DOWNING OF SOUTH KOREAN PASSENGER PLANE - IV

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00364R001201930076-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 19
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 6, 2008
• Sequence Number: 76
• Publication Date: September 5, 1983
• Content Type: REPORT

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SPECIAL Foreign Media
REPORT Reaction
September 5, 1983
DOWNING OF SOUTH KOREAN PASSENGER PLANE - IV
Summary
Media in Western Europe and the Far East and other scattered areas
today led with the Washington disclosure that a U.S. reconnaissance
plane was in the general area at the time the KAL Boeing was downed by
Soviet MIGs.
Today's conservative Daily Telegraph held that "the belated American
admission...is certain to prove a windfall for Soviet propaganda
efforts."
Lisbon's pro-Socialist Jornal de Noticias said the possibility that
the Soviet pilot thought he was shooting at a military plane "may
change the whole case and ridicule the worldwide accusations..."
Japanese television networks today broadcast White House spokesman
Speakes' statement that a U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance plane had flown
in the vicinity.
At the same time editorial writers devoted considerable speculation to
how the United States would and should respond. Correspondents in
Washington maintained the Administration would be restrained. Conser-
vative Frankfurter Allgemeine's correspondent said the President "had
expressed himself in favor of.,.'a quiet, controlled but absolutely
firm" action.
Throughout the world, media tried to reason why the tragedy happened.
Many writers attributed it to world tensions. Hong Kong's independent
Ming Pao worried that the Soviets are "under severe tension, nervous-
ness and full of hostility... with fingers always on the trigger..."
United States Information Agency
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Presence of U.S. Reconnaissance Plane
The reported presence of a U.S. reconnaissance plane in the area at the
time of the Soviet attack on the South Korean passenger jet, made headlines
in all London papers today.
"U.S. Spy Jet 'Near Jumbo'"
Headlines said "Airliner Was Mistaken for American Spy Plane" and "Russian
Refusal to Accept Guilt at U.N. Proves Self-Defeating" (Times), "Russia
Hints Fighter Pilot Mistook His Target--U.S. Spy Plane Was Near Area of Jet
Attack" and "Sanctions in Difficulty" (Guardian), "Reagan Hints at 'Painful
Sanctions'--U.S. Spy Jet 'Near Jumbo'" and "Jumbo May Have Been Fleeing the
Russians" (Daily Telegraph), "No 'Major' Sanctions Against Moscow by U.S.
Over Airliner" (Financial Times) and "U.S. Had a Spy Plane There" (Daily
Mail).
"Soviets Admit Mistake"
Today's independent Times of London ran reports from correspondents that
"the Soviet Union indicated yesterday that it had mistaken the Korean
airliner...for an American spy plane with a similar outline...
"U.S. Response Expected to Be Restrained"
"Despite strong language used by President Reagan to express his horror at
'this murder of innocent civilians,' the U.S. response is expected to be
restrained and largely limited to an international effort to condemn the
attack and take measures to make it safer to fly nearer the Soviet Union.
"In the White House it is recognized that the United States still has to do
business with the Soviet Union no matter how appalled Americans may be..."
"Soviet Classic Approach to Crisis Has Angered Diplomats"
Another report in the paper said, "Moscow's refusal to depart from the
classic Soviet approach to crisis, which seeks to place all blame on the
United States, has angered diplomats from a broad political spectrum at the
U.N. and has illustrated how diplomatically self-defeating the rigidity of
the Soviet system can be."
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White House's and Soviet- General's Statements
Washington correspondent Harold Jackson wrote in today's liberal Guardian
that "the White House disclosed last night that an American military
reconnaissance aircraft had been flying off the Russian coast at the time
that the ill-fated Korean airliner was approaching and that the Soviet air
defense system had apparently been confused about the identity of the two
planes..."
"At the same time, the Chief of Staff of the Soviet Air Defense Command,
Colonel-General Semyon Romanov, said, in an account circulated by TASS,
that the Boeing 747 'flew with extinguished lights and its outlines
resembled those of the American Reconnaissance plane RC-135."
"Incident Encouraged 'Sense of Urgency' at Arms Talks"
The paper's Brussels correspondent reported today that the disaster
"encouraged a greater sense of urgency in NATO at the Geneva arms control
talks--a sentiment which was shared yesterday by the Soviet Union's
negotiator who called on the United States to seize this opportunity for
agreement..."
