Carter formally tells U.S.O.C. of boycott

Press, 22 February 1980, Page 6

Carter formally tells U.S.O.C. of boycott

NZPA-Reuter Washington President Carter is committed irrevocably to a United States boycott of the Moscow Olympics as a key part of his stern response to the continuing Soviet military presence in Afghanistan, American officials have said.

The White House reported that the President had formally advised the United States Olympic Committee that an American team should not be sent to this summer’s Games in the Soviet capital. The committee had no immediate comment. At a State dinner in the White House, Mr Carter personally thanked the visiting Kenyan President (Mr Daniel Arap Moi) for his country’s support of America’s Moscow Olympic boycott. He described Kenya as a bastion of freedom and stability in Africa. Mr Moi responded by saying that the events in Afghanistan demonstrated the need to protect every country’s territorial rights. “There is an urgent need to assure all nations that they can live without fear that their territorial integrity will be violated, the Kenyan leader said.

The French Government, has not backed President Carter’s boycott call, saying that it would not try to influence French athletes. In Paris on Tuesday, athletes and sports fans demon- ’ strated against the boycott proposal. 1 In Rome, the American Secretary of State (Mr Cyrus Vance) said he was in general agreement with a Common Market Foreign Ministers’ proposal that Afghanistan should become a neutral State outside com- ] petition by the great Powers. , Officials travelling with him said, however, that the resolution on, Tuesday had been unex- ; pected and left many questions unanswered as to > how a political solution could be achieved. The Soviet news agency, i Tass, has rejected the pro- < posal as unjustifiable and in- < admissable. Tass charged that the pro- < posal showed the wish of the nine Common Market countries to interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, i President Carter’s deadline for the Soviet Union to pull; its troops out of Afghanistan i or face the Games boycott ;

expired without comment in Moscow. Mr Vance, who is travelling around Europe in an effort to co-ordinate Western reaction to the intervention, completed talks in Bonn after which he said he had reached general agreement with West German leaders on joint Western measures. The West German Foreign Minister (Mr Hans-Dietrich Genschert) said West Germany’s main role would be to take all necessary measures to safeguard the balance of power in Europe. It would also make a big contribution by giving substantial financial aid to Turkey and Pakistan and building up its links with the strategic Gulf States. In Melbourne, the Australian Council of Trade Unions executive meeting has decided to support a trade and communication ban on the Soviet Union during the Olympic Games. It condemned the Australian Government’s attempts to stop athletes participating in the Games. This means that A.C.T.U.affiliated unions will not take direct action against the Soviet Union until July.