THE PRESS THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1988. Dr Waldheim and Austria

Press, 10 March 1988, Page 12

THE PRESS THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1988. Dr Waldheim and Austria

If (Dr Kurt Waldheim, the President of Austria, were a man of honour he would have gone long before now. Even if no crucial document or other substantial evidence demonstrating his complicity in a war crime is (produced, he has been caught out in enough lies and deceit for honour to be one of jthe last characteristics to be attributed to him. If he eventually resigns, it is likely to be because he can no longer withstand the pressures of public and political opinion, not because he is sorry, or because he wants to help the Austrian Government or the image of; Austria. j , ■ ,

Dr Waldheim has been under attack and investigation for more than two years. He first came under attack when he was running for the presidency of Austria: He had already served that country as Foreign Minister, and the United Nations as 'Secretary-General. In his 1985 autobiography) he had claimed that he had spent a certain period of the war years studying, but an Austrian magazine, “Profil,” ran pictures of Waldheim’s wartime papers and showed evidence that he had been in the Balkans as a Wehrmacht intelligence officer, , ! with j I the rank of lieutenant. The World. Jewish Congress also provided material to the “New York Times” which alleged that Dr Waldheim was linked to war crimes. Dr has since admitted the accuracy of some of the material, although he says he did not commit any war crimes. A commission of historians sifted through the evidence and although it found no proof of his personal involvement in any war crime he was aware of much - that was going on, and did nothing to deflect it. The commission’s report has generally been taken to imply that' Dr Waldheim is morally guilty. I Dr Waldheim won the election for the presidency of Austria with 54 per cent of the yrite, even though he had already had allegations made against him. If anything, he seemed to gain more support from the criticism. An outburst of anti-Semitic feeling was caused, no doubt, by the World Jewish Congress's involvement in the accusations being made against him. Strong public support continued, and Dr * Waldheim appealed to that and to the vote he received as a presidential candidate when he justified his decision to continue as President. After the report of the commission of historians his support began slipping away. If an interpretation generous to Austrians is placed

on that, they were much less prepared t;o tolerate him after they were convinced that there ’really was something to’ worry about. They (were not prepared to (ignore world opinion forever if they thought that the opinion was right. Austrian attitudes to Dr Waldheim’s war activities have( already been questioned. Another question which may one day bie answered is how Dr Waldheim canie to occupy the highest post in the United Nations without a study of what he did during thej Second World War. | i ’ j Few countries have been willing to accept Dr Waldheim as an official visitor. The Pope was an exception ( among worjd leaders, and received him. Until recently the coalition of the Socialists anci the; People’s Party supported Dr Waldhjeim, ’ but the 'Socialists persuaded the People’s Party jto accept the commission’s I report. The Chancellor, Mr Franz Vranitzky, hinted that it would be better if Dr Waldheim resigned arid the finance Minister, Mr Ferdinand Lacipa, has ! openly called for Eir Waldheim’s replacement. Both the Socialists’ and the People’s Party fear a collapse ( of their coalition. The Socialists aye particularly fearful, because a collapse ipight mean that the People’s Party would form a coalition (with I the other conservative party, the Freedom Party. Dr Waldheim could make it easier for everyone if he simply resigned — Jof even stood aside expressing his innocence. Apart from anything j else,] the guilt or dnnorience of Dr Waldheim has become one ’of those issues that makes.it impossible to ’concentrate on anything else until it is laib to ! rest J i |

j Jas it is, investigations will continue. ( One i of the latest plans is for the British to conduct i their own inquiry into the questioning of a . group of five British commandos. Dr ; Waldheim once more knew of the I questioning, but was not involved.

■ ’ March 11 will be the fiftieth anniversary of | the Nazi Anschluss, when Germany invaded Austria, and the date will be marked with ceremonies in Austria. As President, Dr Waldheim might have been expected to’play a prominent part in the commemorations. Mr Lacina has refused to take part in’ the ceremonies if Dr Waldheim does. Much of the; world will make judgments about Austria based on the role Dr Waldheim plays in the ceremonies. Probably that will be the ’time which will determine Dr Waldheim’s future.