"Admission Is Windfall for Soviet Propaganda"
Today's conservative Daily Telegraph ran the report of Washington
correspondent Richard Beeston that "the Reagan Administration acknowledged
for the first time yesterday that the Soviet Union initially mistook a
Korean airliner for an American spy plane but insisted that by the time the
Korean jumbo jet was shot down its true identity was known...
"The belated American admission...is certain to prove a windfall for Soviet
propaganda efforts to blame the episode on U.S. espionage activities..."
"Major Economic and Political Sanctions Ruled Out"
Today's Financial Times said, "President Reagan has ruled out 'major'
economic or political sanctions against the Soviet Union...and instead is
seeking a 'calm but firm' response with the maximum international
backing..."
In an editorial the paper said, "Above all it would be wrong for sanctions
to be taken unilaterally by the United States.... Other Soviet-U.S. and
East-West consultations, such as the arms talks in Geneva and the meeting
between Mr. Shultz and Mr. Gromyko, should go on because they are about
other issues..."
Nationalistic Daily Mail judged that "the startling White House admission
that there was an American reconnaissance plane around adds a new dimension
to the crisis..."
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"Boeing Tragedy: Questions Without Answers"
Headlines in Paris today included "Reagan Prepares Sanctions" (France-Soir)
"Captain Chun Pushed the Wrong Button" (Le Matin), "Boeing Tragedy:
Questions Without Answers--Was South Korean Plane Conducting Espionage
Activities in Disdain for Safety of Its Passengers" (Communist Humanite)
and "Washington Wants to Internationalize Response to USSR" (Figaro .
"Crime Will Go Unpunished"
An editorial in today's mass appeal France-Soir asked, "What credit can be
accorded to pacifist declarations of men (in the Kremlin) who are nothing
but coldblooded killers?"
Today's conservative Quotidien de Paris expected that the "crime" will "go
unpunished because skillfully, knowledgeably and scientifically the Soviets
succeeded in distracting the attention of the world from the only obvious
important reality in the affair--the coldblooded assassination of the 269
passengers..."
An editorial in Communist Humanite today said, "Four days after the
disappearance of the Boeing... numerous questions remain unanswered. The
most often asked concerns the total silence of the Boeing crew during the
more than two hours if its deviation from its flight path..."
"Flagrant Act of Brutality Is Going to Slip By"
Leftist Liberation judged today, "It appears that the most flagrant act of
brutality in the entire history of the cold war is going to slip by without
disturbing East-West relations.
"All signs are that, despite a concert of curses flung at the Soviet Union,
the Western nations are disposed to writing off the 269 victims to the
profits and losses of the grand geopolitical maneuvers..."
"Mosow Admits Possible Error"
Italian headlines today said "Moscow Admits 'Possible Error'" (Corriere
della Sera), "Did Military Hide From Andropov Decision to Shoot Down Jumbo
Jet?" (La Stampa), "Strong Measures Against Soviet Union--Reagan Will
Announce Them in Agreement With Allies" (Il Giornale), "Reagan Consults
Allies--Andropov Was Not Informed" (Il Messagero and'"Reagan Calls for
Blocking of All Flights for USSR" (Communist l'Unita).
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"U.S. Will Propose Suspension of Air Traffic to USSR"
Milan's centrist Corriere della Sera today ran the report of New York
correspondent--Ugo Stille that "everything seems to confirm the prediction
that the President intends to propose to the allies the suspension... of
commercial air traffic with the USSR, and to link resumption to a
commitment from Moscow to 'ground rules' which will avoid in the future the
danger of a repetition of last week's incident..."
An editorial in Turin's centrist La Stampa today said, "Even the most
specific and concrete of the East-West negotiations, the INF talks, cannot
be unaffected by the general climate.
"And this climate will be determined to a large measure by the tone of the
dialogue between the diplomatic chiefs of the superpowers, and most of all
by the explanations which Gromyko may or may not give about the attack..."
"It Was the System That Pushed the Button"
Milan's conservative I1 Giornale in a front-page editorial today said,
"Either Andropov gave orders to the generals or the generals gave orders to
him. It doesn't change much because the system... is necessarily based on
unscrupulous military expansion. It was the system that pushed the
button..."
