FRASER FLASHES FIRE

Evening Star, Issue 25716, 13 February 1946, Page 5

FRASER FLASHES FIRE

Clash With Soviet Delegates TRADE UNIONS AND U.N.O. Prime Minister Wins Day

(Bee. noon.) LONDON, Feb. 12. During the meeting of U.N.O.'s Political and Security Committee to complete the consideration of the question of trade union collaboration with the Economic and Social Council, Mr Peter Fraser clashed time after time with the chairman, M. Maniulsky, causing the stormiest scenes yet witnessed at any U.N.O. meeting. M. Gromyko (Soviet Union) also joined in. On occasions all three were on their feet at the same time, and all were talking, with worried in" terpreters adding to the noise with attempted translations. The confusion was occasionally so great that it was difficult to follow the course of Mr Fraser's protests and the chairman's rulings. To-day's meeting was the climax to a long series of meetings where the issue had mainly been whether a national organisation like the American Federation of Labour should have equal rights with an international organisation like the World Federation of Trade Unions. The American delegation, with Senator Tom Connally as the

spearhead, never rested from pushing the A.F.L.'s case. Finally there emerged from the subcommittee for ' to-day's meeting an American draft resolution which had been overhauled and approved by a majority. The Russian and Belgian delegations tabled dissenting proposals aimed at omitting the A.F.L. from collaboration. M. Maniulsky, with exprossive handsheld out, suggested that as the discussion was now closed, the committee should proceed immediately to vote on the Russian, American, and Belgian proposals in that order. Mr Noel Baker (Britain) immediately objected, and urged that to conform with general practice, the American proposal, which had been through the sub-committee, should be taken first. M. Maniulsky disagreed on the ground that the Soviet proposal had heen made first, whereupon Mr Noel Baker pointed out that the original Russian proposal had been withdrawn after the matter had passed through another committee, M, Maniulsky suggested that the matter be put to the vote, to which M. Gromyko unsuccessfully objected. Th'o vote resulted in a heavy majority for the American resolution to be put first.

Amendme. n*r Raises Storm .

The first part of the American resolution caused no difficulty, and the meeting adopted a preamble setting out the rights which it was proposed should be allotted in three categories and organisations. The rest of the resolution was divided into two paragraphs, the first of which grouped the W-.F.T.U. and the 1.C.A., and the second dealt with the A.F.L, M, Gromyko caught M. Maniulsky's eye, and proposed by an amendment that his proposal should "be substituted for the two paragraphs. (This would have had the effect of eliminating the I.C.A. and the A.F.L,, limiting the W.F.T.U, to an advisory capacity. M. Maniulsky had practically agreed to this when Mr Fraser intervened, He had been taking part from time to time in earlier disputes about procedure, but he now objeoted, and moved to dissent from the chairman's ruling. He said that the meeting, having decided the order in which the three proposals ■ should be taken, M. Gromyko could not now move his proposal as an amendment of a resolution on which the meeting had decided to vote first. Moreover, the voting having started on this resolution by agreement to the preamble a substantive amendment could not, and should not, be accepted for the rest of the resolution. M. Maniulsky, still soft-voiced, smiling, and gesturing with his hands, overruled the objection, and again proceeded to put M. Gromyko's amendment. Mr Fraser leaped to his feet, and with his eyes blazing and his face reddening, said: "These tricks will not do. They are not the methods for this committae. | want a Vote on your ruling, I said you did the wrong thing and I want the committee to say whether you did the right thing." There followed an exchange between M. Maniulsky and Mr Fjaser, w ho at length, formally putting it to the vote, began 'an explanation, but stopped

when M. Gromyko rose and submitted again that he was not making a fresh proposal, but merely amending. He at once turned to Mr Fraser and said: " Why make such a noise? " Mr Fraser again demanded a clear vote on the ruling. M. Maniulsky explained that the matter was not so mucb on procedure as convenience in order to end a protracted debate. Then followed one occasion when M. Maniulsky, Mr Fraser, and M. Gromyko were all on their feet talking. Mr Noel Baker, when the hubbub subsided, supported Mr Fraser. He said the committee must dispose of the whole resolution before taking the amendment, Mr Fraser suggested that the meeting vote on, first, W.F.T.U,, secondly, the 1.C.A., and, thirdly, the A;F.L. He said if it did that he would throw his motion on the chairman's ruling into the dustbin. He triumphed when the meeting decided by a large majority on a show of hands that amendments to the resolution should not be permitted, then adopted his suggestion for voting procedure. The Political and Security Committee decided to ask the Assembly to recommend to the Economic and Social Council that the latter should arrange as soon as possible to collaborate, first, with the W.F.T.U., secondly, the 1.C.A., and, thirdly, the A.F.U, and other national regional non-governmental organisations. The committee voted separately on the three categories as follows: —For first, 27 to 1 votes; for second, 24 to 4; for third 24 to 9. Saudi-Arabia was the only dissentient from admitting the W.F.T.U., but there were four abstentions. Ukraine, Poland, and l ByelaRussia supported Russia in opposition to the I.C.A, vote, from whiph there were 12 abstentions. France and Yugoslavia were among the five who joinedl the Soviet bloc on the A.F.L. vote, from which there were four abstentions,