Fight to keep ‘defector’ from coercion

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33612, 14 August 1974, Page 1

Fight to keep ‘defector’ from coercion

(N.Z.P. A.-Reuter—Copyright)

PERTH, August 13.

The brilliant young Russian violinist, Georgi Ermolenko, who decided to defect in Australia and then changed his mind, is still in Perth and is expected to appear in the Supreme Court in Perth today.

Mr Ermolenko, who decided on Sunday to defect but changed his mind after talking with Soviet officials yesterday, was supposed to leave by air last night, but trade unions placed a ban on the aircraft, and the 18-year-old violinist stayed in Perth.

The Western Australia University Guild of Undergraduates, which claims Mr Ermolenko was coerced into changing his mind, has caused writs to be served on the Commonwealth Police and the Soviet cultural attache requiring them to produce the violinist in court.

The union ban was lifted today after the Transport Workers’ Union state secretary (Mr Robert Cowles), the leader of the Musicians’ Union in Western Australia (Mr Harry Bluck), and the show-business entrepreneur, Mr Michael Edgley, had a one-hour meeting with Mr Ermolenko.

Emerging from the meeting, Mr Cowles said that he was satisfied that Mr Ermolenko wanted to go home.

Mr Ermolenko was booked on a British Airways jet due to leave Perth Airport at midnight New Zealand time

with five other Russian musicians.

But whether he will be on the plane is still doubtful because of the arranged court appearance. Mr Ermolenko arrived in Australia 10 days ago with other members of the student quintet at the Moscow Music College, to attend the conference of the International Society for Music Education (1.5.M.E.) in Perth. He first made known his intention to defect at 11 a.m. on Sunday when he approached the director of Melbourne’s Melba Music Conservatory (Mr Harold Badger) whom he had befriended.

He spent most of Sundav with Mr Badger, the senior tutor in philosophy at the university, the Rev. Richard Borthwick, and the Rev. Lance Johnston, sub-warden at St George’s College. The three pointed out to the Russion how difficult it would be for him to defect. They talked for most of the day. “But he was quietly and confidently determined to make the move and asked to

speak with Commonwealth immigration officials,” Mr Johnston said today.

However, Mr Ermolenko went to Perth Airport on Sunday afternoon with other members of the Russian party to board a jet bound for London. There he approached a Commonwealth policeman and said he wanted to stay in Australia and was seeking political asylum.

All members of the Russian party then returned to Perth. Mr Ermolenko spent Sunday night with Mr Johnston. At 10 a.m. yesterday, Mr Badger and Mr Johnston took Mr Ermolenko to the immigration office in Perth where it had been arranged for him to apply to stay in Australia. The officials allowed the musician to break off the interview with them to go to the Parmelia Hotel to speak to the Russian president of the International Society for Music Appreciation, Professor Dimitri Kabelevsky.

Mr Johnston said Mr Ermolenko did not want to see any Russian officials, and had made a point of this, but Professor Callaway had insisted on it in the interests of maintaining good relations with the Russians. Freedom The young musician agreed to meet Professor Kabelevsky. and insisted he be accompanied by one of the Australian academics he had confided in. On arrival at the Parmelia Hotel, Mr Ermolenko spoke briefly to the press in the foyer saying he wanted to stay in Australia because he thought it was a better country for young people, and because there was not enough artistic freedom in the Soviet Union.

Then Mr Ermolenko became separated from his two Australian companions and was whisked off by himself to the Russian professor’s room.

“When he left us he was a confident young man,” Mr Johnston related. “Four and a half hours later when I saw him in the custody of Mr Alexandrov (the Soviet cultural attache) he looked frightened and agitated.”