SEIZURE OF CANAL

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28133, 23 November 1956, Page 13

SEIZURE OF CANAL

“Match In Dry

Tinder”

(Rec. 9.20 p.m.) NEW YORK, Nov. 21. Australia’s Minister for External Affairs. Mr R. G. Casey, said in the General Assembly that the nationalising of the Suez Canal by President Nasser on July 26 was “a lighted match thrown into a lot of dry tinder lying around in the Middle East.” “Do not let us lose sight of the real origin of all the strife of the last few weeks,” said Mr Casey. “That origin was the arbitrary, unilateral and abrupt seizure of the Suez Canal by President Nasser. Until that day, the Middle East, although unsettled, still presented a manageable situation in which any local violence or fighting could be restrained and kept localised. A delicate balance of interests was upset in the Middle East by the action of President Nasser. ,

“No-one could have objected if Egypt had asked for reconsideration of the Canal arrangements if - it considered them unsatisfactory, but no such approach was ever made. “Most governments read of the act of nationalisation for the first time in the newspapers. It is this unilateral and violent upsetting by Egypt of working and generally accepted arrangements that has led in due course to the recent fighting.” Mr Casey said it was most urgent that haggling over the admission to Egypt of the United Nations force must cease.

Referring to disagreement over the clearance of the canal, Mr Casey said: “First, Egypt sabotages the canal as an act of spite, not as an act dictated by the needs of war, and then she makes difficulties over its clearance in the shortest possible time. “This is something the United Nations must not accept. We must insist on the most rapid clearance possible so as to limit the vast economic loss that is being borne by half the countries of the world.” He said it had been shown that the machinery for maintaining international stability was defective and the United Nations must try to evolve machinery which was more realistic.