October 19, 1995
Web posted at: 1:15 p.m. EDT (1715 GMT)
From Brussels Bureau Chief Patricia Kelly
BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNN) -- One hundred and fifty deputies gathered Thursday in the Belgian Parliament to hear what Willy Claes has to say in his defense.
The NATO secretary general is defending himself against allegations of corruption, forgery and fraud dating from when he was Belgium's economic affairs minister in 1988-89.
Claes' address was taking place behind closed doors, and the
deputies will vote by secret ballot to decide if Claes should
appear before the highest court in the land. Parliament
could decide further investigation is needed before it makes
up its mind.
Claes contends he's done nothing wrong. He claims the charges are politically motivated. "I've given my word of honor as a Belgian minister of state that I'm innocent," he said. (560K QuickTime movie)
At the heart of the scandal are government military
contracts, one with the Italian manufacturer Agusta to buy
helicopters and another with the French firm Dassault to
modernize Belgium's fleet of F-16 fighter planes.
Claes hasn't been charged with anything, but the public prosecutor says there's enough suspicion surrounding him to have the former minister indicted by the country's supreme court of appeal. That's up to Parliament to decide.
The Belgian press already has made up its mind. Many journalists are of the opinion that Claes should resign, and they predict that, on Friday, he will.
"He's got to have his mind free to be able to lead NATO,"
said Guy Daloze, political editor of La Libre Belgique. "And
he's no longer got that."
The leading French language daily Le Soir quotes an anonymous "friend" of the NATO secretary general as saying Claes has a 1-in-100 chance of surviving Thursday's vote.
Of course, says Pierre Lefevre, foreign editor of La Libre Belgique, "it's possible that there isn't any real proof to back up the accusations against him."
NATO itself has not pressured Claes to resign. The Western
alliance says the secretary general will have to make that
decision for himself.
Claes has served as NATO secretary general for exactly one year. There's been nothing but praise from the alliance for his leadership. But if Thursday's vote in Parliament goes against him, NATO could soon be looking for a new leader.
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