"Thoughtful Reaction by Washington"
Among headlines today were "U.S. Considers Boycotting Soviet Aeroflot"
(Bonner Rundschau), "Reagan for Sanctions Against Aeroflot" (Frankfurter
Neue Presse), "Thoughtful Reaction by Washington--Disarmament Talks To Be
Continued" (Frankfurter Allgemeine), "Reagan: Geneva Discussion Must
Continue Despite Murder of 269 People" (Rheinische Post) and "USSR Claims
to Have Evidence of Intelligence Flight" General-Anzeiger).
"President in Favor of Quiet...Firm Response"
Conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine led today with Washington correspondent
Jan Reifenberger's report that "President Reagan has expressed himself in
favor of dealing with the Soviet in a quiet, controlled but absolutely firm
way. He announced that the INF talks and START negotiations will be
continued.... The United States also intends to adhere to the grain deal..."
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"President's View: Western Reaction Should Be Thoughtful"
Munich's pro-Social Democratic Sueddeutsche Zeitung ran a lead story by
Washington correspondent Klaus Arnsperger that "In President Reagan's view,
Western reaction... should be marked by thoughtful determination.
"He said there is no. justification for the 'murder of 269 people.'
However, the white House indicated that U.S. Soviet relations will not be
frozen and the Geneva negotiations will continue..."
Bonn's conservative Die Welt held, in an editorial today, that "the most
important aspect is the provocation and its background: there is a power
struggle going on in Moscow..."
Independent General-Anzeiger of Bonn said, "President Reagan finds himself
confirmed in his view of the USSR. He can point to his military efforts
which keep the Soviet threat within limits.
"He need not resort to drastic sanctions to prove his firmness toward
Moscow. That is one explanation for his relatively mild but 'seasonable
response..."
"U.S. Plane Near Boeing"
Headlines today included "U.S. Plane Was Near Boeing--Korean Plane Possibly
Confused With Spy Plane" (Algemeen Dagblad), "President Reagan Considers
Limiting Soviet Airspace" (De Volkskrant) and "American Plane In Area" (De
Telegraaf).
An editorial in today's conservative Algemeen Dagblad of Rotterdam,
pegged on the cancellation of a visit to Moscow by Dutch parliament-
arians, said, "By not going to Moscow, the Dutch delegation is sending a
clear signal to the Russians that the (airline incident) cannot be fobbed
off in the blunt way the Russians have done so far..."
A radio newscast in Helsinki today had a Washington report that "a U.S.
espionage plane was operating in the area" of the KAL tragedy. The report
said "U.S. intelligence officials" said the U.S. plane, however, left two
hours before the incident.
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"While Sweden Hunts Alien Submarines U.S. Pleads for Support"
Stockholm's liberal tabloid Expressen yesterday ran the headline "In Midst
of (new) Submarine Hunt, U.S. Pleads: 'Help Us Punish Soviets.'" The
paper said, "At the same time as the hunt for alien submarines was being
intensified... President Reagan pleaded for support from Sweden and other
countries for concerted action to punish the soviet Union--a boycott
against Aeroflot.
"Sweden ought to participate, in view of all the submarines, a State
Department official told Expressen..."
Pro-Communist paper: "U.S. Responsible for Countless Bloody Acts"
Lisbon's pro-Communist 0 Diario held that "in the face of what is going on
it is important not to forget that the United States and its allied regimes
are responsible for countless events with bloody consequences...(the Korean
war, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lebanon etc.)"
Pro-Socialist Jornal de Noticias yesterday said, "The possibility that the
Soviet pilot thought he was in the presence of a military aircraft without
navigation lights and which did not respond to radio warnings.. .may change
the whole case and ridicule the worldwide accusations of 'crime,' 'barbar-
ism,' 'paranoid act,' 'cowardly slaughter' and 'premeditated murder.'"
"Reagan Wants His Opinion of Soviets Reconfirmed"
Independent Die Presse of Vienna today had the observation of Washington
correspondent Georg Possanner that "the Reagan administration is trying to
make it clear that this catastrophe reconfirms the opinion it has held
about the Soviet Union since the very beginning..."
A columnist for the tabloid Kronen-Zeitung wrote that "there is only one
thing the Soviets should do--confess their guilt. Such behavior would be
becoming if they still want to be regarded as members of the community of
nations rather than as highwaymen of the air."
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"Bells of Danger Are Tolling"
Istanbul's popular Gunes today ran the headline "Soviets At Last Accept
Mass Murder." The paper ran front-page pictures comparing a Boeing jumbo
jet with a plane identified as an RC-135.
