U.N. deadlocked in tussle for new head

Press, 31 October 1981, Page 9

U.N. deadlocked in tussle for new head

NZPA-Reuter New York

The United Nations Security Council, in what the chief American delegate called a "deadlock within a deadlock,” has suspended its search for .the next Secre-tary-General of the United Nations. ) A meeting arranged for today to resume balloting on the candidacies-of the incumbent, Kurt Waldheim, and the Tanzanian Foreign Minister, Salim Ahmed Salim, was cancelled.

Members agreed to gather again early next week to review the situation, but Noel Dorr of Ireland told reporters there might not be a formal meeting before Friday.

Jeane Kirkpatrick, the chief American delegate, said neither Dr Waldheim nor Mr Salim would with-

draw unilaterally and until they did no new candidate wanted to present himself.

“It looks to me like a deadlock within a deadlock," she said.

Mrs Kirkpatrick refused to confirm that she vetoed Mr Salim in two of the six rounds of balloting conducted so far. He failed to receive a minimal majority in the other four. The 15-member council meets in private on the nomination of the Secretary-Gen-eral and the ballot is secret. But it was known that China, which’ favours a Third World figure for the post, vetoed Dr Waldheim.

Diplomats said they believed Uganda was one of the elected members that voted against him in two rounds earlier this week and that the others were Mexico and Panama, not Tunisia and

Niger, as had been thought earlier.

The Organisation of African Unity proposed Mr Salim as its official candidate.

Dr Waldheim announced on September 10 that he was available for an unprecedented third term of office, and the Government of his native Austria launched a campaign for his re-election.

In her remarks to reporters, Mrs Kirkpatrick praised Mr Salim as “an intelligent, attractive, dynamic man, whom I personally like a lot." She added: “I am sure he would make a fine Secretary-General if he were elected."

Jorge Illueca, Foreign Minister of Panama, Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru, and Carlos Ortiz de Rozas of Argentina were still being mentioned in speculation as probable future candidates.