Danes cut off roket cash

Press, 12 May 1984, Page 11

Danes cut off roket cash

NZPA-AP Copenhagen The . Danish Parliament voted yesterday to stop payments for the N.A.T.O. deployment of new American nuclear missiles in Western Europe. The nation’s CentreRight Government abstained on the measure. The decision made Denmark the first member of the alliance to withdraw from the deployment, begun late last year, of 572 new medium-range missiles in five N.A.T.O. countries. By abstaining, the fourparty coalition of the conservative Prime Minister, Mr Poul Schlueter, effectively allowed passage of the measure by the opposition Social Democrats and two other Socialist parties. The coalition of Conservative, Liberal, Centre-Demo-crat, and Christian parties

did not explain its action. It was the ninth time in 15 months that the Government had accepted defeat on a N.A.T.0.-related issue. The measure was adopted 49-12. All 77 governing coalition party members abstained or were absent from the chamber. Danish political commentators said that it appeared the Government was trying to avoid more friction with the Social Democrats in the midst of negotiations on a new four-year Danish defence appropriations accord. The Government abstaind a week earlier on a motion forcing it to work towards banning nuclear weapons from Danish soil even in wartime by seeking a Nordic nuclear-free zone guaranteed by Washington and Moscow.