Austrian Envoy Says Israel’s and World Pressure is an Effective Campaign

Austrian Foreign Minister Rudolph Kirchschlaeger admitted today that his country was feeling the pressure of Israel’s campaign against Austria “and not Israel’s alone,” and that “it is rather an effective campaign.” But he said, addressing a press luncheon at the Harmonie Club-here, that his government would not revoke its decision to close the Schoenau immigrant transit camp because Schoenau had become an extra-territorial entity on Austrian soil and was a conspicuous target for terrorist attacks.

Speaking to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent privately before the luncheon, Kirchschlaeger said that Austria would not accede to President Nixon’s request yesterday that it reconsider its decision. “If we yield to Nixon, tomorrow will come Brezhnev and we will have to yield to him,” the Foreign Minister said. The JTA learned from other sources that Kirchschlaeger will meet tomorrow with Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban to discuss the developments in Austria.

In his luncheon remarks to about 30 news media representatives, including the JTA, Kirchschlaeger stressed that the decision to close Schoenau was not made under the pressure of negotiations with the terrorists but had been under consideration for some time; hinted that Czechoslovakian authorities were to blame for permitting the terrorists to board the Moscow-Vienna express inside Czechoslovakia; and defended his government’s negotiations with the terrorists.

When a country is confronted with acts of terrorism there is no standard decision, Kirchschlaeger observed, adding that each government must decide for itself according to the given situation. He said that Austria was badly misunderstood by the West and the news media. He asserted that his government was not closing its doors. Jews are still coming and are welcome in Austria, but Austria wants their stay in the country shortened because they are in danger of possible attacks.

UNHAPPY WITH JEWS MOVING THROUGH AUSTRIA

Kirchschlaeger said that some 165,000 Jews from the Soviet Union and other Eastern European Communist countries had passed through Austria in recent years. He said, however, that his government was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Schoenau which he said “was not fully under Austrian jurisdiction.” A situation was created whereby the camp became a territorial entity inside Austria.

He said his country was also unhappy with the highly organized nature of the Jewish movement through Austria. He said that whereas Russia granted visas individually, the emigres moved through the country en masse and were a conspicuous target for terrorist assaults. He conceded that if Schoenau was by-passed in the future, the danger to the emigre? would increase and said that was the reason Austria wanted to shorten their time in the country”.

He disclosed that the two terrorists who took three Jews and an Austrian hostage last Friday had tried to enter the country 10 days earlier but were stopped at the border because they had no transit visas. He hinted at that point that Czech authorities were at fault for not preventing the terrorists from boarding the train in Czechoslovakia.

Kirchschlaeger said that “the shortest way (for Soviet Jews) is not unconditionally through Vienna, and that other countries that criticize Austria “could take part” in aiding Jewish migrants. He noted that Austria was among 43 countries that fought in the UN for measures to define and combat terrorism. He said the way other countries had dealt with acts of terror did not show positive results.

The Foreign Minister said his country would welcome help from other countries and from international organizations such as the UN to handle the transit of emigres. He said, however, that “we are not sad” that UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim has ruled out a role for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees because Israel didn’t care for that idea. A high-ranking Austrian official attending the luncheon, told the JTA that there was a possibility that the entire affair could have been initiated by the Soviet Union.

SPECIAL LATE BULLETIN

Joseph Mobutu, President of Zaire, told the UN General Assembly late today that his country had broken diplomatic relations with Israel. Zaire became the eighth African country to break relations with Israel in the past 20 months.