JAPS. PROTEST

Evening Star, Issue 25567, 21 August 1945, Page 5

JAPS. PROTEST

PRISON GAMP PARACHUTE LANDINGS " SMOOTH CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES ENDANGERED" (Rec. 8 a.m.) NEW YORK, Aug. 20. The Federal Communications Commission picked up a broadcast from the Japanese General Staff to General MacArthur declaring that the dropping of parachutists at prison camps “ without giving previous notice ” was endangering the smooth cessation of hostilities. The broadcast requested General MacArthur to prevent a recurrence of such incidents, and added: “ We made those who came to Mukden and Hongkong return to their bases.”

Leaflets dropped from planes told the Japanese that the parachutists were coming for “ humanitarian reasons,” says the Associated Press correspondent at Chungking. Teams were parachute^!

at nine places, which are the centres of over 30 camps—Mukden. Peiping, Weihsien, Korea, Shanghai. Hainan, Formosa, Indo-China. and the CantonHotigkong area. General A. C. Wedemeyer.'Commander of the United States forces in China, disclosed in Chungking that volunteer American “ humanitarian teams ” each consisting of about six men—were dropped by parachute in the neighbourhood of several prisoner-of-war camps in China, in which, it is estimated, there were about 20,000 Allied prison-

ers of war and 15,000 Allied civilian internees. The teams landed without casualty and carried out their work unmolested. The teams reported that conditions in the camps were much better than had been expected. The prisoners had been treated quite well, and. the illness rate was not unusually high. All the members of the humanitarian teams were volunteers, practically none of whom had ever parachuted before. None of them knew what sort of reception they would get. .They took a calculated risk that required great heroism. The Allied prisoners of war and civilians interned in the camps included 3,600 at Mpkden, 9,000 at Shanghai, 2,800 at Hainan, 6,000 at Hongkong, 2,700 at Peiping, 1,000 at Korea, 2.500 at Formosa, and 5.600 in Indo-China. General Wedemeyer estimated that there were 30,000 more prisoners in the Japanese home islands. There were 34 prisoners in the camp where General Wainyvright was held, comprising eight Americans, 16 British, and 10 Dutchmen. The rescue team reported that the Japanese camp commander, Colonel Matsuda, was most co-operative.