Incident "Sank East-West Relations Into Crisis" Today's nationalistic Daily Mail said the incident "sank East-West relations into crisis....Pentagon sources said that the Russians established that the Korean plane was a civilian airliner and then deliberately destroyed it..." In an editorial, the paper said, "The Russians' apparently ruthless action...should serve as a sharp reminder to those in Britain who never cease harping on the peaceful intentions of the USSR... "It Was Murder on a Grand Scale" An editorial in the sensationalistic Sun declared, "It was murder and murder on a grand scale. We must renounce forever the willful theories of the CND (peace demonstrators) that we can strip ourselves of our defenses before treating with the Communist empire." FRANCE "Comrade Strangelove" Paris television last night led with the plane incident and Secretary Headlines said "Comrade Strangelove" (Liberation), "Prompt Indignation from "Nothing Can Excuse Deliberate Assassination" Conservative Figaro said, "Nothing can excuse the deliberate assassination perpetrated in midair....There are ways to reason with a suspect aircraft and to force it to land. Numerous precedents, exist. "The insolent explanation of the incident furnished by TASS only underlines the obnoxious character of the crime. "President Reagan figures the Soviet Union owes an explanation to the world. We are part of that world..." "No Apology...Not the Slightest Sensitivity" Leftist Liberation said, "One will note that the Soviet leaders, more than 24 hours after the plane was shot down, still were not recognizing the facts, had made no apology to the families of the victims, not the slightest sensitivity... "This characterizes the USSR...more eloquently than any speeches..." "USSR Shows Its True Face" Conservative Quotidien judged that "Whatever the motives, when a nation reaches this extreme it casts off its mask and shows its true face, its profound nature. It shows it is a barbarous nation..." ITALY "Shultz: 'We Are Horrified'" Headlines included "Grave Charge from Washington--Sudden Crisis in Detente Process" (Corriere della Sera), "Murder in the Skies--Strangelove at Work. Shultz: We Are Horrified" (La Repubblica), "Attack Called Deliberate and Unjustified by Shultz" (Il Giornale), "Russia Accused of Massacre" (Il Tempo) and "Moscow Talks Only of Intercepting in Its Airspace" (Communist l'Unita). "U.S. Is Showing Restraint" New York correspondent Antonello Marescalchi reported on left-leaning GR-1 radio this morning that the United States "is showing restraint and gives evidence it does not want to impair the negotiating process." Milan's centrist Corriere della Sera said in a lead editorial that "even if the plane had violated Soviet airspace, this is not enough to justify what happened. "In these last few hours the hope for a resumption of detente may be completely ruined..." "Prudent Stance of U.S. State Department" New York correspondent Ugo Stille wrote in the same paper, "Shultz's decision to show up in person in the press room of the State Department is an indication of the seriousness of the event... "The hawks in Washington are already (at work) to underline that the attack confirms the impossibility and uselessness of any 'detente' with Moscow. "But the prudent stance of the State Department aims at preventing emotional reaction from compromising the negotiating process with the USSR, particularly on disarmament..." "Strangelove at Work" Leftist, influential La Repubblica featured an editorial titled "Strangelove at work" and observed that the incident will have "dire consequences.. on East-West relations and particularly on the Geneva negotiations. "The Secretary of State, in his emotion and concern, has prudently ruled out direct responsibility of the Soviet Government in the event. But this caution does not change the terms of the problem. And the problem is the nature of the order given once and for all to the Soviet military apparatus and its incomparable inflexibility." "A Deliberate Mass Murder" Washington correspondent Marino de Medici wrote in today's conservative Il Tempo of Rome, "A deliberate mass murder. There is no other word to define the cold, ruthless order given to the pilot of the Soviet MIG which was visual contact with the airplane..." "Obsession With Security Makes Us Insecure" in Communist l'Unita of Rome asserted that "the downing of the plane on the basis of ruthless defense of airspace...would be an unjustifiable episode.. "The tension and nervousness of the international situation... must have reached a very high degreee if airspace violations or the loss of an air route caused such reckless and unexplainable reactions. "This international tension...the obsession with security that