MAINTAINING FREEDOM

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26396, 14 April 1951, Page 7

MAINTAINING FREEDOM

Warning Given By President

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) WASHINGTON, April 12.

“The Communists in the Kremlin are engaged in a monstrous conspiracy to stamp out freedom all over the world. If they were to succeed the United States would be numbered among their principal victims,” said President Truman last night. Mr Truman said that the aggression against Korea was the boldest and most dangerous move the Communists had yet made. The attack on Korea was mart of a greater plan for conquering all of Asia. “I would like to read to you from a secret intelligence report which came to us after the attack,” he continued. “It is a report of a speech which a Communist army officer in North Korea gave to a group of spies and saboteurs last May, one month before South Korea was invaded.

“The report shows in great detail how this invasion was part of a care-fully-prepared plot. “Here is what the Communist officer, who had been trained in Moscow, told his men: “ ‘Our forces are scheduled to attack the South Korean forces about the middle of June. The coming attack on South Korea marks the first step towards the liberation of Asia.’ “Notice that he used the word ‘liberation.’ That is Communist doubletalk meaning ‘conquest.’ “I have another secret intelligence report here. This one tells what another Communist officer in the Far East told his men several months before the invasion of Korea. “Here is what he said: ‘ln order successfully to undertake the longawaited world revolution, we must first unify Asia. Indo-China, Malaya, India. Tibet, Siam, the Philippines, and Japan are our ultimate targets. The United States is the only obstacle on our road to the liberation of all countries in South-East Asia. In other words, we must unify the peoples of Asia and crush the United States.’

Avoiding General “That is what the Communist leaders are telling their people, and that is what they have been trying to do They want to control all Asia from the Kremlin. This plan of conquest is in flat contradiction to' what we believe. We believe that Korea belongs to the Koreans, and that all the nations of Asia should be free to work out their affairs in their own way. “The whole Communist imperialism is at the back of the attack on peace in the Far East. It was the Soviet Union that trained and equipped the North Koreans for aggression. The Chinese Communists massed 44 welltrained and well-equipped divisions on the Korean frontier. These were the troops they threw into battle when the North Korean Communists were beaten.

“The question we have had to face is whether the Communist plan of conquest can be stopped without a general war. Our Government and the other countries associated with us in the United Nations believe that the best chance of stopping ft without a general war is to meet the attack in Korea and defeat it there. That is what we have been doing. “It is a difficult and bitter task, but so far it has been successful. So far we have prevented World War 111. So far, by fighting a limited war in Korea, we have prevented aggression from succeeding and bringing on a general war.

“The ability of the whole free world to resist Communist aggression has been greatly improved. We have taught the enemy a lesson. He has found out that aggression is not cheap or . easy. Moreover, men all over the world who want to remain free have been given new courage and new hope. They know now that the champions of freedom can stand up 'and fight, and that they will stand up and fight.”