Yugoslavs dismayed at Carter’s decision not to attend funeral

Press, 8 May 1980, Page 8

Yugoslavs dismayed at Carter’s decision not to attend funeral

NZPA-Reuter Belgrade Yugoslavia’s new leaders •have privately expressed dismay about President Carter’s' decision not to attend the funeral of President Tito in; Belgrade today. Western diplomats said that the Soviet Bloc, whose representatives at the funeral will be headed by the Soviet President (Mr Leonid Brezhnev), had stolen a march on the Americans, whose representation will be led by Vice-President Walter Mondale and the President’s mother, Lillian. The funeral has drawn one of the biggest gatherings of world leaders in history and produced a golden opportunity to begin the fulfilment of his death-bed wish that growing international tension should be defused by negotiation. Meetings between the leaders are expected to start in advance of the busy sched-; ule for the State funeral for Tito, who died on Monday three days before his eightyeighth birthday after leading Yugoslavia for 35 years. [ Diplomats oaid pro--i grammes were being kept' intentionally flexible to f allow time for important ex--changes. President Brezhnev, heading an imposing contingent of the leaders of all seven Warsaw Pact nations, Chairman Hua Guofeng of China, Mrs Indira Gandhi of India, President Zia-Ul-Haq of Pakistan, and the British Prime Minister (Mrs Margaret ! Thatcher) will be among the 1

: 19 Presidents, 12 Prime Min- ; isters, and three monarchs ■ attending the funeral. j ? Only the absence of Presi-j J dent Carter has marred the i i potential significance of the •' gathering. Il Yugoslavs, adjusting to lithe post-Tito era in outward • calm, continued through the • .night to file past the Presi- ! dent’s coffin in the Federal l Parliament building in Bel-; , grade. ii Tributes from the Eastern ■ Bloc have avoided reference ; to President Tito’s concerted efforts to prevent the Nonfl Aligned Movement he helped create from falling into Mosl cow’s camp and his sub- ■ sequent condemnation of the ’ Soviet intervention in non- ; aligned Afghanistan. The friendly approach by the Eastern Bloc has underlined Moscow’s own particular concerns about the future of this strategic Mediter- ■ ranean nation and, perhaps intentionally, . has upstaged Washington by making President Carter’s absence more than conspicuous. ; The new collective leadiership have emphasised in • speeches that they will conj tinue President Tito’s- policy [of maintaining Yugoslav; ■independence between East' and West and, if. necessary, fight for it. Yugoslav officials say they are hoping to receive an endorsement > of this policy from President Brezhnev in what will be one of the key bilateral meetings- in Belgrade in the next 48' hours. j;

In another crucial meeting. the West German Chani cellor (Mr Helmut Schmidt) land the East German Communist Party chief, Erich Honecker, are expected to renew their dialogue which broke off after the Afghan crisis. i Indian sources said Mrs Gandhi would also expressinterest in helping Yugoslavia retain its share of the 1 spiritual leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Cuban President (Dr Fidel Castro), who sent warm words of condolence after Pres-ident Tito’s death, will not be coming to the funeral even though he is the present chairman of the N o n-Aligned Movement. Communist diplomats in Belgrade said his absence was owing to internal problems in Cuba. Chairman Hua was among the first top leaders to arrive in Belgrade and he immediately drove to the Parliament building to lay a floral wreath in the marble hall where Pres-ident Tito lies in state. President Tito’s . body will be borne from the hall later today and carried on a gun carriage to his former residence in Belgrade, where it will be buried in a rose garden.

The residence will be turned into a national memorial in honour of the World War II veteran who helped defeat Hitler, outwitted Stalin, and stamped his political ideals through Asia, Africa, and Latin America.