The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 22, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 7, 1981 Page: 1 of 8
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Assassins slay Sadat in surprise attack
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — President Anwar
Sadat, whose peace with Israel changed the
course of Middle Last history, was assas-
sinated Tuesday by six Egyptian soldiers who
jumped from a jeep on military parade and
charged the reviewing stand firing automatic
weapons. Army sources said the attackers
were Moslem fundamentalists.
Sadat has been under attack by Moslem
fundamentalists who claim he betrayed Islam
and the Arab world through his peace with
Israel, which broke the cycle of three decades
of Mideast wars. Tuesday’s parade marked
the anniversary of what Egypt calls a
"glorious Arab victory” in the last conflict of
that cycle — the 1973 Arab war against
Israel.
The raiders also were said to have killed
seven other people and wounded 27, in-
cluding three American servicemen and two
diplomats.
The army sources said all six attackers, in-
cluding one lieutenant, were members of an
artillery unit. They said two were killed and
the others were being interrogated.
That report differed from an earlier state-
ment by Egypt's ambassador to Washington,
Ashraf Ghorbal. He said three assassins were
killed and three were captured.
The Egyptian government has not given
offical word on the assassins’ identities, their
ages or their political and religious affilia-
tions.
Vice President Hc.ni Mubarak declared a
state of emergency and the ruling National
Democratic Party nominated him to succeed
Sadat.
Grief was expressed around the world at
the loss of a man President Reagan called "a
champion of peace.” But there was rejoicing
in some Arab capitals and by Palestinians
who felt Sadat sold them out to the Israelis.
In Beirut, Lebanon, callers purporting to
speak for three separate Egyptian opposition
groups claimed responsibility.
The death was considered likely to bring a
new period of turmoil to the Mideast, and
Israeli opponents o'" the peace treaty were
gathering support for a last-ditch effort to
block Israel’s withdrawal from the Sinai.
The 62-year-old Sadat had enemies at
home and throughout the Middle East
because of his peace treaty with Israel and his
recent crackdown on hundreds of opposition
figures suspected of fomenting Christian-
Moslem strife in Egypt. He shared the 1978
Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli Prime
Minister Menachem Begin after reaching the
U.S.-sponsored Camp David accords.
Last month he ordered the arrest of more
than 1,500 people, including fundamentalist
Moslems and Coptic Christian leaders, and
ordered private mosques to accept govern-
ment control.
The attackers were said to have shouted,
"Glory to Egypt!” and yelled “Agents and
intruders!” at foreigners on the reviewing
stand v* .itching the parade
Diplomatic and police sources reported
seven others killed and 27 wounded on the
reviewing stand, which was littered with
bullet-riddled armchairs and bloodied
dignitaries thrown into pandemonium by the
attack.
It occurred shortly after I p.m. during a
low flyby by jet fighters. Explosions also were
heard, indicating grenades were thrown in
the attack. Young men, dressed in olive drab
uniforms, jumped from a moving jeep and
charged the president, tiring their weapons.
Mubarak told the nation in a TV address
announcing the death of Sadat: "We are ac-
customed to these wounds and we believe in
God’s will and we will continue in the name
of the spirit and soul of our leader and our
constitution that we will abide by all treaties
arid commitments made.”
He said constitutionally mandated elec-
tions will be held within two months. Until
then, the government will be headed by the
speaker of parliament, Sufi Abu Taleb. There
were no outward signs of alarm in Cairo,
other than deployment of anti-riot police,
which was considered a normal precaution.
In Washington, Reagan said with the
death of Sadat “America has lost a close
friend, the world has lost a great statesman
and mankind has lost a champion of peace
. . . In a world filled with hatred, he was a
man of hope.”
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Benin said he hoped the U.S.-
sponsored peace process would continue “as
President Sadat would have wanted with all
his heart. I have lost not only a partner in the
peace process but also a friend ’’
But hard-line Arabs reacted with joy, firing
rifles in the air in Lebanon. The Palestine
Liberation Organization’s security chief, Abu
lyad, said he would “shake the hand of he
who pulled the trigger."
first official word that Sadat was assas-
sinated came from presidential adviser Man-
sour Hassan after emerging from a meeting
with six top officials, including Mubarak.
Asked by reporters if Sadat was dead or
alive, Hassan said, "dead." He said the
funeral would be held "in a few days."
The State Department said a U.S. Marine
major, Jerald R. Agenbroad of Bruneau,
Idaho, an Air Force lieutanent colonel,
Charles D. Loney of Austin, Texas, and an
Air Force captain, Christopher Ryan of
Sacramento, Calif., were hit and slightly
wounded in the raid.
An Egyptian Foreign Ministry official said
Foreign Ministry officials and others were
wounded, including the Belgian ambassador,
Claude Ruelle, and Ireland’s defense
minister, James Tully.
Sadat took over after the death of Gamel
Abdel Nasser in 1970. Within three years he
crushed one internal revolt against him, ex-
pelled 15,000 Soviet advisers and started
turning Egypt’s orientation from the Soviet
Union to the United States.
