LEAGUE DISSENSIONS

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 September 1934, Page 7

LEAGUE DISSENSIONS

“MINORITIES” PROTECTION POLAND’S INTIMATION [BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] (Recd. September 14, 8 a.m.) GENEVA, September 13. The Polish Foreign Minister dropped a bombshell at the Assembly on announcing that Poland, henceforth, would refuse to collaborate with the League’s international organs for the protection of minorities, and was taking this step because other Powers had not seemed anxious to accept Poland’s constant requests for generalisation of the “minority” clauses in the Versailles Treaty, and the submission of the matter to an international conference. RUGBY, September 13. The announcement that Poland re : fuses any longer to collaborate with the League’s international organs for the protection of minorities in Poland, was made by the Polish Foreign Minister, Colonel Beck in the League of Nations Assembly. Col. Beck protested against the inadequacy of the present system, and urged that the League should include in the agenda for the next assembly a comprehensive reconstruction of the existing regime on more durable and well defined basis. He added that Poland would continue to protect her own minorities.

The Treaty of Versailles made provision for embodying in a further treaty the provisions deemed necessary to protect the interests of inhabitants who differed from the majority of the population in language or religion. In accordance with this Minorities Treaty, which was signed later, Poland’s minority population came under the protection of the League.

REPLY TO MR. DE VALERA [OFFICIAL WIRELESS.] RUGBY, September 13. Speaking in the Assembly on the question of Russia’s entry to the League, Mr. De Valera said the country he represented was far from the ideas of Soviet Russia, but would support the entry on account of its importance. The day had gone by when an enlightened Government could continue persecution or the denial of religious freedom. Newspapers commenting on the speech point out that owing to the wording of the covenant a unanimous and not merely two-thirds majority of the assembly would be required if the procedure advocated by Mr. De Valera were adopted. The attitude of the United Kingdom delegation at Geneva was summed up in a sentence that the quickest way is the best and that as the present procedure seemed best calculated to hasten the introduction of Russia to the League, criticism at this stage was to be deprecated. VATICAN AND RUSSIA. VATICAN CITY, September 13. . The impending admission of Russia to the League of Nations has been coldly received here. The Holy See has always insisted that the Soviet should not be admitted to the League until it has granted to its citizens the freedom of worship. A Catholic paper, the “Avvenire d’ltalia” says: “Geneva is now paying for the fundamental error in its conception that is based on the fragile foundation of Godless humanitarianism. It has come to the point of admitting the Soviet, which is a brutal negation of all forms of human civilisation.” NO EASTERN “LOCARNO.” LONDON, September 13. The “Daily Telegraph” says: “The project of an Eastern “Locarno” Pact is virtually dead. Poland has definitely decided that she cannot participate in one and Esthonia, Latvia and Lithuania have entered into a militar’ r alliance, so that it is unlikely that they would participate in any such Pact. Poland believes that no war need now be feared in Eastern Europe for at least a decade. As Poland has settled her differences with Russia, and with Germany, she has nothing to fear.”