Page 2703 - 1970S

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NATO in Turmoil .
PORTUGAL- EUROPE'S.CUBA?
The suspension of the sole re·
maining non-Communist paper
1ft lisboo, the socialist R~pu­
bl•ca, has promptcd widespread
protest in Portugal to the steady
slide of that nation into Com–
munist dicu.torsbip.
But the protests bave been ig·
nored by tbe ruling Armed
Forces Movement (AFM),
much in the same way thc AFM
ignored the rebuke Portuguesc
voters gave to the Communist
Party in tbe nation's first free
clcction in over 6ity ycars. Tbe
Communists were ablc to gar·
ncr only 13 perccnt of the votes,
far fewer tha.n they bad hopcd
for.
Procccding with the revolu–
tion as if nothing has bappened.
the top 240 meo in thc mititary
government oow are openly
talking about establishing a
"dictatorship of the Proleuo-
riat" ·
The AFM has brougbt all
trade unions under Communist
domination. Tbe Communists
openly control tbe communica–
tions and transportatioo sys–
tems ofthe country.
The CÜban Sololion
The specter of a Soviet satel–
lite power right on free Europe's
doorstep evokes a comparison
with Cuba.
The recent ao~touncemeot by
the AFM tbat it was setting up
"popular organizations" aod
"armed militia" modeled aner
tbe Cubatl revolutionary de–
fense committees underscores
the parallel. Eveo tbe local
Communist press has ~ubbed ·
the organiziltions "the Cuban
solulion."
Fidel Castro's Cuba, in fact,
has become a prime source of
inspi.ration for the AFM. Al·
ready severa! members of the
ruling miliwy group bave gooe
10 the Caribbean nation to
study the islaod's oommunist
revolution firsthaod. Al borne
the Cuban national ballet re–
eently played to a packed LLS–
bon theater, as well as being
earried live on the country's
television network.
ln the economic fi.eld, the rul–
ing lenist junta has transferred
over sixty perceot of tbe ecoo- ·
omy into direct or indirect
govemmcnt oontrol. Basjc in–
dustries such as banking, tex–
tiles, oil, steel, aod insuranee
bav~ been nationalized. But the
greatlenward leap has not been
achievcd without attendant eco–
nomic bavoc.
Unemployment bas ratber
quicltly jumpcd past eight per·
WEEK ENDING JVNE 21 , 1975
PORTUGUESE COMMUNIST lesder Alvsro Cunhsl cssrs biJIIot
in recent elecrion where his pBrty losr bBdly, rhough ir &ri/1 domi–
nsres rhe militsry govtJmmenr.
litical parties, and thc one cen–
trist pa<ty is constnntly·harassed
eent (the figure would be higher
if accuratc statistics ~ere kept).
Work stoppages and strikes
have forced overaU·productivity
down by about forty percent
since the April 1974 revolu.tion.
1974's inftation rate of 26% was
thc hi.ghest in Western Europe.
Ponugat's once plentiful pool
of foreign exchange is rapidly
dwtndling and will run out en–
llrely by autumn if the current
outl!ow is SU5tamed. Tourism, a
major source of national in·
come, has fallen drastically and
earnings sent home by Portu–
guese working abroad has fallen
by seventy-five perccnt.
. by len-wingers. Critics charge
that the new secrct police.
called COPCON, art far more
ruthless tban late dictator An–
tonio Salazar's old Gestapo–
traincd.secunty force.
O pposltlon Stined
Portugal's remaining opposi–
tion leaders point out tbat al!
seven membcrs of the coordi–
nating ooromission of the AFM
are card-carryi.ng members of
the Communist Party.
Tbe Ponuguese Communist,
Pany has strong ties to Moscow.
Unlike tbe party in Spain or
ltaly. the Portuguese Commu–
nists endorscd the Soviet in–
vasion of C1echoslovakia. Tbe
reports that thc Soviets want the
use of Portuguese portS f~r their
navy and the consistent hostility
the AFM has shown to NATO '
vessels indicate that Portugal is
drilling out of tbe Westem orbit.
While it may stiU be too early
to dogmaticaUy label the mili–
tary regime as a westem exten–
sion of the iron curtain. it is
eertain thot it does represent a
"dictatorship ofthe lelt ~
There is no opposition press.
Tbm¡ are no right-of-center po-
ThU5. it is probably only a
mauer of time p¡uil Portugal is
proclaimcd a full-ftedged com–
muniststate.
European Dnminoes
lt is no secret that the pros–
pect of a Communist Ponugal
frightens Weste(n European
and N ATO officials. The fear is
that thc Portuguese example
could be duplicated in other
European states, most notably
Spain, ltaly. Greece, Turkey.
aod eveo France, which like
ltaly ha.! a formidable Commu–
nist Party.