becomes a stockpiling of weapons, makes us live in insecurity..." WEST GERMANY "No Use Talking Peace" Conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine said today, "There is no use talking peace if one always doubts the basic peacefulness of others and resorts to shooting whenever an aircraft gets off course... "Is Kremlin Still Interested in Understanding on Arms Negotiations?" An editorial in today's conservative Die Welt of Bonn maintained that "the coldbloodedness of the crime gives rise to the question whether the Kremlin rulers still are seriously interested in an understanding on the problem of arms reduction. "The United States has adequately reacted to this incident, which is one of the most serious since the Cuban missile crisis. Washington, obviously, does not preclude serious consequences. Secretary Shultz asked the anbassadors of NATO countries to discuss the situation with him..." "Convincing Evidence of Mass Murder" Pro-Christian Democratic Rheinische Post of Duesseldorf said the incident was "unprecedented in the history of aviation. There is no excuse for it. convincing evidence of this mass murder was available last night. It made the Kremlin rulers speechless for hours." "Why Has USSR Dropped Mask of Civilized Nation?" Pro-Christian Democratic Frankfurter Neue Presse observed, "The coincidence is macabre, but it apparently is not just coincidence: on anti-war day commemorating the outbreak of World War II, the USSR coldbloodedly shot down a civilian aircraft carrier with 269 passengers aboard... "The question now is why the USSR dropped its mask of a civilized, peaceloving big power at such a critical moment of East-West disarmament negotiations. "Until the opposite is proved, one can assume only that this was a calculated act to impress other countries and to make them afraid of Soviet readiness to fight..." In West Berlin, independent Tagesspiegel held, "The fate of the Korean airliner...was no tragedy caused by a chain of errors, misunderstanding or by an act of providence. It was simply caused by human meanness... NORWAY Moscow Correspondent First Uses, Then Drops U.S. "Allegations" The shooting down of the South Korean airliner was top story on radio and TV last night and this morning and received very heavy play in the press today. TV news twice last night carried actualities of Secretary Shultz's statement, plus extensive reports from Washington and Tokyo. Norwegian radio and TV's Moscow correspodent in his first reports last night talked about U.S. "allegations," but later dropped the word, focusing instead on the absence of Soviet media coverage of the incident. "There Is No Excuse for Such an Act" In electronic media, Prime Minister Kaare Willoch was quoted as saying that "only the strongest words can be used in our reaction to those responsible for this." Foreign Minister Svenn Stray was cited as stating that "if the American information is correct--and unfortunately there is no reason to doubt it is correct--the Norwegian Government will condemn what has happened. "There is no excuse for such an act. This is one of the most serious violations of all the agreements which have been signed by the USSR. The Norwegian Government is also concerned over the effect of this matter on the international situation." TV news reported that the chairman of the Norwegian Labor Party said: "This is a grotesque act and a serious attack on accepted principles of international conduct." Defense Minister Anders C. Sjaastad said, "This is shocking. There can be absolutely no excuse for shooting down an airliner." "Entire World Condemns USSR" Headlines in Oslo today included "U.S. Considers Sanctions" and "Soviet Union Assumes No Responsbility" and "Kremlin in a Jam, Admits Nothing" (conservative Aftenposten), "Entire World Condemns USSR," "This Is How It Happened: Coldblooded Cold Murder," "Norwegian Pilot: Incredible" and "Controversial U.S Politician Killed" (sensationalist liberal Dagbladet), "Montrous Act (Labor Party affiliated Arbeiderbladet) and "This Is Inexcusable" (Christian Peoples Party Vaart Land). DENMARK "Deeply Shocked World Vents Fury at Soviet Union" All Copenhagen dailies, national television and radio gave wide coverage last night and this morning to the tragedy. Banner headlines described the world as shocked. Danish television last night led its newscast with a complete transmission of Secretary Shultz's press conference statement. Headlines today included "Security Council to Convene--U.S. Strongly Condemns Brutal Shooting Down" (Berlingske Tidende), "Deeply Shocked World Vents Fury at Soviet Union. No Explanation Can Excuse Shooting Down of Passenger Plane" (Aktuelt) and "In Coldblood--269 Civilians Shot to Death by Russian Missile" (B.T.). |