An editorial said, "The reports that the bells of danger are tolling for
the human race are not empty statements. A mistake by a pilot or a
calculation or a show of superiority rips the life away from hundreds."
"Soviets Trying to Cover Up With Cheap Statements"
In Reykjavik on Saturday, Althydubladid held, "This mass murder of
civilians by the Red Army awakens the disgust of the entire world.
"The Soviets are not trying to cover up this incident by just keeping
quiet, but they are trying co cover up with scome cheap statements."
Leading Morgunbladid said, "It is hard to understand what lies behind the
Soviet attack on the airliner. The act is totally inexcusable... .The fact
that the airliner may have strayed into Soviet airspace does not allow them
to shoot it down..."
"There Are Questions that Remain to Be Answered"
In Sofia last night a television commentator read from a New York Times
story suggesting that "there are questions that remain to be answered..."
Communist Party paper Rabotnichesko devoted half the front-page today to
two TASS items on the incident accusing the U.S. of starting an anti-Soviet
propaganda campaign.
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EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC
Soviets Confirm Plane Shot Down by Air-to-air Missile
NHK-TV, TBS-TV and Fuji-TV today focused attenion on an AP report from
Moscow which said a Soviet source has confirmed for the first time that the
KAL jumbo was shot down by an air-to-air missile. The network said the
source stated that the order to shoot down the Korean airliner was given by
top military brass in Moscow.
Speakes Says U.S. R-135 Had Flown in Vicinity
The networks also carried reports from Washington which said White House
Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speakes has stated that a U.S. RC-135 recon-
naissance plane had flown in the vicinity of the KAL plane's course one or
two hours before the incident, indicating, according to the networks,
the possibility of the Soviets' mistaking the jumbo for the RC-135.
Foreign Ministry To Press Soviets to Disclose Facts
Liberal Asahi today reported that Chief Cabinet Secretary Gotoda, who is
acting Foreign Minister, met officials of the Ministry to discuss counter-
measures. The report said the Foreign Ministry has confirmed its policy of
strongly pressing the Soviet Union to disclose the facts of the incident
and to cooperate on research operations.
In order to draw out a reply from the Soviet side, Asahi said the Foreign
Ministry has decided to (1) study joint action with the United States in
seeking permission to enter Soviet territorial waters to conduct U.S.-
Japan search activities and (2) not to carry out sanctions against the
Soviet Union.
Moderate Yomiuri today said Prime Minister Nakasone has stated that Japan
will strongly purse Soviet responsibility through close contacts with the
United States and South Korea.
"Soviets Should Cooperate in Search for Passengers and Crew"
The Tokyo Shinbum in an editorial today said, "If the Soviet Union does not
admit its mistake on the shooting down of the KAL plane and continues to
take an insincere attitude toward international opinion which seeks
clarification of the truth, future East-West relations will be seriously
affected."
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"An agreement must be reached at the U.S.-Soviet disarmament negotiations
because this i-s of top importance. While continuing to pursue Soviet
responsibility for shooting down the Korean airliner, it is necessary on
the other hand to promote calm diplomacy toward the Soviet Union on other
issues."
The paper said that-"the stand taken" by the United States and Japan in not
imposing sanctions against the Soviet Union "is proper and we give our full
support.
"The first step the Soviet Union must take is to reveal all the facts....
The Soviet Union should then cooperate in the Japanese search for the
passengers and the crew.. .and compensate the families of the victims as
well as make maximum efforts to prevent recurrence of such incidents."
"Mutual Sincerity and Honesty Are Needed at Madrid"
Liberal Asahi in an editorial on the Madrid CSCE conference said today,
"The KAL incident could lead to East-West exchanges at the Madrid talks.
Mutual sincerity and honesty are needed the most to regain confidence and
overcome the present ordeal. We especially hope that Foreign Minister
Gromyko will keep this in mind."
Reagan to Announce Sanctions Against USSR
Most independent papers today front-paged AP reports that President Reagan
is to announce sanctions against the USSR.
"Will Never Escape the Judgment of History"
Center-right Wah Kiu Yat Po in an editorial today said, "This savage act of
'aerial massacre' will forever be hated by God, be forever reviled by the
whole world and will never escape the judgment of history."
"USSR Conducting Secret Military Activities in the Far East?"
The independent Hong Kong Daily in an editorial today asked, "Is the USSR
conducting some secret military activities or deployment near northern
Japan or the Far East?"
