Page 2757 - 1970S

PRESIDENT GERALD FORO gets re11dy to receivti e litm hsnd·
shske lrom Gener11l Sacretary Leoníd Brazhnev lollowíng theír
biMteriJI talks prior to the opening of the Europasn Security Con–
ference in Helsínk1. Finland. The two le11ders also held 11nother
fac•·to·fsce session 111 the clase al the three-dlly, 35-nstion
summ1t. ltems discusstld were srnteg1C weapons limit.s and
uoop pullbacks in Europa.
Security at the
Security Conference
HELSlNKl : Security was
both the theme and the actual–
ity al the European Security
Conference.
For the auspicious but poteo–
lially dangerous affair, given
the worldwide terrorist epi–
demic, Finnisb authorities as–
sembled a force of 5,000
policemen and special security
officers. AJl days off were can–
celled; aU bolidays interrupted.
In addition, anny unirs wen:
placed in strategic locations.
Armored personnel earriers
guarded the approaches 10 Hel–
sin.k.i airport on tbe days before
aod aner the conference wben
the official delegates arrived
and len.
The divided bighway into
Helsinki was closed 10 aU but
officíal traffic. Regular airport
buses ¡vere diverted onto dirt
fllrm roads - guarded as weU
WEEK ENDINO AUGUST 23, r975
every quarter mile or so by Fin–
nuh soldiers, drcssed in cam–
oullaged uniforms, rifle al ready
pos1Lion, standing knec-deep in
the roadside busbes.
Anny tents dotted the road–
side, before wbich usually
squaned three or foJJr off-duty
soldiers cooking tbcir food over
an open tire, stripped to the
waist due to the unusual beat
wave gripping Finland and
much of tbe rest of northem
Europe.
The Soviet Union's cntourage
received uÓique anention. Gen–
eral Secretary l.eonid Brezhnev
who chose to lravel 10 Helsinlci
by train from Moscow vía Le–
oingrad, was escorted overbead
in Finnish air spnce by two
planes of Finland's small air
force. (ll was believed Mr.
Brezbnev's mode of travel was
symbolic. ll was, in part, the re·
Special Report
EUROPE'S FUTIIIE–
'PEACE OR WAR?
From on the scene 111 the Euro–
pelln S11curity Conference in
Helsinki, Finland, Pleon Truth
News Editor Gene H. Hogberg
and Brussels correspondent Ray
Kas11nke file this teporr.
HELSINKI. Finland: Never .
before in modern history had .so
many European heads of $tate
gathered to discuss a theme
oommon to the concem of all -
presetving the fragile peace on
a continent twice swept up io
the upheaval ofwa.r in this cen–
tury.
The convening of the Confer–
ence on European Security and
Cooperation - despite criticism
in several cirdes as to its real
worth - was nevertheless an
auspiCIOUS atfair, by any stan–
dard of measurement. Thirty·
five heads of statc from both
sides of the lron Currain. along
wirh rhe Presiden! and Prime .
Minurer from the Unired States
and Canada, respe<:uvely, met
for three days of nearly uninter–
rupted speeches and behind'
the·scenes private rall<s on July
30. 31 and August l.
The countries represented
ranged in size from the world's
laq~est eountry, the Soviet
Umon, down to four of the
smallest - Liechrenstein, San
verse of the train trip taken by
Lcnin wben be arrived at Len·
ingrad's Finland Station from
Helsinki, afier the successful
1917 revolution.)
The arrival procedures taxed
the strength of Finland's du..
rabie 75-year-old President
Urho Kekkoqen, who greeted
one delegation aner anotb.cr at
tbe airport from before no1!n on
Tuesday July 29 until aner mid·
night. In midallcmoon he had
lo dash by beücopter to }:!el–
sinló's Central Station to greet
tbe arriving Mr. Brezbnev and
then dash l>ack lO the airport
for the arrival ofthe United Na–
tions' Secretary General, Kurt
Waldheim, Kekkonen's guesl of
honor and opening-day keynote
speaker.
In the city itself, policemen
were posiúoned al every major
intersection evcn far away from
Finlandia HaU, site of lhe coo–
fercnce. In front of the gleam–
ing wrute building. Helsinló's
main thoroughfare. Mannerhei–
mintie, was closed off a half–
mile in cither d.irecuon, forcing
Marino, Monaco and the Vati·
can state - the latter an inter–
esting inclusion.
