November 7, 1981
Lt. Ioan Plugaru, No. PI/00124, 'Report regarding the Intelligence obtained by Contacting ‘ALBU’, Foreigner'
This document was made possible with support from Bilkent University
Ministry of the Interior | TOP SECRET |
Department of State Security | Copy no. 2 |
Constanta County Police Inspectorate |
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Department 0620 No. PI/00124 dated 07.11.1981
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Report
Regarding the intelligence obtained by contacting ‘ALBU’, foreigner
On November 7 1981, when [we] contacted ‘ALBU’, a Lebanese citizen, we learned about the following matters:
In the aftermath of the attack on Anwar al-Sadat, which took place while ‘ALBU’ was in Egypt, he noticed that Palestinians were very happy at the news of Sadat’s death. Therefore, on the day of the burial of the former Egyptian president, there were actual celebrations in Palestinian camps, with lots of weapons being fired and great cheerfulness. During the following days, as he listened to the broadcasts of ‘Palestinians’ Voice’, he was very surprised to hear this radio station criticizing Romania for being the only socialist state which sent a representative to the burial service of one of the biggest enemies of the Palestinian people. On the same day, while reading the Lebanese press, namely Al Hawadis newspaper, he noticed that the same problem was mentioned by Palestinians, and he later confirmed this finding in his discussions with some Palestinian citizens.
Regarding the situation in Lebanon, ‘ALBU’ told us that as far as the Christians are concerned, the situation has calmed down, as the two groups ‘Katepi’ and the ‘Lebanese Phalanges’ united and gave birth to the Lebanese Party, thus eliminating all tensions between them.
On the other hand, there are more and more divergences among Palestinians, as they are divided into so many groups and parties, some supporting Yasser Arafat and therefore the resolution of the [Palestinian question] through negotiations, others supporting the resolution of the [Palestinian question] through armed struggle. Subsequently, a Palestinian called Mohsen Ibrahim recently formed a commando group which uses the method of placing bombs in certain cars located in public places or close to buildings [of interest], causing a large number of victims and great material damage.
In addition, ‘ALBU’ also pointed out that there are divergences between the Palestinians which sometimes end up with fights among them, fights which end only when Yasser Arafat intervenes to calm them down. On this topic, ‘ALBU’ noted that when Yasser Arafat intervenes with his commandos, he uses the name code Abu Ammar, a fact known only by his followers.
Subsequently, ‘ALBU’ noted that within ‘Al Fatah’, Ahmed Jebril is in charge of external operations, and he uses passports on other names than his own.
[…]
Operational Note
- A part of the things mentioned by ‘ALBU’ are also confirmed by source ‘HAIDUC’ who is a foreign citizen [as well].
Measures:
- The intelligence we gathered by contacting ‘ALBU’ regarding the Palestinians will also be corroborated with the help of Palestinian source ‘SANDU’.
- This report will be filed in folder ‘ALBU’ in DP-124, as fact-checking for folder ‘HAIDUC’ and with Military Unit 0620 Bucharest, region ‘Palestine’.
Signed by 2nd Operations Officer
Lt. Ioan Plugaru
Report on Palestinian feeling about the death of Sadat and Romania sending a representative to the funeral. The report also describes tensions and the need for Yasser Arafat to deal with them.
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