Party pledge boosts Ceausescu as he heads for showdown

Press, 1 December 1978, Page 6

Party pledge boosts Ceausescu as he heads for showdown

NZPA-Reuter

Bucharest

President Nicolae Ceausescu of Rumania appears to be pushing for a showdown with the Soviet Union over military integration, after getting a pledge of enthusiastic support from the Rumanian Communist Party.

I The party’s central com-| mittee said his tough stand 1 -at a Warsaw Pact summit i meeting in Moscow last' week was “a brilliant - example of devoted service to the supreme interests of the Rumanian people.” At a special meeting called to endorse Mr Ceausescu’s policies, the party body said that Rumania would continue to co-operate with the seven-nation Communist military alliance — on Rumania’s terms, based on full independence. Mr Ceausescu has sparked a serious crisis in his uneasy relations with Mos-; cow by vetoing plans for in- [ creased military spending by: the Warsaw Pact, and is re-: ported to have resisted pro-: posals for a new-type su-j preme command under Soviet control. He has also broken ranks; with his allies over China[ and the Middle East. The official Agerpres news! agency said Rumania’s military budget for 1979 would stay pegged at 12.460 M lei I (about $1040M). The ruling party said that to spend more would further depress Rumanian living standards, already among the lowest in the Soviet bloc. Mr Ceausescu was expected to disclose more details of his quarrel with Moscow in a important public speech scehduled for tomorrow. Western diplomats said he had frequently called for: cuts in arms spending, and acceptance of Soviet propo-l sals for higher budgets - would have contradicted statements he had made in: private to foreign leaders. The diplomats said the Rumanian leader’s stand against Moscow on this ’ issue and in defence of higher living standards for his) people could only gain him domestic popularity.

• I Some observers noted that! ;'a public showdown with! ! Moscow helped divert atten- j tion from internal grievances i caused by consumer goods! [and food shortages and new' ■ Ilimits on the household use; ’.of electricity. There was widespread’ >[ speculation that Mr Ceau’[sescu, a Communist triaver- ■! ick for 13 years, was seekijing still wider room for ma- ;: nouevre inside the Warsaw .'Pact and the 10-nation Com- . munist Comecon economic I i grouping. i “Rumania may believe it ; can gain more by going pub- ! lie, rather than by nibbling ! away,” a senior diplomat; [said. ! Mr Ceausescu told the; [central committee meeting! ithat Rumania enjoyed good ! relations with al) 'countries Jin the region and with all; i North Atlantic Treaty Or- [ Iganisation States. i “Neither Turkey nor; ; Greece, Rumania’s two [ [closest N.A.T.O. neighbours,! . were stepping up arms ex-! ; penditure, so why should [Rumania?” he said. Mr Ceausescu pointed out; that detente and dis-! armament had been the! main preoccupation of all the Heads of State he had met, Agerpres reported. “So why should we increase defence spending and decrease the possibility of economic development and ncreased welfare?” he said. The Rumanian leader has frequently clashed with the Soviet Union on foreign; [policy in the last. 13 years,; ; but_ he runs a taut, hard-line [ [regime at home, giving no! [cause to the Kremlin Polit-[ ;;buro to question his fidelity! [to Communist principles, at: [least domestically. ; Observers said' this alone' [[was a big difference com-i -pared with Czechoslovakia in ■ 1968 when the Communist! [leader, Alexander DubcekJ [was accused by Moscow of[ -seeking to overturn Com-!

qmunist rule. . Rumania re-i; [fused to allow Rumanian's [troops to take part in the in-1 Hvasion. J The situation was also; different from that in Hun-i Lgary in 1956, when. Soviet! [troops crushed a liberal; !'regime after the late Prime; • Minister, Imre Nagy, an-! ’ nounced he intended to leave) ' the Warsaw Pact. [ “The Times” of London ' has said that the Soviet [ Union would probably re- • move President Ceausescu . from power by force if the Kremlin thought it could [ “get away with it at little J cost.” In an editorial on Presi- , - dent Ceausescu’s dis- [ ■[closure of Rumania’s; .sharp differences with its!’ Warsaw Pact allies, the in-; [dependent newspaper said! I that Moscow was bound toj. [react somewhere, at some; [level. ,! “President Ceausescu) -knows this because he has [been at this game a long lime. So what is he up to?” [“The Times” said. J “There are three principal [lines of explanation to - choose from. One is that he really is under very severe pressure from Moscow and , is seeking maximum publi- [ city as protection,” it said. “The other is that he is in ; trouble at. home and is seeking an external challenge as a diversion. “A possible third is that he - [senses weakness in Moscow - [because of the leadership [struggle and has decided to; [take advantage. But all three ! .[explanations could be inter[twined,” the paper added. [ “At this level of indepen- [ dence President Ceausescu J needs a lot of support from [world opinion,” “The Times” said. “If the Russians; J thought they could get away; [with it at little cost they) ’[would probably remove him; ■lby force.” j;