As Britain's Prime Minister
Harold Wilson remarked in tbe
lead-otr speech of the fint ses–
sioo, .. In territorial coverage, in
representaúon at top level ofal•
most every state, large and
small. il so far transcends any
previous European meeting.
that il makcs lhe legendary
Congress of Vienna of 1814 and
the Congrcss of Berfin of 1878
seem like weU-dressed tea par–
líes."
Three Days ofWork
The assembled "high repre–
sentativos," as they were la–
belled in confen:nce parlance,
did not make mere r.'rfunctory
appearances. In add1úon lo giv–
ing his nation's official address,
each remained in his seat for
the entire six ..working..sessíon"
rounds of speechmaking. WeU,
almaJr everybody. Turkish Pre–
mier SOieymen Oemrrel angrily
stonned out of the hall as Cyp·
riot Presiden! Makarios took
the podium for hu turn. He had
read the archbishop's advanced
text, with its stinging denuncia–
Lion of last year's mvas1on and
oc:cupation of one thtrd of Cy–
prus's territory by Turkish
forces. Retuming that aOemoon
the diversion ofseven traro fines
inro round-about paneros ovcr
other tndc.s.
Every night throu~hout the
downtown area, pohe<! swept
the streets clean of rhe city's no–
rorious Vodka-laced inebriates.
whose subliminal anti·Russiao
sensiúv.iúes always seem to sur–
face half way down the bonle.
At the cooference eenter
security checkpoint, joumalists
were checked every time they
entered the compound; brief·
cases and camera gear were
passed through the X-ray ma–
ebine, a la routine airport
prooedures. In Finlandia HaU
itself. prcss rooms and walk–
ways were clearly marfstd, with
scorcs of blond-haired young
meo and wnmen positioned at
(?roscribed doorways and stair–
cases, ready to give a polote neg–
ativc nod to any newsman
straying off the straighr and
narrow path.
, Prcss facilities , despite the
pn:cautionary procedures. were
perbaps the best equipped and
organtZ.ed of any ma;or world
with a hastily rewritten spcech,
Oemirel tbrew back Makarios'
assertions tbat Turkcy was to
blame for the sad st.ate of affairs
on the explosivo Med11erranean
island state.
The tragic-<:Omic episodc was
rhe only one to mar fhe other·
wise business-like proceedings
of the Helsinki extravagallUl.
The "Sauna Summll" also
provided a unique setúng for
bilateral ducussions. led by two
long face-to-face privare talks
between Presiden! Oerald Ford
and General Secretary Leonid
Brezhnev. The two announeed
that sorne measurable but mi–
oor progrcss bad been made in
the 6clds of nudear control
measurcs and. military pull–
backs in Europe - areas of ac·
Jivity which the representatives
of both the Eastem and West–
ern blocs insisted musl come
now 10 order lo move from po–
litical d~tente to military dé·
ten te.
Bre~hoev's Concems
The declaration produeed by
the conferenee - tbe so-<:alled
~Fonal Act" (for want of a bet·
ter rerm since it is nol a treaty)
spells out 30 ,000 words of
pledges and promises designed,
in Mr. Brezhnev's own words. to
ploe<! on "the solid basis of fun–
damental principies .:. the
rules of bebavior 10 their (the
signatories') relations."
There is no escaping rhe fact
that the Wcst had to be dragged
into lhis atrair feet firsl. Western
leaders felt that the conference
was not necessary. AOer all the
stat)IS quo in Europe has exuted
vittually uncbanged sonce the
(Confinued on ntxt page)
confen:nce. Superb telex and
telephone facilities were set up
on almost unbelievably shon
nouce.
The only slight hitch for tbe
working press was the type–
wr.ilers which CSCE officials
generously provided by the
hundreds. They were fine for
the Finnish newsmen - but the
. others, such as the Americans
and Brirish. found that when
they thought they were striking
a comma ora peripd, they <:ame
up with an aoran a.
All in all, the cittZCns of Hei–
Sinlu seemed to take the whole
affair preny much in stride.
Like the burgers ofO eneva and
Vienna (lhe' two other major
neutral nation sites for inter–
national meetings) they are get–
ting used to the occasional
infringements on their daily
routines. Perbaps rhey feel it is
a necessary paymcntiO preserve
lhe national independence tbat
their naúon - sandwiehed be–
twecn Easl and West - values
so highly.
- Gen• H. Hogberg
3