Vote Clears Way For Trial Of Nato Leader

Parliament cleared the way Thursday for NATO Secretary General Willy Claes to be indicted on corruption charges stemming from his term as a Belgian Cabinet member in the late 1980s.

The vote heightened speculation that Claes will resign as chief of the 16-nation alliance. He said he would make a statement today.

If he does step down, it would leave NATO without a helmsman at a sensitive time, as the Western allies prepare to take over peacekeeping in Bosnia from the United Nations once the country’s warring parties sign a peace agreement.

In a secret ballot, the 150-member legislature voted 97-52 to lift Claes’ diplomatic immunity and have him stand trial in the supreme court. There was one abstention.

The vote came shortly after Claes, 56, appeared before a closed-door session of Parliament to deny the allegations, which stem from two defense contracts he awarded to foreign firms in 1988 and 1989, when he was Belgium’s economics minister.

Renaat Landuyt, a fellow Dutch-speaking Socialist, said Claes “was unable to convince everyone” of his innocence.

Patrick Dewael, head of the opposition Conservatives, said Claes no longer had “the moral integrity” to remain NATO chief executive, a post he has held for a year.

“It was not a wise decision of his to push this to the limit,” Dewael said. “He wanted to go to the bitter end. He should have resigned a lot earlier.”