Whether or not the downing of the Korean airliner was to conceal any move
of Soviet missiles to the Far East, the paper concluded, "At least it
contains a sting toward Japan's increase in its military posture, and to
show its colors toward the Sino-Soviet talks which are about to resume."
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"Moscow Has Single-handedly Changed Its Own Image"
Center-right Sing Tao Jin Pao said in an editorial today that Moscow "has
single-handedly changed its own image and put itself in an extremely
isolated position." The paper said the incident allows everyone to learn
how "not to entertain any illusions about the expansionist USSR" and "begin
a relentless attack against 'Great Russian Expansionism.'"
"Soviet Fingers Always on the Trigger"
Independent Ming Pao in an editorial today said the Soviet Union gave
orders to fire on the Korean airliner "because they are constantly under
severe tension, nervousness and full of hostility, ready to fight any time,
with fingers always on the trigger, monitoring their imagined enemies day
and night, their every moment waiting for enemies to descend from the air
or rush in from the sea, palpitating with anxiety and fear, treating every
bush and tree as an enemy."
Such a state of mind, said the editorial, is extremely "abnormal" and
"greater disasters can be concealed, behind such a mentality.
"A Missile, a Commercial Airliner Exposed Soviet Hegemonism"
Pro-PRC Ching Po said on Saturday that "on certain questions and at certain
times, the USSR adopts a conciliartory posture, but in fact there is no
change in its basic hegemonism.. One missile and one commercial airliner
exposed the 'hegemonist' air of the Soviet Union."
Mass appeal independent Sing Pao Daily News said at least the Chinese
Communists have issued indirect criticism. "The shooting down of a
commercial airlines and the killing of over 200 people is a shameful brand
on Soviet Communism."
Indonesian Government: "An Act Beyond Humanity"
Papers today reported Foreign Minister Mochtar Kusumaatmadja's statement,
after a meeting with President Soeharto, that the incident was "an act
beyond humanity" and that "the Soviet Government is fully responsibile."
He added that the tragedy was all the more regrettable "because the Soviet
Union, with its modern and sophisticated technological equipment, has all
the capability to prevent such a tragedy from occurring."
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"Shocking and Repulsive"
The pro-Government English language Indonesia Times said in an editorial
today, "Shooting down of an unarmed civilian plane with so many passengers
and crew is certainly cruel and inhuman and in violation of human rights
and civilized human conduct.
"Whatever, the reas.pn, it should not have been done. It is shocking and
repulsive."
"All Countries of the World Strongly Condemn This Incident"
Military-oriented Berita Yudha commented, "It is not surprising that all
countries of the world strongly condemn this incident. More than a few
stamp it as a barbaric act, uncivilized."
"Indian Reaction Sounded Ludicrous"
The Chandigarh Tribune, in an editorial today, said, "Among the inter-
national reactions... the official Indian comment was conspicuous for what
could only be described as fumbling nonalignment or, if a more charitable
view were to be taken, deplorably poor draftsmanship. As things turned out
the Indian reaction sounded ludicrous."
"What If the Plane Had Belonged to a U.S. Airline?"
The Government-owned English language Daily News wrote today, "The event
has certainly not left its perpetators with any psychological or moral
advantage. It is clear that the world stands outraged...
"Explanations can sometimes be more painful than the error they seek to
excuse.
"Even more fateful could be the caution which the shooting raises against
the possiblity of triggering off a greater missile catastrophe.
There are many observers today asking themselves what might have followed
if the plane had belonged to a U.S. airline."
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"Soviet Image Blackened for Many Days to Come"
The New Nation of Dahka in an editorial yesterday said, "The Soviets have
not reacted satisfactorily to the mounting world pressure by even as much
as giving their whole facts, whatever their merit, of the incident. Why?...
"However the wheels of international justice may turn and the Soviets be
made to make amends, the way the sensibilities of fairminded people all
over the world has been outraged is sure to keep the Soviet image blackened
for many days to come."
Pro-Government Ittefaq said, "The Soviet Union, by destroying a defenseless
passenger aircraft, violated the international airspace law as well as the
principle of general international peace and coexistence."
"Afghanistan Precedent for Soviets' Barbarous Masssacre"
Sangram commented, "There is precedent that only the Soviets can commit
such barbarous act of masssacre--not in air, but on land. Those who can
indiscriminately kill the innocent people of Afghanistan for no offense
also can hurl a missile to down a civilian passenger carrier plane."
