NON-COMMUNIST PRISONERS

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27150, 21 September 1953, Page 9

NON-COMMUNIST PRISONERS

South Korean Threat

To Disrupt Transfer (Rec. 10 n.m.) SEOUL, Sept. 19. Major-General William S. Lawton said today that the United Nations planned to hand over all non-repatri-ate Communist prisoners to the Indian custodian force in spite of threats by the South Korean Provost Marshal (General Won Yun Duk) yesterday that he would disrupt the transfer of prisoners.

General Won said yesterday that he would withhold 3700 North Koreans still in United Nations hands from being transferred to the Indian custodian forces unless the “Communists stop their pressure tactics and intimidation.”

He said: “The Communists are learning the names of non-repatriates and the addresses of their families, and have adopted pressure tactics of intimidation and coercion, threatening anti-Communist prisoners that if they do not return their families would be killed.”

General Won said: “I cannot turn over 3700 anti-Communist North Korean prisoners to the neutral nations custodian commission unless the United Nations representatives can clearly watch the Communist tactics of brainwashing and the Communists stop their pressure tactics.” He said that their tactics were a clear violation of the armistice terms. The United Nations Prisoner of War Command in Pusan refused to comment on General Won’s threat. A command spokesman said all South Korean guards at the camps for non-Commun-ist North Korean prisoners had been replaced by Americans since General Won had released 27,000 anti-Commun-istprisoners in June. The spokesman said there were 2900 North Korean prisoners left in United Nations hands at camps in Mosan and Pusan.