An outnght Communist Por–
tugal oould nullify the presence
of the U .S. sixth fteet - already
sulfering tbe loss ofkey bases in
the eastem Mediterranean - by
addcd port pnvileges given to
the Soviet fteet. Soviet oontrol
of the strategic Ponuguesc
Azores in the Aúantic would
drastically reduce American
military options in th~ Mideast
as weU as hamper U:S. surveil–
lanee óf Russian submarinos in
the Aúantic. Most important,
Soviet submarinos based in Por–
tugal could tbreatcn the sea
ll!hes oonnecting tb~ U.S. and
its NATO allies. In elfect, it
would form a Communist pin–
cer movement on Western
· Europe. o
Common Market
lnfluence
Grows Worldwide
Ls the Common Market an in–
ward·loolting. narrow-minded.
protectionist "rich man's c!ub"
devotcd only to its own &d·
va.ncement? Critics of the nine–
nation trade bloc bave fre–
queolly levied Ibis aoeusatíon.
But new developments linking
tbe world's largcst trading .
union to power centers in Asia
aod the Middle East are shcd·
ding new üght on the scope or
the · Community's inftuenee on
tbe world scenc.
First, Sir Cbristophcr.
Soan¡es. tbe EC's commissioner
for externa! affairs - in elfect its ·
Foreign Minister - announccd
in a Pcking news oonference in
eiuty May that the People's Re–
public of China has agrecd to
reoognize the nine-nation Com·
munity and send an ambassa–
dor to its Brussels headquaners.
In so doing. China has beoome
the first major oommunist na–
tion to rcoognize the EC as a
bloc.
Soames added that Peking
- h.as- stated its wil!ingness to
negotiate a oomprchensive new
trade agreemcnt with the EC.
Clrina's recognition of the EC
did not oome as a surprise to
most observers. Peking has been
a long·time fricnd 6f Westem
Europe and has OODSIStently en–
couraged closer European
unity. Most analysts see this as
an outgrowth of Cbtna's desire
for a strong West European
countcrweig)>t to Peking's arch·
rival, the Soviet Union.
last year, Chinese trade with
the EC nations totaled $1.7 bil–
lion - a considerable volume,
but much less than Westem Eu·
rope's trade with the Soviet
Union. The Soviets. however,
have insisted on keeping their
ties with Western Europe on a
bilateral, nation-to-nation basis.
Moscow has consistently
draggcd its foot on reoognizing
and dealing with the EC as a
·separate, supranational entity.
COMECON, the East Euro–
pean oounterpart of the EC.
beadquartered in thc Soviet
capital, responded oooly last
year to an overture from Brus·
seis to negotiate an ínter-bloc
trade pact.
Israel l nks Trade Pact
·The other sigoi6cant EC de·
velopment wJU its signing on
May 11 of a comprehensive
trade pact with Israel, now a
full member of the EC's emerg·
mg Mediterranean free-trade
a.ea. The signing was con–
ducted in tbe face of strong,
last-minute Arab protests,
mixcd witb wamings of unspe–
cified "political consequences"
for Westem Europe.
Describcd by lsraeb offictals
as "tbe most important treaty
signcd in the bistory of Israel"
and "the best news we have bad
in sorne time," the accord will
gradually eliminate all protec–
tive custorns duties between thc
EC and Israel. Israelí Foreign
Minister Yiga) Alloo, who trav·
eled to Bruss~ls for t,ho signing
cercmony, sa•d tbat the agree·
ment opencd very widc and rich
new markets lO Israelí industry.
On the opposite end. already
Israel is an exceUent customer
for European goods, buying
nearly $2 billion wortb each
year.
The new link partly fullills a
major drive begun three years
ago by the Commuoity to im·
prove trade rel;t.tions with
Mediterraoean countries. While
ncgotiations with Israel pro–
ceeded smootbly, concurren!
discussións with three North Af·
rican countries - Algeria, Mo–
rocco and Tunisia - staUed
over tbe sensitivo issues of oil
and Algerian wine.
As a result, Arab League rep–
resentativos demanded that the
EC dcláy the signing of its pact
witb Israel until similar acoords
could be firtaJiud with the lhree
Maghreb counlries:. The EC.
however, refused to surrender
to Arab pressure and went
ahead with the signing. despite
the veiled threat of an Arab
boycon.
Privately, sorne Europeao of·
fi'cials expressed resentment
over the Arab protest, since Eu·
ropc's relations with the Arabs
have actually been closer than
those with Israel in recent years.
Oespite suggestions of pos·
sible Arab retaliation, few Euro–
peans fear that tbe signiog of
the l.sraeli pact will jeopardize
EC-Arab links. The Arabs necd
close ties with Western Europe
in order to develop thetr own
ftedgling econornies. In addition
to the three Magbreb states, the
EC is currenlly engaged in talks
witb l;gypt. lebanon. Jordan,
and libya.
Sorne observers believe that
bringing the Arabs and lsraelis
together into the global Com–
mon Market framework could
be useful in providin_g an eco–
nomic foundation for política!
settlement in the Middle East.
But beyond this. and perhaps
even more significan!. is the in–
cr~cd opportunity o( Westem
Europe to exen real potiucal 10-
ftueoce in the troublcd arca. O