Foreign Ministry: "Loss of Innocent Lives Was Indeed Deplorable"
Media today carried a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman's statement
that "the reported shooting...was both tragic and disturbing. Although the
plain facts are yet to be ascertained, the incident leading to the loss of
269 innocent lives on board the aircraft, if correct, was... deplorable."
"World Must Strongly Protest"
Pro-PRC Naya Nepal Current yestrerday wrote, "By such an inhuman and cruel
action the Soviet Union has earned a great deal of hatred and anger from
the people of the world...In order to bring the Soviets back on the right
track, it is important that the world must strongly protest and the same
time not cooperate with the Soviets."
The independent weekly Valley News and Views today said, "Even given the
benefit of the doubt, this ugly international tragedy opens up a Pandora's
box of unlimited possibilities of the mighty."
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"What If the Plane Had Belonged to a U.S. Airline?"
The Government-owned English language Daily News wrote today, "The event
has certainly not left its perpetators with any psychological or moral
advantage. It is clear that the world stands outraged..:
"Explanations can sometimes be more painful than the error they seek to
excuse.
"Even more fateful could be the caution which the shooting raises against
the possiblity of triggering off a greater missile catastrophe.
There are many observers today asking themselves what might have followed
if the plane had belonged to a U.S. airline."
Papers Recall Downing of Libyan Plane by Israelis in 1973
The Jordan Times of Amman today described the incident as "shocking and
worrisome" but warned again "the further sharpening of the already tense
international situation following the tragedy."
While condemning "whoever is responsible," the paper added "it is incon-
ceivable for us to understand the U.S. total obsession with the use of big
stick diplomacy in every problem except that of the Palestinians."
Recalling an incident over the Sinai in 1973 when a Libyan airliner was
shot down by Israeli fighters, the paper asked, "Does Washington remember
its reaction then? Did the Americans contemplate imposing sanctions
against the Zionist state for its ugly crime?"
Independent ar-Ray yesterday warried a byliner's assertion that "no human
being can condone the shooting... However, this crusade against the Soviet
Union is inexplicable to us Arabs who suffered the downing of a Libyan
airline by Israeli fighters in 1973 and no such crusade was launched
against the Zionist state."
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Sao Paulo Newspapers Quote President Reagan
Leading 0 Estado de Sao Paulo and Folha de Sao Paulo yesterday both cited
the President's statement that the USSR continues to distort the truth and
that the Soviets still owe the world "explanations and apologies for this
act of brutality..."
"This Tragedy Will Have Results"
Liberal Folha de Sao Paulo carried a Paris correspondent's conclusions
yesterday that "the tragedy and crime of the Boeing will result in destroy-
ing all the efforts made by the Soviet Government to show its intention to
negotiate with a tough adversary, the United States...
"The Pershing missiles will now definitely be installed in Europe, the
Geneva conference will not progress a single step and Japan will finally be
prepared to adhere to adhere to the U.S. system of military defense. From
now on, the Soviet Union is really besieged."
TV: "I Hope the World Shows Its Repudiation"
TV Cultura's foreign policy commentator yesterday emphasized "worldwide
condemnation of the act of barbarism committed by the USSR."
Asserting that the downing of the airliner resulted from centralized Soviet
command, the commentator called it "a typical act of barbarism, a criminal
act. The USSR intentionally despised those human lives and shot the plane
down. It was a crime against mankind. The 269 lives were sacrificed on
behalf of a supposed political principle and of a domestic security which
was not at stake. I hope the world shows its repudiation of Moscow's
attitude."
Buenos Aires Papers Carry Korean Communique
Yesterday, leading La Nacion and La Prensa carried the text of the South
Korean Embassy's communique that "in this case, humanitarian considerations
were laid aside in order to adjust to rigid military instructions..."
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"Kremlin's Savage Act Not Surprising"
Conservative La Prensa yesterday ran an article by a byliner who
maintained: "It is a general mistake in the West to feel surprised or
indignant. The destruction of the Korean airliner... would have been
appalling had it been the work of a civilized or indifferently civilized
regime...
"But the Moscow regime is not civilized, even indifferently....It does not
try to be. It is a regime made up of savages whose first and preferred
victims are their own people..."
Yesterday's conservative La Nacion held that "the Soviet charge that the
United States Government was using the plane for espionage purposes is
childish, to say the least. Considering the extraordinary resources
available to the big powers for espionage, it is difficult to conceive of
such rudimentary methods...
