leadership and provide [the Palestinians] with a response.

 

Titus Sinu

 

Romanian consul in Alexandria reports on shipments to the PLO and conversations members of the PLO have had with other Eastern BLOC countries including Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia.

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Document Information

Source

Arhiva diplomatică - Ministerul Afacerilor Externe, dosar 1938, problema 211/1972, pp. 31-32. Contributed and translated by Eliza Gheorghe.

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2020-03-02

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219919

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Bilkent University