The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.1968, Blaðsíða 15

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
13
NATO Conference in Reykjavik,
JUNE 23-26, 1968
The NATO Ministerial Conference
was held for the first time in Reykja-
vik, June 23—26, Iceland being one
of the 15 member-nations of NATO.
An enormous amount of work is in-
volved in preparing for these Con-
ferences and great credit is due to all
who participated. References to the
splendid arrangements in Reykjavik
were made again and again both on
the platform and in informal discus-
sions.
On Sunday, June 23, a preliminary
meeting was held by representatives of
the press, presided over by Mr. Manlio
Brosio of Italy, the Secretary-General
of Nato. About fifty representatives
of the press attended. Mr. Brosio wel-
comed the press representatives and
stated that after each conference meet-
ing, which would be held in private,
such information would be passed on
to the press which the Conference was
prepared to release. A question and
answer period followed for about half
an hour.
The Conference itself was formally
opened on Monday morning at 10 o'-
clock in the University of Iceland main
building. Dr. Bjami Benediktsson, the
Prime Minister of Iceland, presided.
Beside him to the right was Mr. Willy
Brandt, Minister of Forgein Affairs
of the Federal Republic of Germany,
and to the left was Manlio Brosio the
Secretary-General of NATO.
Seated at a long table behind the
three speakers were the representatives
of the 15 member-nations and behind
each one was the flag of his country
on a fifteen-foot pole. In front of the
stage and below them was a profusion
of flowers. It all presented a spectacle
of dignity worthy of the important oc-
casion.
In the course of his opening ad-
dress Mr. Benediktsson said:
“— — — Immediately following the
War, we hoped that such security
could be achieved through member-
ship in the United Nations. Experience
soon showed this to be a false hope,
and as a result we became one of the
signatory states of the North Atlantic
Treaty. I considered it then—and still
consider it today—a great personal
honour to have signed the Treaty on
behalf of my country. . . .
------As far as my own country is
concerned we have entered into a
special defence agreement with the
United States, within the framework
of the North Atlantic Treaty, but it
depends entirely upon our own evalu-
ation at the given time how long Am-
erican troops remain in Iceland. And
I want it to be clearly known that, in
all the manifold relations which the
Icelanders have had, for over a quarter-
century now, with the Americans, over
the defence of our country, they have
never used the difference in strength
which exists between the two coun-
tries to their own advantage, even
though they are the greatest power in
the world and we one of the smallest,
and utterly without the means to de-
fend ourselves. Despite its overpower-
ing strength the United Statse has al-
ways, both in word and in deed, fully
respected Iceland’s formal equality and
sovereign rights. . . .”
Mr. Benediktsson was followed by
Willy Brandt who spoke with feeling