CONFIDENCE IN GOVERNMENT

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24437, 11 December 1944, Page 5

CONFIDENCE IN GOVERNMENT

Policy In Greece And Belgium

COMMONS VOTE ON AMENDMENT

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) [(Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, December 9. After a vigorous debate in the House of Commons on , British policy in Greece, Belgium, and Italy, the Government i was given a vote of confidence when the Labour Party’s amendment to the Address-in-Reply was defeated by 279 votes to 30. Defending British policy and action in Greece and Belgium, Mr Churchill spoke of “attempts by Communist revolutionaries to overthrow the Greek and Belgian States and to plunge those countries into the horrors of anarchy.” He said that British troops alone, acting under the orders of General Eisenhower, had prevented this in Belgium. He himself had ordered the [Allied commander in the Mediterranean (General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson) to do the same in Greece. Elements of the ELAS (National Liberation Front) had used arms sent (by Britain for the purpose of gaining despotic control of Greece, he said, and he did not think Britain should leave Greece in their hands. They were “mutineers against the orders of the Supreme Commander in the Mediterranean.”

“In spite of an appeal by Mr C. R. Attlee at a private meeting of leaders of the Parliamentary Labour Party, the bulk of the Labour members refused to support the amendment during the Greek debate,” says the political correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph.” “Only 80 Labour members in the House of Commons, representing half the strength of the party, were present. Twenty-four voted against the Government, 23 for the Government, and 33 abstained from voting.” [Labour holds 168 of the 615 seats in the House of Commons.]

The House divided on the Parliamentary Labour Party’s amendment to the Address-in-Reply, urging the Government to endea- ; vour to secure at the earliest practicable moment the establishment ;of a national government in ! Greece representing all sections of .the people who resisted the Fascist and Nazi invaders, until such .time as a general election could be held. The amendment was in the names of five members of the party’s administrative committee.

AMENDMENT MOVED Mr Seymour Cocks (Labour) began she debate by saying that he moved the amendment with feelings of responsibility. anxiety, and grief. "Today, on the sacred soil of Athens, British soldiers and Greek patriots lie dead side by side,” he added. Mr Cocks said that when Britain entered the war it was not only to save herself from disaster but also to remove the menace of Fascism from the face of the earth. He charged the Government with supporting, reactionaries and said that ELAS was not a Communist party and was supported by 90 per cent, of the population. This statement was greeted with cries of dissent. Mr Cocks asked whether the Prime Minister claimed the right to appoint Prime Ministers of Allied States as he might appoint a private secretary. It seemed to some of them that as victory approached British policy was inclined to support many old wornout regimes in ' Europe against the new and popular emerging forces, Mr Cocks went on. Instances of this had been reported in Belgium and Italy. While the resistance movements were fighting the enemy in Greece the Royalist Government, which was never elected but simply appointed by the King, had established close contact with the British Government, but had very little contact with the EAM in Greece itself, whose republican views it abhorred. The British Government showed far greater sympathy with, the dictatorship exiled from Greece than with the popular resistance movement fighting in the. mountains. Mr Cocks added that he was not clear whether the disarming of Greek units which might be used by the Eight Wing parties had been refused by Mr Papandreou himself or on the advice of the British Ambassador (Mr R. W. A. Leeper), “who, many Greek friends of mine say, is the evil genius of modern Greece.” Mr Speaker intervened. Mr Cocks then said he wished to eliminate any expression concerning the Ambassador which was out of order. . After expressing opposition to the principle of British intervention in Greece Mr Cocks said: “We may lose the friendship of the Greek people to gain the favour of the Hohenzollern prince. Preparation should be made for an early election and a plebiscite on the King.” The leader of the Common Wealth Party (Sir Richard Acland), supporting the amendment, said that the general British foreign policy tended to create anxiety among some sections of the population by seeming to lean towards reactionary and even quisling methods, and to delay recognition ox genuine people’s movements. For that reason there had been an attempt by the British Government to support the King of Greece. Why should not the question be left to the Greek people to decide? Sir Richard Acland said that when a movement representing democratic •anti-Fascist parties existed one would expect hesitation before associating with General Zervas, who had received more arms and money than the resjsters. The day after an agreement was reached for the disbandment of all forces leaflets were dropped repudiating the agreement. Whoever authorised the dropping of that leaflet broke the agreed solution. The leaflet showed that the British forces were behind an arrangement for disbandment which was otherwise than that agreed Upon.

CHURCHILL REPLIES Mr Churchill said that the speeches Just ended showed how extremely complex the matter was. The British Government was accused of using force to disarm friends of democracy. “The question arises,” said the Prime Minister, "who are the friends of democracy? How, too, is the word ‘democracy’ to be interpreted?” Mr Churchill detailed the British system of electing representatives, and said, "if that is democracy, I espouse it and work for it.” He said he felt differently about “swindle democracy” --democracy calling itself democracy because it was Left Wing. “It takes all sorts to make democracy, not only Left Wing, or even Communist,” he said. “The last thing that resembles democracy is mob law, with gangster bands,. armed with deadly deapons, who force their way “to great cities to seize police stations and Government officials, and erideavou,r to introduce a totalitarian regime. Do not let us rate democracy as though it is merely a grabbing power, “toting those who disagree with it. ihat is the antithesis of democracy. " 18 for the State to judge the reward o* those who fought the enemy,” continued Mr Churchill. Belgium, he said, was another case °f "friends of democracy” being disa.r,“e d in favour of an organised constitutional administration. Mr Churchill said he backed all Those who sought to establish democracy and civilisation on a basis of law and popular universal suffrage. It Would be hard on Europe if, after four or five years of German tyranny, she was pulled into a series of civil apd Social wars.

