Kurds seek political solution

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THE TIMES
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TH1JRSDAY DECEMBER 6
1979

Wittenberg, De c 5. The
 Soviet Union pulled tanks and
 troops out of this centrai East
German garrison town today in
the first stage of a forces re-
duction programme aimed at
demonstrating its commitment
to détente. .
After ceremonial speeches
before a crowd of several thou-
sand people, the first Soviet
military train rolled out of the
station carrying 18 modem T62
tanks and about 100 soldiers'... .
.
The festive departure marked
the start of a withdrawal of up
to 20,000 men and 1,000 tanks
from East Germany : announced .
by Pres ident Brezhnev :1 t
October to underline Moscow 's
desire for disarujatent. . •
Soviet officers told ‘ journa.
lists that about 200 troops and
more than 30 . tanks -would be
withdrawn today. All belong to
the SGviet : Sixth Armoured
. . .
Di'nsion, stationed in central
East Cermifiy as part of the
.
frGnt-line forces of the Sok'iet-
led Warsaw Pact.
Local East German Commu-
fllSt P xtY officials and steel
workers from a nearby plant
heaped praise on the work of
the Soviet soldiers in speeches
at the early morning rally out-
side the station. A Soviet offi-.
cer thanked the ocaI ‘ eopIe
for their . Mend hip . - - and
SUPPOFt..
JEhe starts bf• the withdrawat
eccUlted. as the A foreign minis-r
ters tf the Warsaw Paát alliance
met in Ea t Ber l in behind
closed Iodrs. Reuter.
( e1 Spitzer writes from
EeEIIn : The foreign ministers
conference is understood to
have been summoned in view of
the forthcoming Nato minis-
terlial meeting and its impend-
rng decision to moc lerthze its
nuclear arsenal. - . -
It is believed -that some offer
to the West will be announced
in a last-niinute effort to influ-
ence the expected Nato decision
to deploy missiles able to hit
Russia. •
Schmidt stand backed : As the
first Soviet tanks rolled back
from East Germany Kerr Hel-
mut Schmidt's Social aemo-
cratic Party firmly backed his
stand on medium-range nuclear
missiles (writes Patricia dough
from . Berlin) . .
I A4er an outstanding debate
t he arty cdflgre here dele-
ga s -s . - oter*h 1m ix ig1 ,r . s up-
.p6rted the Ohàuêe llor's view '
that Nato s1tt hI : decide- to
station the weapons and then
negotiate on reducing their
numbers witii the Soviet Union
while they are being manufac•
tured.
The outcome was a huge per-
sonal success for Herr Schmidt.
In an impassioned defence of
his policy he asked fer a clear
majority and about 90 per cent
of the delegates showed their
cards in his favour. .
Herr Sc hmidt said that by
matching the Soviet SS2O m i s -
-
.

