W. German Blamed

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32394, 5 September 1970, Page 44

W. German Blamed

(N.Z. Press Association) HAMILTON, September 4. The importance attached to the finding of five microphones in their camp-site by a party of tourists, including several New Zealanders, was greatly exaggerated, the First Secretary of the Soviet Union Legation (Mr E. A. Pozdniakov) said in Hamilton today. “I think the whole affair was a frame-up,” said Mr Pozdniakov. “A West German was there, and he started the whole thing. He was just using the young people.” The recent agreement signed by the Soviet Union and West Germany, recog-

nising the autonomy of the two Germany's created “an atmosphere of trust” said Mr Pozdniakov, “but some people are not very happy about it” “This incident was framed up specifically to poison that atmosphere,” he said. The tour group led by Mr Tony Skelton, of Auckland, found five microphones concealed in table umbrella poles at a campsite near Moscow. Though the Russians knew the microphones had disappeared, they did nothing while the party was in the camp-site. On leaving the country, however, the party was held up for 20 hours at the Rus-sian-Poland border while

guards searched for the missing microphones. “They found one,” said Mr Skelton, “and took it away from us.” He said that the other microphones were in the possession of the other tourists not with his group, and one was turned over to the West German Embassy in Moscow. “A German found the first one,” Mr Skelton said, “and then we began digging about and found the others.” He described the devices as cylindrical, made to fit inside the umbrella poles, and hooked to a network of wires.