The White Falcon - 15.01.1971, Síða 1
Action line answers,
Vol. XIV, No. 3 U.S. Naval Station, Keflavik, Iceland
THE WHITE FALCON
Slopes open in Akureyri;
weekend trips planned
Just45 minutes from Reykjavik,
the plane flies over the water
dotted with floating ice and sets
down in a tranquil valley — you're
now in Akureyri.
You step off the plane and be-
you pick up your luggage and
is Jon Egilsson, a cordial
y-haired man, greets you and
you know that the $49.50 you paid
to go on the ski trip to Akureyri
m
will be worth it.
Exactly onehour after take-off
you find yourself getting ready
for dinner at your hotel, and
when you finish that Jon is there
again to escort you to the dance
in his little blue bus. Everyone
climbs out just a few blocks from
the hotel; the sound of music,
laughter and merry making per-
(See SLOPES, Page 4)
'Why can’t I
publish my own
newspaper here
in Iceland...?’
C.A.L.: It is primarily be-
cause of a clause in the treaty
between the U.S. and the govern-
ment of Iceland which reeds as
follows: "It is the duty of mem-
bers of the U.S. forces and their
dependents in Iceland to respect
the laws of Iceland and to abstain
from any activity inconsistent
with the spirit of this agreement,
and, in particular! from any po-
litical activity in Iceland. The
U.S. will take appropriate meas-
ures to that end."
Let's discuss the initial
clause of this treaty provision
first. As a guest in Iceland,
under international law, as well
as by virtue of this treaty pro-
vision, you are obligated to obey
Iceland's laws, and Iceland has a
number of laws relating to the
publication of newspapers or other
similar printed matter. One
relevant law, for example, re-
quires that every newspaper pub-
lished in Iceland have, as the
responsible editor, an Icelandic
citizen of full age and with an
address in Iceland. There are
many other business and printing
laws that must be complied with
as well.
The researching and explana-
tion of all these laws is I'm
afraid, beyond the ability of
C.AJj. Even if you limit distri-
bution of your newspaper to the
base, you still must comply with
Icelandic laws, as such laws are
in full effect on the base.
Now, let'6 take a look at the
second clause of the treaty pro-
vision, which requires U.S. for-
ces personnel and their dependents
in Iceland 'to abstain from any
"political activity in Iceland."
You might ask, "How can my pub-
lication of an on-base newspaper
constitute political activity in
Iceland?" If you could absolutely
ensure that only defense force
(See WHY, Page 8)