EMPHATIC PROTEST

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 112, 14 May 1927, Page 9

EMPHATIC PROTEST

SOVIET REPRESENTATIVE

BREACH OF TRADE AGREEMENT

(AP.A. and "Sun.") (Received 14th May, 1 p.m.)

LONDON, 13th May. M. Rosengolz, Soviet Charge ■ d 'Afro ires, has sent n letter to Sir Austen Chamberlain protesting against the raid. He says; "The premises of Arcos and the Trade Delegation were occupied by armed police, although the premises of the Trade Delegation, in accordance with the Trade Agreement of 1921, confirmed by the Foreign Office Note of 16th February, 1927, enjoy diplomatic immunity. During the raid an employee of the Trado Delegation, Khudiakov, who refused to give up the key of a safe containing personal papers and cypher codes of the official Trade Agent, was assaulted by tho police, who (•arriod off the mail addressed to the Trade Agent, which couriers, had iuat brought. OFFICIAL AGENTS IMMUNE. These proceedings are a flagrant violation of Article Five of the Trade Agreement, which provides that Official Agents shall be at liberty to coinmuni-

cate with their own Government and other official representatives of their Government in other countries and receive and dispatch couriere with sealed bagg, exempt from examination.. Moreover, in accordance with Article One of the Trade Agreement the British Government undertook not to discriminate against such trade, compared with the trade of any other foreign country, but the very fact of the raid will inevitably injure Anglo-Soviet trade. COMMON DECENCY VIOLATED. "Furthermore, during the raid the most elementary guarantees and demands of common decency were violated and a, search begun before the presentation of a warrant, which was only handed to the Assistant-Director! of Arcos, M. Sorokin, an hour after the commencement of the search. All the employees, men and women, of Areos and the Trade Delegation were detained i personally and searched, including women possessing diplomatic passports. For instance, in the case -of the wife .ot the Charge d'Affaires and the wife of. the Financial Attache, a personal search of the women was carried out by male police. "I have informed my Government of i all that has occurred and, while awaiting their decisions and instructions I protest most emphatically against the | violation of .the obligations undertaken by the British Government in accordance with the Trade Agreement