“We are not avid of becoming deeply involved in politics on the Continent or in liberated countries. All we require is that they should have gov-

ernments which guarantee us facilities for our lines of communication. “We have a right to express our point of view on the Greek question because in an attempt to redeem our pledge to Greece we sustained 30,000 casualties in what might have been perhaps a chivalrous resolve to share the miseries of Greece when she was invaded by Germany,’’ said Mr Churchill. "At this time we were all alone ourselves. *

“At the Quebec conference it was proposed by the combined chiefs of staff to prepare forces to occupy the Athens area to pave the way for the establishment of law and order and the installation of the Greek Government which we and the great bulk of the United Nations had formally recognised.

Trouble- with Government “All through 1944 we had trouble with the Greek Government in Egypt," said Mr Churchill. “Mr Papandreou, who had lived all this time in Greece, came out to restore order to the Greek Government, which is the constitutional Government <St Greece, and can be displaced only by the Greek people. “A long meeting was arranged between Mr Papandreou, the Government, and the leaders of all parties, including EAM, and an agreement was reached to establish the Government in Athens. “At the same time we were secretly organising an expedition. General Wilson struck by sea and air, and this enterprise, like so many others, was marked by excellent timing and efficiency and was crowned by complete success. “The Papandreou Government had no fewer than six EAM representatives and the leader of the Liberal Party. (Mr Sofoulis), complained that there were too many EAM and Communist representatives. However, Mr Papandreou, a Democrat, put his trust in these gentlemen. “Descent on Athens Planned" “Meanwhile, the forces of ELAS—the military instrument of EAM—, were planning a descent on Athens by armed forces. “ELAS had a mixed body. The wrong elements of ELAS during the years of occupation devoted more attention to beating up representatives of BDBS (the Right Wing resistance group) than to attacks on the Germans. “In the last two years ELAS has devoted itself principally to preparations for securing power. It did not hesitate to help the Germans to catch and kill representatives of EDES. It developed a plan by which ELAS should march to Athens, seize power, and establish a reign of terror under the plea that H was purging collaborationists.

“How much the Germans knew about this I cannot tell, but a number of Germans left behind are acting in the ELAS ranks.

“Lieutenant-General Scobie was instructed to use any forces necessary to drive out the ELAS bands which infested Athens.” Mr Churchill concluded: “I am blamed for this action. I will gladly accept the dismissal of the House, but if I am not dismissed, we shall persist in “this policy of clearing Athens and the Athens region of all rebels to the constitutional Government of Greece.”

POLICY CRITICISED After Mr Churchill had finished, Mr Arthur Greenwood (Labour) said that it was a situation which must give great comfort to the Nazis, who were eagerly searching for such diversions among the Allies. For eight years the Greeks had been under a dictatorship, and the situation was more complicated than the Prime Minister made out, said Mr Greenwood. Mr John Parker (Labour) said there had been a lot of propaganda during the war, saying that Britain would give the Greeks the right to choose their own government freely. The British Government was letting down that propaganda and breaking its word. Many Greeks felt that the British Ambassador had behaved in an extraordinarily hysterical way. On Mr Speaker’s intervention, Mr Parker amended his remarks and said there was a strong feeling that the Ambassador’s action was unhelpful to relations between the British Government and the Greek people. Mr Parker resumed his seat when Mr Speaker insisted that he should withdraw a further statement that Britain should be represented by “a more adequate and less partisan Ambassador.” Sir Lambert Ward (Conservative) suggested that as Britain to some extent had blotted her copybook, the election in Greece should be held within two months of Germany’s defeat under the supervision of the American Army if it was willing to take such responsibility. Mr Tom Driberg (Independent) said it was tragic that the British should return to Greece not as Byrons but, according to many Greeks, as bullies. Mr Churchill’s speech was ingenious, evasive, and often unsound. He was going against world opinion. Mr John McGovern (Independent Labour Party) warned that Britain was being taken along, a course which would produce a world that would sink into poverty, distress, unemployment, and civil war. If they would allow people to select their own rulers there would be no need for irregulars or underground movements. Lord Winterton (Conservative) said the people wanted a stable Govern-ment-houses, food, shelter, and work —not ideologies. If Mr Churchill were to be challenged on the lines on which he was being challenged, the sooner the challenge was taken to the electors the better, and the sooner would they see whether the Labour Party,

which was composed largely of conscientious objectors, was going to pledge the country to have its sons killed in an ideological war. MR EDEN WINDS UP The Foreign Secretary (Mr R. A. Eden), who wound up the debate, referred to the fighting in Athens as a tragedy, but said that while it was the British purpose to enable the Greek people to express their own political will, Britain must insist that it should be done by the ballot box and not by the bomb. Mr Eden said he believed the masses of the Greek people were not interested in the dispute. What they were interested in was food, the restoration of civil life, and employment. That was what the British had tried to do for them and in the process had been involved in internecine strife against their will. Mr Eden outlined the recent happenings in Greece and said the Greek Government formed last August was composed of all parties. The Greek Prime Minister was not a Fascist. He was actually in exile during the Metaxas regime. As for the Communists, Mr Eden said he saw certain leading representatives of the Greek Communist Party in Athens and they assured him that they agreed with the policy of the Government. The trouble arose over the demobilisation of the guerrillas. When Mr Papandreou asked his Cabinet Ministers to sign a degree enforcing disarmament some Ministers resigned. Mr Eden said the Greek Government was a government of all parties and was accepted as such until a few days ago. He emphasised that the withdrawal of some of its members did not turn it into a dictatorship.