AP LASERPHOTO
Anwar Sadat
The North Texas Daily
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1981 NORTH TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY, DENTON, TEXAS 65TH YEAR NO. 22
Egyptian students grieve
at news of fatal assault
Photo by STEVE RUSHING
GRIM VIGIL—Amr Elmonoufy, Egyptian graduate stu- surrounding President Anwar Sadat's death Folded
dent and president of the NT Egyptian Student Associ- arms are a sign of grief among Egyptian men. he
ation, watches Tuesday afternoon for additional news said
Action shakes Middle East
Political scientist foresees changing relations
B\ BEI.IND 5 W ILLIS
Staff W riter and
LINDA (IR\Y-P\RKER
Daily Reporter
While information on the assassina-
tion of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
filtered in from television and radio
reports, Egyptian students at NT read
prayers from the Koran and waited to
hear further word on the events in Cairo.
Amr Elmonufy, Cairo graduate stu-
dent and head of the NT Egyptian Stu-
dent Association, said the Egyptian stu-
dents were saddened to hear the news of
the death of their president,
“We (Egyptian students) are feeling so
sorry about what happened in our
country. All the information we have is
from American television and radio. We
have heard nothing from anyone at our
embassy concerning his death,'
Elmonufy said.
Elmonufy said Egyptian students have
not planned a service in Denton, but
that they might participate in services at
the Egyptian embassy in Washington.
They have not received information
from the embassy about such a service
yet, he said.
Elmonufy said that while this is a sad
time for his country, the government will
remain in control of the situation. “The
vice president mentioned in his state-
ment to the people that the government
By I) \MI I ( 5 5 \/.<>S
Staff 55 riter
Although NT Arab students agreed
Tuesday that Egyptian President Anwar
Sadat alienated most Arab countries
because of his peace initiatives with
Israel, they called him a man of peace
and a strong leader.
‘‘The world has lost an astute
politiean, a prudent man and a great
statesman," Saudi Arabian student Adel
al-Jubeir said of Sadat, who was assas-
sinated Tuesday.
Saudi Arabian student Marwan M.
A ref said Arab countries were dismayed
by Sadat's 1977 visit to Israel, but said.
"He was a unique and charismatic
leader who was loved by most of his
people."
Lebanese student Ali Safa said Sadat
“was a very courageous man despite the
will respect all treaties ard continue the
w ay of democracy.”
Sadat’s efforts toward peace will con-
tinue, Elmonufy said, because of the
Egyptian people’s attitude. “I think the
main point is the reaction from the peo-
ple. They need peace and to live together
with the Israeli people. The peace
treaties will not stop although it will take
time for the government to pull back
together," he said.
Elmonufy said responsiblity for
Sadat’s death is hard to determine and
the information probably will not be
known for a long time. "I can’t say until
I have contact with actual information
from Egypt. Some people are saying (Li-
byan leader) Col. Moammar Khadafy is
responsible, but I don’t know The only
ones who can inform us are the
authorities in Egypt.”
Mahmoud el-Sekey, Cairo graduate
student, said the government will func-
tion well during this time of crisis. “We
have a strong constitution and a strong
government and they will help the
country go on."
Sekey said Sadat had a strong in-
fluence over the Israeli peace talks, but
that Egyptian people want peace as
much as he did.
"The people are willing for peace and
they want it to happen I think the peace
work he started will continue,” Sekey
said.
Arab opposition he faced. He had come
a long way as a leader.”
A Jordanian student, who asked he
not be identified, said Sadat “did what
his nation looked for. His death is a
great loss for peace in the Middle East."
While all four Arab students had
words of praise for Sadat, they were also
critical of his singular quest for peace
with Israel.
“No one (in Arab countries) believed
in his peace. The official Arab position is
that he betrayed the cause of the Palesti-
nians by negotiating with Israel alone,"
Safa said.
Safa said the Palestinian issue is the
core of the peace problems in the Middle
fast. The approach Sadat took did not
address this issue properly and resulted
in growing opposition within Egypt to
the Camp David peace accords, he said.
"His people believed in his peace in-
Egyptian students studying at NT un-
der a contract between the Egyptian
government and NT will not be affected
either financially or academically by the
assassination. Dr. Nabil Aboulfadl of
the (ollege of Business said Tuesdav
The students are part of a program
under the Egyptian Cultural and Educa-
tion Bureau, a division of the Egyptian
Embassy in Washington. Aboulfadl said
the bureau operates under its own
budget and students w ill continue to get
their financial assistance.
Aboulfadl said he believes the assas-
sination was not a widespread effort for
a coup d’etat, but an isolated incident
aimed at killing Sadat.
Aboulfadl said Mubarak is a sup-
porter of Sadat's policies and should
continue to honor treaties established by
Sadat. He also said he believes Egypt
and Israel will continue to honor treaties
established to maintain peace between
the two countries. “The treaty was not
between Sadat and Begin, but rather one
between Egypt and Israel,” he said.
Once the new Egyptian president is
elected, the United States will have a
very important role to play, Aboulfadl
said. “The United States must not in-
terfere with the internal affairs of Egypt,
but it must provide support for the
Egyptian government once Egypt
chooses the direction it wants to take.”
natives and wanted badly for them to
work. But because of Israel’s stub-
borness and failure to compromise, op-
position arose in his country," he said.