"Even if the charge were true, one cannot understand why the Soviet Union,
with its impressive defensive and offensive technological arsenal, was
unable to prevent the alleged mission in some other way...
"If all countries in the world were to act as the Soviet Union did...the
hard-earned safety of airliners would disappear..."
"Difference Between Soviet Words and Deeds"
Yesterday's conservative El Mercurio in Santiago cited President Reagan to
the effect that the people of the world should perceive the "difference
between Soviet words and deeds" from its action in downing the Korean plane.
"Many Information Gaps in What We Know"
An editorial in Saturday's La Nacion of Santiago could find no legitimate
explanation for the Soviet action but asked a number of questions. It
said: "...There are many information gaps in what we know to date. Planes
are constantly in touch with a communications center.. They never fly on
their own, never blindly. There is always a center, a control tower that
knows everything that is happening on board.
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"Is it that such centers in Anchorage, Tokyo or Seoul knew nothing at the
time? On the other hand, through U.S. Naval and Japanese land intelli-
gence, we know what was said by the Soviet pilots of the eight fighter-
bombers which flanked the Korean jumbo jet?..."
"Soviet Arms to Be Used, Not to Maintain Peaceful Equilibrium"
In Bogota yesterday, conservative El Siglo carried a byliner's comment that
"the terrible, unjustified and perfidious attack on a commercial Korean
airliner by a Soviet fighter is a clear and precise warning by the hammer
and sickle to all of the Western world that the arms they have are not for
the purpose of maintaining a peaceful equilibrium... but to be used in
whatever circumstances, including against defenseless passengers...
"President Reagan is right when he deploys U.S. military power with the
vision that he has regarding international problems. He knows that Russian
intentions go much further than the words they use in international forums."
"A Repulsive Crime"
Pro-Government Expreso of Lima yesterday editorialized under the title
"Genocide in the Air" and declared: "There can exist no justification for
such a repulsive crime, not even the fact that a defenseless plane overflew
security zones, since it was not only evident that it was a matter of a
navigational error...but also that its passing over territory controlled by
the USSR did not represent a threat of attack...
"The plane was an unarmed, vulnerable, commercial, passenger airliner..."
"Shows the Terrible Vulnerability to Atomic Holocaust"
Center-left La Razon of Quito yesterday pointed out that "what just
happened to the Korean plane with premeditation and in cold blood...seems
to reflect the disappearance of the most basic sense of humanity..."
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Stroessner Letter to President Reagan
In Asuncion Saturday, Colorado Party newspaper Patria carried a letter from
President Alfredo Stroessner to President Reagan expressing "our most
energetic condemnation and repudiation of this brutal episode..."
Utlimate Danger of Soviet "Tension, Fear and Excessive Zeal"
A commentator said on Panamanian TV Friday that the incident resulted from
"the tension among those who guard the Soviet borders and of the fear and
excessive zeal of the Soviets on foreign planes flying over their area.
"May the terrible tragedy... serve for reflection on what might happen on
the day that zeal, error or lack of communication precipitates a nuclear
attack."
News Coverage of UN Debate
Today's official Daily News of Dar es Salaam carried news coverage of the
U.N. debate under the headline "UN Discusses Korean Plane." It devoted two
paragraphs to a Soviet TASS report that Soviet radar operators may have
mistaken the airliner for a U.S. Air Force plane resembling the Boeing 747.
"Has Shocked Human Conscience"
In Kinshasa today, the Zaire news agency (AZAP) had the Government's
statement that the Soviet action resulted "in the deaths of hundreds of
innocent persons in violation of international law and morals."
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The paper said Zaire had sent a message of sympathy to the Government and
people of South Korea and to the families of the victims and had condemend
the shooting down of the plane as an action that "has shocked human
conscience" and that-comes at a time "when international relations are
already tense, leading, in turn, to mistrust, violence and insecurity in
the international community."
"World Outrage Over Downing of Airliner"
The Swazi News yesterday devoted a page to the incident under the headline
"World Outrage Over Downing of Airliner." The Swazi Observer's headline
for a Reuters article was "South Korea Demands Apology from Soviet Union."
"Darkest Cloud" Over U.S.-Soviet Relations Since Afghanistan
Radio Lesotho's morning news program on Friday provided a compendium of
expressions of outrage from world capitals. Among those quoted were Figaro
of Paris, reports from Tokyo and New York. The radio commented that the
incident had provoked the "darkest cloud" over U.S.-Soviet relations since
the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.
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