•

sues already dè i1oyed in the
east, the alliance would create
a posinon af equality - .. I
Nato reservations : Welcoming
the first steps taken by thp
Soviet Union to rédüce its
troops in East Germany, Nato
said today that the withdrawal
would “ represent but a fçaction
?f the present great superiority
“‘ ground forces and armoured
capability of the Soviet .UniOn
and its Wa t haw Pact allies in
Central Europe “ (writes
Michael Hornsby . from
Bru se1s). ;
. In a. statement issued. by Dr.
Jos . f Lüns, the Nato Secretary-.
General,- the ..alliance claimed
that the Soviet. Union ‘C now has..
bases, eith et ,operationa l. or
under construction;- which . wiir
support the depleymént f over
600 SS2O (mobile missi1e .war-
heads “. -
Nato expected the ph iñg
out of some older Soviet
medium-range missiles, - but
their withdrawal had been ex-
treme ly slow, Dr Luns added.
From Mithael Hornsby
Brussels, Dec S
The European Parliament is
shaping up• for an histoiic con-
test of wills with EEC member
states. Evidence is accumniat-
ing that thSe is an excellent
chance of a big c enough
majority being mustéred f to
throw out the draft of the
Community 's budget for 1980
at the assembl?s session next
week in Strasbourg. .
The Parliament is incensed
by the treatment meted out to
its proposals last month . by
EEC budget m inis ters. The
ministers cut proposed in-
creases in spending' on. regional
development . jeb creation,
scientific research . and energy
projects, and at the Same time
rejected a reduction in agricul-
tural expenditure.
In the . wake of the EEC
summit meeting in Dublin last
week, which failed to bifer any
concessions to the Parliament 's
point of view, the budget corn-
mittee of the assembly today
reaffirmed its recommendation
that the 1980 - budget as it
stands should . be - thrown out
and a nè* draft ‘requested. The
vote was 28 in favour, with
four abstent iQas an d two
against . . . :
After the •vote Mr Harr r
Noten-bOóm, a Dutch Chr i stian
Democat and vice -chairman of
the con niittee, told journalists
that he .considered it “ extre-
mely probable “ on the bàs s of
consukations• %VItII all the main-
po1itica groups, that the
necessary majority could be
found to reject the budget.
Similáx confidence was
Papal visit to
English College
Rome, Dec S. The Pope will
visit the Eng lish College in
Rome tomérrow to celebrate
the fourth centenary of One of
the oldest English institu t ions
abroad.
The college - trains priests for
the dioceses of England and
Wa les. At the moment it has
about 70 students and a staff
of five. The Popewill celebrate
Mass in Eng lish in the chapel
early in the evening for the
ccmmunity employees and
guests.
Iceland coalition talks.
Reykjavik, Dec 5. President
Kristjan E ldjarn of Iceland
asked Mr Steingrimur Hermanñ-
sson, cha hanian of the centre
Progressive -Party, to try to form
a new Go rernment.
Swiss Président
Geneva, Dec 5. Mr Georges-
André .( hevallaz, aged 65, of
the Radical Party was elected
President of Sw itzerland for
1980. ... ...
No tim to thymes
Stockho lm, Dec 5. —Odysseus
Elytis, d Creek poei who won
this yS i s Nobel prize foE
hteraturè, ääid hbrethat he had
I not found Ante to writ since
his awarS- i4'as anrtôujrded oij
October 18. .
-,- :t — - . . - —
_. .
- a -
I Secret nap on
Bonn). . ;Uec - 5. West Ger-
I n i nny's dèfen&btxdget for 1979
5 i c 1 ude s thèt c j s of a gold tooth
for All, at isatian guard- dog
at Fassberg aitbase. . : -. :
S
-n -
‘ rance -
expressed by Mr Pieter Dan- In the meantime, the
ken, a Dutch Socialist and the Commission would have to use
Parliament's rapporteur m i the an emergency . . procedure
budget. . To throw out the whereby it is empowered to
budget, two thirds of all votes dole out on a mouthby-month
cast would be needed and a basis the same amount of From Ian Murray
simple majority of the total money as was speni in the pre- Paris, Dec S .. -
membertp of the HGUSCr . ..VZÔUS year. If the dthdlock per• . The French. -. . CovernmeM
. The main quSion . mark %istèd, this would .imp ly a today s& ed itsdf almost as
: ,
hangs over the attitude of shortfall of some £G3O in over di appofi te as the Dutch at
French members of the Parlia- the whole of 1980 compared being tuiab le to persuade the
—
‘nient, many of whom represent with expenditure now envi- National Assembly to ratify
arining interests, and the saged. . . . •. the Bonn comvention an clean-
Liberal. group. The British . . The budget committee . also ing U the Rhine. “ The - Coy-
Conse vaflve and Labour cont - served notice today that appro- ernrnent really intends to keep
ingents have come out in sup- ., j next week of a suppiemena the international engagements
n . '.u - a
port of- rejecting the budget. budgei for . 1979 of some . which have beçn : -taken by
Representatives of the f520m, to meet spending over- France “, M Pierre. Hunt, the
-national. - otniuents ‘wil l be runs in the agricultural sector , Elysee spokes man said aftet
holding further ta l lcs with the will be more than a mere for- today's Cabthet meeting. .
Parli'ainext.t next .weth S . mality. Because of the delay in The. : Goverteni's decision•
bourg. :fle en ly . thing that approrvrng. the extra expend- not éven to put - the convention
rnight now prevent Fejeëtion - . iwre some governments are to - the vote . i t the Assembly
would appear to be an agree- ‘ .jfready facin . ..tgry . d ld ians .w 3s taken yesterday when ‘it
ment to' resartect Tthose of the -g j . f ni traLrs. , . • . - . .
t . • was rèaiiz d that lEe $othiitts, -
, •1 -
as emb1y s propdsä ls which
Were turned down.Iastit jntb. A Iàfge. part f : the :eEfra communists and - t i m au 1lists
.
. : . woutd all taet *ga iisi it nd
This. Waul& ixét :only involve Spending as requared to pay aor that it w6u1d therefói&
. -, .— _;_• • a : •
•an embarrassing loss of face . t $UuStua flg - the export to. non-
— - . . —
for the gbv'ernthent It WOU It EEC;-c6 t r es E &üch as: Russia - hy á 1ar majority. -- .
also effective ly ôndone - thE: áüd.*: