Hypocrisy over German massacre

we THE responsibility for the deaths of the nine Israeli hostages held by Arab guerrillas in Munich rests squarely on the German authorities and the Israeli government.

The guerrillas — memmembers of the Black September group -repeatedly put back their deadline for the release of 200 Arab commandos held in Israel. No response was forthcoming from Mrs Golda Meir's government.

A statement issued by the guerrillas-who finally agreed to fly to Cairo with their hostages and continue negotiations-declared:

'The arrogant attitude of the Israeli military establishment and its rejection of our demands would not make us forfeit our humane approach and we would continue to seek a way to save the Israeli prisoners.

*If our demands to leave the German territories are not accepted, Stateless, ill and held in Scrubs TSU TSAI-CHENG, the 35-year-old stateless Taiwanese extradited from Sweden, was being held in London yesterday at HM Prison, Wormwood Scrubs. Cheng is in the prison hospital despite not having broken any laws.

When he arrived in London on Monday night he was unconscious.

But Cheng, who landed without permission and without papers, was still kept incommunicado for almost two days, under the eyes of the British state machine.

Eventually lawyers were given permission by the Home Ofce to see a person they say is technically not in the country. And yesterday afternoon, solicitor Ben Birnberg visited Cheng to find out his state of health and what sort of help he wanted.

Cheng is alleged to have the United States in July while awaiting sentence on viction of a conspiracy to Chiang Kai-shek's son.

New York police arrested Cheng in March 1970 after shots had been fired at Chiang Chingkuo, now prime minister Taiwan, on a visit to the United States.

All along Cheng-deprived of his passport by Taiwan in 1965has denied any part in the assassination attempt. In fact, the person who fired the gun is now living in Canada, it is claimed.

Cheng arrived in Sweden last September and was given an alien's passport. It seemed certain he would be allowed to stay.

The United States has an extradition treaty with Sweden, but waited until June this year before seeking his return. Last month the Swedish supreme court held that Cheng's case was not one for political asylum.

And cn September the Swedish Labour governmentonly maintained in power by the Communist Party. votes-told the US Embassy they had three weeks to get him oui. fled 1971 conkill our revolutionary forces are ordered to adopt revolutionary and just violence to give a most severe lesson to the warlords of the Israeli military regime and to the arrogance of the West German governThe German authorities agreed to provide a flight to Cairo and then treacherously broke the agreement.

The guerrillas and hostages left the Olympic village in three helicopters and flew to Fuerstenfeldbruck military airport outside Munich.

Then the police opened fire. Deliberate attempts by German officials to give a lying version of what took place floundered in the face of overwhelming evidence.

They at first claimed that police merely returned fire from the guerrillas.

But this was obvious nonsense. Why should six guerrillas-who were about to fly to safety - open fire on hundreds of policemen who ringed the airport making escape impossible?

OWN When Cheng left Sweden he was reported to be in a fit state, despite week-long hunger strike. By the time he made London-accompanied by two New York detectives-and after a stop in Copenhagen, he was shaking violently and was unconscious.

After a series the US Embassy whisk Cheng out AMERICA'S massive bombing raids on Indo-China are staged from a huge base in Angana, near Solicitor finally allowed to see him of attempts by in London to of the country, And why did a number of police armoured cars race into the airport as the helicopters landed?

Moreover, police snipers had earlier been given orders to pick off the guerrillas in the Olympic Village if they got the chance.

In an attempt to prevent the truth emerging, Federal Interior Minister, Herr Genscher, ordered a total news blackout. And police threatened to let loose Alsatian dogs on reporters attempting to approach the airfield.

But 300 civilian passengers were trapped in the airport and saw all that happened. Eye-witnesses said that two guerrillas left the helicopters and inspected a waiting Lufthansa jet.

But as they began marching the hostages to the aircraft, police hidden behind it opened fire. One of the helicopters then burst into flames, allegedly from a grenade thrown into it by the guerrillas.

In addition to the nine hostages, five guerrillas and one policeman were killed and a helicopter pilot seriously injured. Two other Israelis had been killed when the guerrilla raid began early on Tuesday morning.

One guerrilla was reported to have been arrested. Unconfirmed reports say three guerrillas suffering from knife wounds were left behind in the Olympic village.

In the face of mounting evidence, Bavarian Interior Minister, Bruno Merk, admitted that the police had fired first.

The order to fire, he said, had been given by Munich police chief Manfred Schreiber in consultation with the Federal German government and the Bavarian Interior Ministry.

join the flood of condemnation of these Arab freedom fighters.

throughout deaths and he was eventually removed to prison by the British authorities.

If returned to the United States it is feared the US government will hand him over to the Taiwan government after completing his sentence. He would then face certain execution.

Yesterday moves continued in Sweden itself to have the extradition order rescinded and for Cheng to be granted political asylum.

The head of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, Dr governments the world -for millions of untold misery Lunbur - raise their hands hypocritical horror.

They are joined by His Holiness the Pope. and by the Stalinists in Russia, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The Palestinian Liberation Organization has joined the chorus, together with King Hussein of Jordan and the editor of the Cairo newspaper 'Al Ahram'.

The guerrillas were heroic fighters who scorned money and danger. Offered an unlimited amount of money by the West German government, they replied: 'Money means nothing to us and our lives mean nothing to us.' But these men have sacrificed their lives needlessly. Terrorism cannot overthrow world imperialism which sustains Israel and has inflicted suffering and death on the Arab peoples for scores of years. Imperialism can only be brought down by the revolutionary, action of the oppressed masses fighting through an international Marxist leadership.

Individual heroism cannot be a substitute for that. Bernard, who put Cheng up for six months in Sweden, was in London yesterday at a meeting of the Royal Society.

Dr Bernard was thought to have taken the opportunity to renew pressure on his government to change its mind.

For a government which has taken a liberal stance of hostility to the US over the Vietnam war and granted many US soldiers asylum, the Swedish decision could mean the beginning of a sharp turn to the right.