Congo Debate In U.N. Today

Press, Volume C, Issue 29467, 20 March 1961, Page 17

Congo Debate In U.N. Today

( N.Z P.A -Reuter—Copyright)

NEW YORK, March 17. The General Assembly of the United Nations will meet cn Monday to debate the Congo as the result of a demand by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Foreign Minister (Mr Andrei Gromyko), in a letter to Mr Frederick Boland, the Assembly president, yesterday, complained the Congo situation was steadily deteriorating as a result of the aggression against that State. He did not refer to the Congolese political conference at Tananarive. Malagasy, which decided to establish a Confederation of Congo States and to ask the United Nations to rescind the use of force to restore order in the country. Mr Gromyko said: "Attempts have been undertaken of late to dismember the Republic of the Congo owing to which the threat to the independence and terri-

torial integrity of that country has grown." Resolutions of the Security Council on the Congo “are being ignored and not carried out,” he said. Mr Gromyko demanded an assembly meeting “even before the end of this week.” but Mr Boland fixed the debate for Monday. Commission to Report Mr Hammarskjold's 18nation Congo Advisory Committee yesterday discussed the report of an Afro-Asian conciliation commission which spent six weeks in the country seeking to reconcile its warring political factions. Informed sources said the conciliation commission’s report was not ready for publication, which was due next week. Mr Jaja Wachuku, of Nigeria, who was chairman of the commission, was insisting on a minority report, they said. Reuters said Mr Wachuku was believed by some sources to have signed the document, but would submit his comments when the document was published, probably on Monday. He was reported to be critical of decisions made by the United Nations special representative in the Congo (Mr Rajeshwar Dayal). Disarmament Talks Mr Gromyko, while pressing for a new Congo debate, is involved in disarmament discussions with the United States delegate (Mr Adlai Stevenson). A United States spokesman denied unofficial reporters that there was an agreement to resume disarmament talks on August 1.