N-free by-law suspended

Press, 20 July 1984, Page 15

N-free by-law suspended

NZPA-AP The Hague The Dutch Government has suspended a small town’s ban on the transport of nuclear arms through its streets, claiming the measure is “contrary to the national interest.” A by-law adopted by the municipality of Hellevoetsluis last January banned the transport or storage of any nuclear weaponry or its component parts within the limits of the rural community in the south-western Netherlands. A Defence Ministry spokesman, Mr Arnold Fortuin, said that although Dutch municipalities have “considerable autonomy” in

establishing local regulations, the central government can declare them void if it considers them “contrary to the national interest.” The by-law in Hellevoetsluis, population 26,000, has been suspended until next July, pending a final Ministry decision on whether the regulation conflicts with national defence interests, according to Mr Fortuin. The law could then be declared null and void. The Deputy Town Mayor, Mr Jaap Hollaar, refused any comment on the Government move until it could

be studied by his municipal council.

A great number of socalled “nuclear-free municipalities” reflect popular and political opposition to nuclear weapons in the Netherlands, among them Amsterdam.

However, Mr Fortuin said that Hellevoetsluis was the only one with a by-law explicitly ruling out transport of nuclear arms within its town limits. The town is not in the area of any military installations where nuclear weapons are, or are expected to be deployed, he said.