PIERLOT SPEAKS 0N BELGIAN CRISIS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 29, 3 February 1945, Page 5

PIERLOT SPEAKS 0N BELGIAN CRISIS

FOOD-FUEL SHORT I Government Remains In Office In Meantime N.Z. Press Association—Copyright Rec. 10.30 a.m. LONDON, Feb. 2. The Prime Minister of Belgium, M. Pierlot, and his Cabinet resigned and the resignations were handed to the Regent, Prince Charles, this morning. A later message states that it is officially announced in Brussels that none of the resignations have been accepted and the Pierlot Government is therefore remaining in office. M. Pierlot, in a statement, said a shortage of food and coal was the main cause of the Belgian crisis, which was not connected with the Government's conduct of the war effort, says the Associated Press Brussels correspondent. The situation is expected to remain unsettled until February 6, when the Chamber of Deputies, in which the Socialists control one-third of the votes, will debate the issue, adds the correspondent. M. Pierlot said if the Government felt they had not got the backing oi the House following the debate they would not continue in office, but they wanted a Parliamentary decision. "Serious Uneasiness" "There is serious uneasiness about the lack of food, fuel and raw material," he added. "A solution is impossible without a higher level of importations. Belgium's population is the densest in the world—• 750 per square mile. We normallybought raw materials from every part of the world, manufacturing them and selling them to every country. Belgium was able to feed herself with her own harvest only during half the year. It is obvious that such a country, deprived of importations, cannot live a long time. That has been the situation since the liberation.

"There is no denying that, the political situation in Belgium is profoundly serious," said a high political spokesman, quoted by the Associated Press correspondent in Brussels, in an earlier message. "The situation largely arises from the Allied failure to arrange for the import of 20,000 to 30,000 tons of goods a month for civilian needs. Before the German occupation the monthly imports totalled 26,000 tons and during the occupation between 4000 and 7000 tons. There is no doubt that the Pierlot Government is unpopular, but it is questionable whether a military Government would be able to do better." Earlier, the Brussels radio said the Belgian Socialist party had decided to ask its members to withdraw from the Government. The Socialists, it added, contended that M. Pierlot had refused to reshuffle the Cabinet and would not inaugurate discussions on general policy.