September 14, 1993: Arafat addresses UN after 19 years
“I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter’s gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hands.”
1993 - Palestine Liberation Organisation chairman Yasser Arafat returned to the United Nations headquarters 19 years after his first appearance put the PLO on the world’s diplomatic map. In November 1974, he had addressed the UN General Assembly, with an empty gun holster peeping from beneath his khaki jacket. “I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter’s gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hands,” he had declared.
Other important events
1814 - Francois Scott Key writes America’s national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.
1901 - US President William McKinley dies of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin.
1917 - Russia is officially proclaimed a republic.
1948 - A ground-breaking ceremony takes place in New York at the site of the United Nations world headquarters.
1982 - Bashir Gemayel, president-elect of Lebanon, is killed in a blast.
1993 - Israel and Jordan sign an agenda for peace in Washington.
1996 - Bosnia holds its first post-war election.
2010 - Australia’s first woman prime minister Julia Gillard takes office with a shaky coalition.