Sadat believed peace in the Middle
East could be attained through
American involvement, Safa said. The
Egyptian president s decision to “piav
the American card game in the Middle
East was a risk. It may have been those
risks that brought his life to an end," he
said.
A ref said Sadat was "physically and in
name separated from the rest of the
Arab countries. His visit to Israel
physically separated him from the rest of
the Arab world. Moderate Arab nations
supported him in diplomatic means on-
ly. Even that support was very subtle, or
else an Arab nation would be the target
of attack from radical Arab countries."
By .11 I II .11 ROME
Staff 55 riter
The assassination of Egyptian Presi-
dent Anwar Sadat may indicate the
beginning of a toning down of Egypt's
positive posture toward the United
States, Dr. Milan Reban of the political
science faculty said Tuesday.
The effect on the United States could
be enormous, he said, because the
Soviets could muscle back into the pic-
ture, especially where the Middle East
agreement is concerned.
"Sadat was a little too eager to help
the United States, and (vice president
llosni) Mubarak may tone down that
aspect,” Reban said.
The entire Camp David process of the
United States serving as mediator
between Israel and Egypt may be met
with a little less fervor by Mubarak, he
said.
"The vice president may be a little less
enthusiastic about taking over relations
between Egypt and Israel because he
despises (Menachem) Begin,” Reban
said.
One of Sadat's greatest achievements
was the termination of the 31-year state
of war w ith Israel, he said. "It w as a dar-
ing gamble by Sadat.”
Sadat became president of Eg>pt in
1970 upon the death of Gamel Abdel
Nasser, a popular nationalist leader w ho
transformed Egypt from a monarctn
into a nationalist regime, Reban said.
Sadat was a virtually unknown vice
president and succeeded a man with in-
ternational stature who produced
serious problems in Egypt with his
politics, he said.
In a 1955 attempt to shake free of
American and British control, Nasser
shifted Egyptian policy to Russia, which
was contributing a sizeable amount of
military aid to Egypt, Reban said.
After taking office. Sadat expelled a
large number of Russians from lg\pt
and tilted Egypt's orientation from the
Soviet Union toward the ( niteti States,
Reban said.
“He terminated the relationship with
Russia which set back Egyptian-Soviet
foreign policy," he said. “Sadat pulled it
off and startled everyone."
Russia was unable to translate it into
influence upon Egypt, Keban said.
“Sadat was keeping Russia from set-
tlements in the Middle Fast
During that time many foreign leaders
were questioning Egypt's relationship
with the United States, Reban said.
"They were asking, 'did he go too far in
openly identifying with the United
States?"
Sadat weathered a major crisis during
the Soviet expulsion, rvebun said, and
also succeeded in institutionalizing the
Arab Socialist Union, the leading
political party in Egypt.
"The party was in disarray and he in-
stitutionalized it. This enabled Egypt to
make economic strides," Reban said.
Last month, Sadat attempted to
secularize tensions involving a struggle
between militant Islamic leaders and
Christian leaders, Reban said.
" This led to a merciless crackdown on
a great many groups in which Sadat ar-
rested over 1,500 important people." he
said. "Sadat could not afford warfare, so
he had to strip some important people of
their powers It demonstrated certain
decisiveness and at the same time
v ulnerability.”
Sadat began to face noticeable conse-
quences of his crackdown from the
direction of those dissatisfied elements
he suppressed. Rchan said.
Word of leader's death spurs varying reactions
Jaime Campos,
Dallas Sr.--"It’s
really sad
because Sadat
and his govern-
ment were one of
the major hopes
for peace in the
Middle East. It’s
just one more ex-
ample of world
terrorism."
i ' uT /
Campos
Joan Damico,
Denton Sr.—
"Sadat was one
of a few true
statesmen. It’s a
shame and a
great loss. He
was really sin-
cere.”
Damico
A I b o Shaker,
Palestine grad-
uate student —
“I’m not very
sad. I expected
it to happen a
long time ago. I
hope the Egyp-
tian political pol-
icies will change
for the better-
ment of the Pal-
estinian people.”
Shaker
Charles Cope-
land, Houston
Jr. — “It up-
sets me because
he was one of the
few Middle East-
ern leaders that
we had excellent
relations with.
It's a great loss.
The world will
find it hard to
replace Sadat."
JM
Copeland
Muhanicd She-
hala. Egypt grad-
uate student “I
feel sad, al-
though I think
he deserved a lot
of what he got
because he ar-
rested a lot of in-
nocent people
just because the\
didn't agree with
him."
Shehata
I a i m e 5 r m i n
Mejia, Donna
graduate s t u -
dent—"Damn' I
think Egypt lost
a great states-
man who stood
for progress and
peace in a part of
the world where
these things are
desperately
n c e d e d for
worldw ide
stability "
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Clark, Karen. The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 22, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 7, 1981, newspaper, October 7, 1981; Denton, TX. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1003301/m1/1/: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.