SOVIET-YUGOSLAV RELATIONS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 69, Issue 267, 24 August 1949, Page 3

SOVIET-YUGOSLAV RELATIONS

BRITISH AND U.S. VIEWS ' Russian Attack Believed Unlikely (N.Z.P.A.—Copyright). LONDON, August 23. “In the present conflict between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, Marshal Tito must have weighed up the chances of a Soviet attack, and he estimates that Mr Statin will not move,” says the “Daily Express.” “Marshal Tito clearly believes that he can crush any revolt by Moscow sympathisers inside Yugoslavia before. .they can get together.” “The Times” thinks that Russia will directly attack Yugaelovia only in the last resort. .The “News Chronicle” says that in a choice between Marshal* Tito and some Moscow-trained henchman in Yugoslavia Marshal Tito is very much tlte"'iesser of two evils. “For the time being at least, American authorities doubt that hostilities will develop in the Balkans because of Marshal Tito’s differences with the Kremlin,” says the Washington correspondent of the “New York Herald Tribune.” “The prevalent belief is that the Soviet’s increasingly bitter diplomatic campaign has .the same old aim —to overthrow Marshal Tito from within his own country. The difference is that the Soviet itself is pressing the issue instead of leaving it to satellite Governments. “Russia’s drive is believed to be primarily defensive and aimed at the return of Yugoslavia to Moscow’s control. This would extend the Iron Curtain westward and help to offset such Western gains as the Atlantic*Pact and success in Greece and Germany.” “Nothing Unusual” “A British Foreign Office spokesman said, yesterday that the British Ambassador in Belgrade (Sir Charles Peake) had called on the Yugoslav Assistant (Foreign Minister (Dr. Ales Bebler) on Sunday about the Soviet Note to Yugoslavia. There was “nothing unusual” in the call. A report from Sir Charles Peake had been received in London, he added.

Belgrade newspapers, commenting on the Soviet’s two warnings of “effective measures” against Yugoslavia to defend “inhumanly persecuted” Russians in Yugoslavia, said that Russia had no right to consider the present Yugoslav Government an enemy of the Soviet Union. The Yugoslav Government was, and always would be, a firm friend of the Soviet peoples, the papers said, but it would depend on the extent to which the Soviet Union renounced its “false foreign policy” whether Yugoslavia would remain an ally of the Soviet Government. The Belgrade correspondent of : the British United Press says that the Yugoslav Minister of Railways (Mr Tudor Vujasinovic) told a meeting of railway workers: “The Russians started first a political and then an economic attack against Yugoslavia. When something goes wrong, don’t be satisfied it is because of old material. Nowadays we can expect sabotage.” German Communists who are opposed to Russian domination, formed a new party yesterday and promptly sent Marshal Tito a message of support. Mr Heinz Scholz who is leader of the new Free Communist Party, said: “We have formed the party to fight ' imperialist Bolshevism. We say that the so-called internationalism of Soviet Russia is a fraud.”

NEW NOTE TO RUSSIA “HANDS OF” POLICY DEMANDED (Rec. 10.40 a.m.) BELGRADE, Aug. 23. Yugoslavia demanded to-day that Russia maintain a “hands off” policy in Yugoslavia’s internal affairs. This was laid down in a new Note to the Soviet Union arising out of Russia’s protest against Yugoslavia’s arrest and detention of 31 reputed Russian citizens. Simultaneously, however, Yugoslavia offered to extradite these if that was what Moscow wanted. The Note said this offer held good for the departure of all other Russian citizens who were anxious to leave Yugoslavia. The text of the Note was released by the Ministry of Information. It called Russia’s charges of imprisoning Soviet citizens “unfounded.” These charges were delivered in an unprecedented diplomatic Note handed, to a porter of the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry before dawn five days ago. The new Yugoslav Note emphasised that Yugoslavia was an independent sovereign State, and its people and Government under no conditions were willing to allow anyone to interfere in their internal affairs. Then it made its major point in question of Russian domination which has grown in importance _ since 17 months ago when the Soviet Union, with its Comunist-dominated satellites, denounced the Government of Tito. “The Yugoslav Government underlines that no pressure from outside so far had any effect on internal policy, nor will it have in futuie. Facts Ignored The Note continues: “The Yugoslav Government has always declared its preparedness to solve all o , d ! spu questions between the two Slates bj agreement. On this occasion Yugoslavia repeats its resolution, and declares its readiness to approach a solution of all disputed questions with the Soviet in accordance with and in the spirit of international obligations undertaken by both Governments. Yugoslavia accused Russia or ignoring the facts of the arrest of what Yugoslavia characterised as “traitorous white guardists.” Russia did this, the Note says, to justify its attitude ot hostility toward Yugoslavia. These white guardists had seriously violated the laws by their espionage and hostile activity. Observers in Belgrade regard tlie

Yugoslav Note’s dignified presentation as more evidence that Tito regards the latest Russian attack as more propaganda and is not losing his nerve, says the United Press correspondent. For the first time the press office summoned foreign correspondents to release to-day’s Note in advance of the release to the domestic press. Allied observers in Vienna sai,d tonight that they have seen no evidence of Russian or other troop movements toward the Yugoslav borders. They say there are only 10 divisions of, Russian troops in Central and South-east-ern Europe, and these are on essential garrison duty. There has been no evidence of any reinforcement movements such as would be necessary for military action against Yugoslavia, they declare. Caricature in “Pravda” In Bucharest to-day the Rumanian National Defence Minister, General Emil Bodnarash, speaking at the fifth anniversary celebrations of Rumania's liberation from the Germans, said that Tito had “withdrawn Yugoslavia from among the popular democracies to make her join the imperialist camp.” In Moscow, under the heading “From Socialism to Fascism,” “Pravda” today caricatured Tito grovelling before the portraits of Mussolini, Hitler and Himmler. One of Tito’s hands was raised in the Nazi salute, and he held an axe marked “Fascist Terror.” in the other. His body was drawn in the form of a swastika.