STATEMENT BY MR HOLLAND

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26576, 12 November 1951, Page 7

STATEMENT BY MR HOLLAND

N.Z. Support Accorded Joint Policy

(New Zealand. Press Association) WELLINGTON, November IL In a statement to-day, the Prime Minister (Mr Holland) affirmed New Zealand’s full support for the declaration issued by the Governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and Turkey on the Middle East Command Organisation. This declaration, which states the basic principles of the Middle East Command Organisation was released to-day in Paris, where the British Foreign Secretary (Mr R. A. Eden) and the United States Secretary of State (Mr Dean Acheson) are attending the General Assembly of the United Nations. “This declaration of the basic principles of the command has been made necessary,’’ said Mr Holland, “because of the doubts and uncertainties of Middle Eastern States as to how the Command Organisation would operate and how it would assist them m the problems of their defence against aggression. 'This uncertainty springs from the hostile attitude of Egypt, which hns not only maintained her refusal to co-operate in the defence of the Middle East, but is apparently endeavouring to prevent other Middle Eastern Powers from doing so. Tn a statement I made in the course l of the recent debate in the House oni external affairs, I made it clear that! the New Zealand Government sup-1 ported and accepted the«proposals for the Middle East Defence Organisation. “This area of the world is of vital importance not only to the security of the Commonwealth, but to the for- • tunes of the free world. Historically, it is an area of special interest to the United Kingdom and to New Zealand also, as was demonstrated by the actions of our forces there in two wars. The Middle East has been and will remain one of the decisive theatres.” Mr Holland said he expected that acdon would be taken promptly to set up the Command Organisation. It was essential that the defence of the Middle East should be put on an organised basis. It was encouraging to see that the other major Powers supSorted the initiative the United Kingom had taken in seeking to set up this command. Mr Holland said he hoped it would not be long before the command was working, and that Egypt might then be persuaded by wiser counsels to acknowledge how essential it was in her own interests to co-operate with those whose main concern was the •urvival of the free order of society.