Harsh verdicts chill relations

Press, 23 June 1978, Page 6

Harsh verdicts chill relations

, NZPA-Reuter Washington The latest sentences of So1 viet dissidents have raised a new potential strain bet“jween Washington and Mos-j ;cow at a time when at-; ?'tempts are being made to 1 ? I tone down their war of 3 I words. The Carter Administration! Jyesterday condemned the; ‘(exile imposed on two Soviet; ' Jewish activists in Moscow! Jon charges of "malicious J It said the five years exile) I sentence against Vladimir ((Slepak and four j’ears on; (Ida Nude! were unduly harsh; .(and incompatible with the, ’ 35-nation Helsinki agreement; .[of 1975, which specified re-1 sped for human rights. .j In addition, seven Sena-1 I tors have sent a protest tele-I (gram to the Soviet President; ■I(Mr Leonid Brezhnev) urging; ;that Mr Slepak be allowed! !to emigrate to Israel. i. , The sentences have come; i at an awkward time forli (President Carter and his for-1: j eign-policy advisers who > i (have been trying to toneji I down rhetorical exchanges; i with the Soviet Union. t Earlier, the new con- c ciliatory American line was ) evident in an official State Department statement that 1 declined to respond to an £ article in the Soviet news- I paper. "Pravda,” which bad 1

i( denounced the Adniinis-j itration. - The “Pravda" article was i;in response to a speech by; ■ President Carter earlier this, • (month in which he said the ■ Soviet Union had to choose' i! between confrontation or co-1 ’ operation with the United' ■ States. 11 The State Department’ J said: “There are statements) .'in the ‘Pravda’ article with! ’which we are obviously not 'in agreement, but we do not, ; think it would serve a useful; (purpose to precipitate an- • other round of rhetorical ex-i | changes.” President Carter on! I ,'Wednesday told Latin! (American leaders that the (United States would take re-L

'taliatory measures against [nations that flagrantly disI regard international stanIdards of human rights. ■! “My Government will not | b’e deterred from our open (and enthusiastic policy of (Promoting human rights — including economic and social rights — in whatever ways we can,” Mr Carter said at the ceremonial opening of the annua) 11-day meeting of the Organisation of American States Foreign Ministers. The President said there, had been a measure of progress in the protection of' human rights in Latin Amer-: ica over the last year.